Breaking into the Legal Industry

Why would I want

to work in law?
A career in the legal profession is not all about pacing up
and down packed courtrooms, delivering dramatic speeches
that would guarantee your place in the World’s Greatest
Orators of all Time list and make even the great Sir
Laurence Olivier in his heyday bow down to you in
admiration. And then when you have finished banging the
world to rights you slip off and enjoy your cognac and cigar.
Alright this may happen on that rarest of occasions but in the main, a
legal career is much more routine that that, even at the higher
echelons of the legal tree.
For some people a legal career means choosing between being a
Solicitor and a Barrister –or ‘lawyer’, a blanket term used to describe
both roles. But there are numerous occupations within the legal
system and all are geared toward upholding the law of the land and
dealing with those who contravene it.
At one end of the scale are Court Administrative Officers,
Barrister’s/Advocate’s Clerks, Paralegal’s and Legal Executives,
while towards the top of the industry sit Solicitor’s,
Barrister’s/Advocate’s, and Judges.
As varied are the types of roles you can choose from are the number
of areas you work in. Opportunities can be found in corporate,
family, personal injury, human rights, public sector, employment,
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mergers and acquisitions, and many other areas. And the area in
which you practice will have an influence on how much you are paid.
For instance, commercial law tends to offer higher salaries than
family or employment law.
Although Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legal system
that are separate to England & Wales, starting salaries for trainee
Solicitors, for example, will range from £16,000-18,000 with some
city firms paying as much as £25,000-35,000. Upon qualification the
average salary for newly qualified solicitors can be £35,000-£45,000.
At the other end of the scale, a Clerk Court could be starting on
anything between £12,000-15,000, whereas a Barrister’s/Advocate’s
Clerk will usually start on a lower salary of around £10,000 but can
quickly move up to £18,000 after a couple of years before going up
to £28,000 with considerable experience.
Although the notion of being a hot shot lawyer with a rather attractive
salary continues to lure new entrants into the legal profession year in
year out, Solicitor’s and Barrister’s in particular will be expected burn
the candle at both ends, sometimes even at weekends especially
during the early stages of your career.

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Breaking into the Legal Industry

What are the common

legal career paths?
Perhaps you have aspirations to become a Partner in a law
firm or picture yourself as the next Judge John Deed. But
before you start practising your soliloquies and trying out a
range of wigs and gowns, you need to start your career
somewhere. And that means gaining invaluable experience
from the ground upwards.
No one enters the legal sector at the top of their profession, if they
did we’d all be doing it. So whether you are starting your new career
as a newly qualified graduate or someone armed with a handful of
GCSEs and ‘A’ Levels, here’s a quick look at the path your career
could take in some of the most popular jobs within the legal
profession.
Solicitors undergo an initial training period and upon qualification
trainees become known as associates or assistants, depending on
which title the employer uses. As they take on a greater degree of
solicitors can then choose to continue dealing with a variety of legal
issues or opt to specialise in certain areas such as employment law,
tax or litigation, for instance. Thereafter the path is open to
partnership which usually follows after around six years of so after
qualification.

Further Reading
- How can I choose the right company?
- What are my transferrable skills?
- Should I work part-time, temporary or permanent?
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Barristers, à la Rumpole, are the chaps who don their wigs and
gowns whilst presenting cases in court under instruction from a
solicitor. Upon completion of your pupillage you must then apply for
tenancy in an existing set of chambers where you assume the title of
Junior Barrister. After that the path your career takes is down to you.
For many barristers the ultimate ambition is to ‘take silk’ by
becoming a Queen’s Counsel (QC) entering the judiciary as an
assistant recorder prior to becoming a judge.
Legal Executives have to go through a minimal five-year qualifying
period and having gained experience, many executives could end up
running their own departments, supervising other legal executives
and acting as support for solicitors. Some opt to undertake further
study and become qualified as solicitors themselves.
Regardless of what role you take it is likely that you will start your
career working for a large commercial law firm - many of which have
operations throughout the UK and some overseas - as they are the
one with the highest intake of new entrants each year. Smaller high
street practices tend to recruit in response to the needs of the
business whiles the Government Legal Service and local authorities
also offer training contracts to newbies.

