The main roles of a solicitor are to provide legal advice, problem solve, represent clients and act as a go between for your client. Many solicitors spend a large amount of time in meetings with their clients as well as doing extensive research into their cases and writing legal documents. To become a qualified solicitor takes a lot of training as law is a very popular and competitive area, planning ahead is essential for a career in law.
There is a very set route into becoming a solicitor and a person is required to complete all steps before they officially become a solicitor. If your degree is not in law you will need to complete a law conversion course in order to progress. Those with law degrees as well as those with law conversion degrees also need to go on to complete the Legal Practice Course in which you are taught about how to apply the law to real life situations. When you have completed the course you will then need to complete training at a firm of solicitors, here you will be known as a trainee solicitor. When training is complete you will be rewarded with the title of solicitor.
Obtaining a permanent job at a legal firm can be difficult due to the sheer amount of candidates entering the field of law. It is a good idea to thoroughly research your options in order to know when to apply for each stage.
Training contracts are provided almost always by law firms however other legal organisations do offer them sometimes. Firms of solicitors vary in size and specialist subjects which means the working environment will be different too.
If becoming a solicitor is your career goal then you will need to make sure that you secure a training place early on, places are usually limited and very competitive. It is also a good idea to get as much work experience as possible.
In order to find the best law recruitment opportunities it is best to start looking as soon as possible.
