Branches of the profession
One of the key questions to ask yourself is what type of lawyer you want to be. For many, that’ll mean deciding between becoming a solicitor (private practice or in-house) or a barrister. For others, the option to ‘earn while you learn’ as a chartered legal executive will appeal. Simply put, a barrister appears in court, while a solicitor or chartered legal executive works in a law firm. All three are ‘lawyers’. However, there are key differences. The stereotype is that barristers are individualists while solicitors and legal executives are team players. But while it’s true that a barrister is almost always self-employed and a solicitor/legal executive
may be in a law firm or business of thousands of people, the reality is more complicated. Barristers often work with each other and with solicitors, and some solicitors/legal executives spend many hours on their own drafting documents. Deciding which career path would suit you best could be a challenge – factors to bear in mind include your school grades, key interests and career aspirations. Over the page is a brief guide with some key facts that may help you to decide which branch is best suited to you, including the number of practising lawyers and an overview of some of the profession’s diversity stats and salaries.
For more information on diversity in the legal profession, visit LawCareers.Net’s Diversity hub, sponsored by Gowling WLG (UK) LLP.
Further reading Solicitors www.lawcareers.net/solicitors Barristers www.lawcareers.net/barristers
The ‘CILEX’ section on www.lawcareers.net
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