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Breaking into the Legal Industry

Where can I find out about

legal employers?
A career in the law is not something you simply fall into. It is
likely you’ve been thinking about it for some time. So
whether you are a fresh-faced graduate or considering a
career change, it is important to learn as much as you can
about your new vocation as possible.
Aside from knowing what qualifications or experience you need to
get your foot in the door, you must familiarise yourself with what it is
actually like to work within the legal profession doing the role you
want to do on a day-to-day basis.
If you are a recent graduate you are in the fortunate position of
having a ready-made bank of key contacts that you can call upon
who can give you an insight into your chosen area.
Think about your university or college tutors who may have worked
in the sector or at least know someone who does who they can put
you in touch with.
And if you still have access to your university careers library read
through the array of publications that provide information on some of
the biggest graduate recruiters in your field.
Once you have identified some of the companies who you would like
to work for, find out who is doing the job you want to do and simply
call or email them, asking if they would mind sparing a few moments
of their time relaying their experiences in their field – you’ll be
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surprised at how receptive most people are. And if you strike up a

rapport with them they may even give you the heads-up when a new
vacancy comes up in their organisation.
Failing that, ask your friends, family members, former colleagues or
club mates if they know anyone who they can put you in touch with.
When you finally get to speak with someone about the role ask them
about the nature of the job, how they got their job in the first place,
what skills and attributes employers look for, and what challenges
they face. And don’t forget to ask about any jobs going where they
work.
Elsewhere there are a number of trade publications which serve the
legal profession.
These can provide an invaluable insight into what’s happening in
your field and who the biggest players are. As do the professional
associations including the Law Society, Bar Council, and Institute of
Legal Executives.

Industry Associations
There are many associations in the UK covering almost every
job role and sector. To find out if there are any relevant for your
occupation, take a look at:

- Wikipedia: British Professional Bodies

- Trade Associations and regulatory Bodies

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Breaking into the Legal Industry

What qualifications are

important in law?
To be blunt you need to have a bit of nouse about you and a
good deal of grey matter to work in the legal profession. The
ability to form coherent, strong and convincing arguments
and identify flaws in your opponents’ case, combined with
the resilience to work sometimes excessive hours under
pressure takes a certain type of person who is able to cope
with all these things.
As mentioned earlier, for many a legal career is a matter of choosing
between being a solicitor or a barrister but, there are a number of
other roles to choose from that do not demand a university degree
as a pre-requisite for entry. So if you are undergoing a career
change and don’t have a degree don’t think that that will be a barrier
to you getting the job you want.
For instance, Legal Executives, Law Costs Draftsmen, Barrister’s
Clerk/Advocate’s Clerk and Licensed Conveyances can get in with 4
GCSEs and ‘A’ Levels with new entrants going on to specific on the
job training with their respective professional association – such as
the Institute of Legal Executives – where they can ‘earn while they
learn’.
And for those already working in- and with some vocational
experience of- the legal sector but without any formal qualifications,
an NVQ (Level 4) in Legal Practice is available.
 www.monster.co.uk

The same is true for Paralegals who like Legal Executives can
eventually graduate to become fully fledged Solicitors upon
completion of a minimum five-year qualifying period that results in
becoming a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives and a further
two years thereafter.
Most new entrants into the profession are Solicitor and Barristers.
With both roles a university degree (2:1 or above) – preferably in
Law – is a must, although Fellows of the Institute of Legal
Executives do not necessarily require a degree as mentioned above.
If your degree isn’t in law then you will need to take the postgraduate
Diploma in Law or the Common Professional Examination (CPE).
As with all professions any experience you have gained which is
related to your area of interest will stand you in good stand when it
comes to the job application process, whether that be in the form of
a work placement whilst at university or approaching local employers
directly to volunteer your services – this will give you an insight into
what it’s like working in a legal setting and who knows, your
employer may be impressed enough to offer you a job.

Find Courses
- UCAS
- The Open University

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Breaking into the Legal Industry

What skills are legal

employers looking for?
Having the right qualifications is one thing but, employers in
the legal profession don’t just look for the brightest
candidates with the most impressive academic credentials to
their name. Of equal- some might say greater- importance
are the personal qualities and skills that an individual must
be able to demonstrate before any employer will open the
door to your legal career.
Although the nature of a Barrister’s work will be different than that of
a Paralegal in much the same way as a Solicitor’s will vary to a
Court Clerk, for example, there is a core set of skills that employers
look for that are common to across all roles of the legal spectrum.
• organisational skills
• a good command of written and spoken English
• genuine interest and broad knowledge of the law
• logical thinker and problem solving ability
• sensitivity and integrity yet assertive at the same time
• attention to detail
• articulate
• discretion and trustworthiness
• meticulous attention to detail
• evidence of teamworking ability
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• good interpersonal skills and the ability to relate with people at

all levels
To be a barrister, the ability to interpret complex legal documentation
into clear and basic English combined with a high degree of
technical understanding in order to be able to cross-examine an
expert witness in court, for example, will be highly desirable skills in
this role.
As will your public speaking ability, debating skills and – dare we say
– showmanship so that you can put on a good performance in a self-
confident and assured manner in the court room.
Just because you have no experience of ever dealing with ‘complex
legal documentation’ and have never been called upon to cross
examine anyone before, for instance, remember that employers are
looking for evidence of your ‘potential’ to do these things and not
necessarily your proven ability to display these skills in a legal
environment – employers are aware that you are probably a newly
qualified graduate or career changer with little or no previous work
experience within the legal profession.
Therefore, the way you ‘sell’ your potential is to think of instances
when you have used some of these skills in your old career, during
your work placement or even non-work related activities. So don’t
get hung up on the specifics.

Further Reading
- What are my transferrable skills?
- How can I improve my skills on my own initiative?
- Should I become a specialist or a generalist?

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Breaking into the Legal Industry

What makes a
good law CV?
When submitting your CV, it's vital to know what it is your
potential employer is looking for in the perfect candidate.

OK, so you’ve got the qualifications and skills that employers are
looking for, now all you need to do is convince a potential employer
that you are the best candidate for the job on the two pieces of paper
that have the power to kick-start your new legal career – your CV.
With the legal profession being one of the most popular career
destinations for graduates, competition for entry level places is high.
And employers, especially those with a large intake of new recruits,
will take as little as half a minute scanning your CV. So you need to
make sure that yours stands out from the crowd.
Your CV has just one purpose in life – to get you an interview, which
means that the information contained within it needs to be tailored to
the job you are applying for and hits all the right notes that turn an
employer on. As its unlikely that you will have any direct work
experience within the legal profession you will need to use a skills-
based CV that uses the basic building blocks of the more traditional
chronological CV( which you will be using as your career
progresses), but places more emphasis on the work-related skills
you have developed and can demonstrate.

Further Reading
- How can I tailor my CV to an audience?
- What are my unique selling points?
- What are the classic CV mistakes to avoid?
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If you have just graduated from university and this is the first ‘proper’
job you’ve applied for, make your Education the centre piece of your
CV. Include relevant coursework that has relevance to the job you
are applying for, awards, publications, qualifications and grades.
You should also include information on any work placement you
have done during the course of your studies and the skills you have
acquired during the course of your university career.
In the previous section we look at the key skills and attributes
employers look for, some of which will be stated in the job advert
itself.
But if the advert states that the employer is looking for
‘Demonstrable technical ability’ or ‘Good analytical skills’, for
example, don’t fall into the trap of simply listing these skills on your
CV, demonstrate how you have used them in a practical setting
regardless of whether you have any legal work experience or not.
Perhaps you wrote a key research paper on employment law, or
worked alongside a legal executive in the preparation of a case.
But don’t forget who your audience is. Your CV is likely to be vetted
first by someone in the company’s human resources department
who may be unfamiliar with some of the legal jargon used in this
profession. So avoid getting too technical in your choice of language
and make your CV clear, concise and easy to read.

Free CV Templates
We’ve put together a range of free CV templates that will help
you start your document off in the right way.
Find and download them for free now.

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Breaking into the Legal Industry

What does the job interview

process consist of?
Although the legal systems of Northern Ireland, Scotland and
England & Wales are different from one another with
variances in some job roles (Barristers are called Advocates
in Scotland whereas Legal Executives don’t exist north of the
border) the application process is largely the same
throughout the UK.
The very fact that you have been invited for interview means that
your CV has done its job and impressed an employer just enough for
them to ask you along and see if you can actually do all the things
that you claim you can do.
Interviews can – and sometimes are – a scary experience, especially
if you have never done one before now. But as long as you are
prepared for what is to come, the rest will take of itself. With the high
volume of applicants coming through their door, large-scale
employers recruiting for entry-level positions will use assessment
centres as one of their main methods of screening which candidates
they consider to be the strongest and warrant a formal interview at a
later date.

Take part in a Virtual Job Interview to find out if your

answers are what employers want to hear.

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These assessment centres will typically take place at the company’s

head office where you will be pitted against your fellow candidates
under the watchful eyes of representatives from human resources
and the department where you are hoping to eventually work in.
During the day you will be put through a series of exercises that are
designed to test your practical problem solving skills, teamworking
ability, creativity and various other skills along with a number of
individual challenges such as psychometric test and presentations.
Small-scale employers will mostly cut out the assessment centre
process altogether and go straight to interview where you will be
given the opportunity to convince the employer that you are the best
person for the job.
Having broken the ice with a few gentle niceties (“What did you
enjoy most about your law degree?/Tell us about your current job”),
the questions will gradually start to become tougher as the
interviewer probes more and more into your background (“What
achievements are you most proud of?“), your motivations for
applying for the job (“What should we hire you?), and your degree of
self-awareness (“What are your strengths and weaknesses?“). So
make sure you have some answers already prepared to avoid being
caught off-guard.
And when the job offer comes through your door don’t be tempted to
snap their hands off just yet. Make sure you weigh up all the pros
and cons of the offer – can the company offer you what you want in
terms of training provision, salary, career progression, location, etc.
Ultimately, go with your gut instincts – they’re rarely wrong.

Further Reading
- How do I make a good first impression?
- What should I wear to my job interview?
- How can I calm my job interview nerves?

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Breaking into the Legal Industry

What career goals should

I set myself?
In a sector which employs around 700,000 people and is a
magnate for quite literally thousands of hopeful applicants
every year, it is pretty safe to assume that you may not walk
straight into the job of your dreams but, you can still land the
job you really want, with a little patience.
Increasingly graduates and career changers are taking on jobs that
were done by non-graduates just a few years ago and are using this
as an opportunity to get their foot in the door and work their way up
from there. Like any career you need to learn the ropes first and
develop your all-round skills and understanding of the law before you
can even begin to smell the cigar smoke and taste the cognac as
Partner, Barrister or QC.

Solicitors, for instance, can expect to undertake an ‘apprenticeship’

prior to becoming qualified and can realistically become a Partner
after six years post-qualification. But in smaller firms there are
usually fewer steps to take and career progression could happen
sooner rather than later. In the meantime many solicitors choose to
specialise in certain areas of the law, such as corporate, family,
employment, tax…the list goes on.

Discover Job Profiles

Monster’s Career Snapshots show you the skills you

need in order to take your career to the next level:
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After completing their pupillage, Barristers will look to be taken on as

tenants within chambers (a term used to describe a collective of
barristers) where they will, after time, work on a self-employed basis
or as part of a larger legal team within a private company or public
sector organisation.

While Legal Executives can choose between one of two distinct

career paths – the senior executive-to-manager route or take the
further professional study and become a qualified solicitor route.

But as with most things in life we often take a see things with rose
tinted spectacles when we are looking at them from the outside in,
the reality is sometimes very different.

There may be aspects of your work that are exactly how you
imagined before you started your legal career, some that are not as
good as you hoped and others that are just about on the money.

Providing your ambitions, interests and skills can be fulfilled in the

law then you can rest assured you are probably doing the right
career for you.

What Next?

If you’re still looking for advice on finding the right job, creating a
great CV or tips on job interview, career-advice.monster.co.uk
contains everything you ever wanted to know, and more!

If you’re ready to apply for jobs, upload you CV to Monster and

then take a look through the latest roles.

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 Breaking into the Legal Industry

They say that the grass isn’t greener on the other side, but
often it is. Our series of eBooks brings together expert advice
to help you secure the job you want and build a successful
career.

For more career tools, visit career-advice.monster.co.uk.