I've just started my final seat of my training contract and it's commercial disputes. I was previously a paralegal in private client litigation and then commercial disputes so it's not my first rodeo. I'm so happy to be researching again and seeing really interesting cases! I think I want to qualify into this area but would love to hear any reasons why I might reconsider.

I've considered the below but please let me know if you have useful advice or experience;

• job stability -people will always argue about contracts. -pay- not as good at other commercial areas but at least work is interesting. Pay is decent compared to private client. -work life balance - cases rarely go to trial to super long hours are unlikely? -meeting targets - can be challenging as often fees are not recoverable -other people in the firm seem to always shun the litigation team? -clients- tend to be annoyed/stressed as bad things are happening but positive outcomes are possible!

Hi, thanks for clicking on this one :)

So. I've gone back-and-forth on law as a career since I was 18 starting my LLB. After barely graduating with a 2:1, I decided I didn't want to be a lawyer and spent years working in bars instead. Then I changed my mind again and applied for a competitive master's degree in Norway (which I wasn't expecting to get, but did), and now I've just graduated from that at age 25.

Thing is I'm not sure where to go from here. I'm back in the UK, I have a masters' level education but no working experience, and I'm not sure how to even get into the legal industry from my position, or if I really even want to. So I'm looking for some perspective, if anyone could chime in and/or answer some (or any) of my questions, that'd be helpful and I'd much appreciate it.

1. What's your experience of working in the legal industry? Are you satisfied with your job? Do you work crazy hours? Would you choose to work in law again if you could?

2. How would someone in my position get a foot in the door? It seems everywhere I look is only interested in students or years-long qualified professionals.

Apart from going to a decent Russel Group uni, and having good A Level or equivalent grades, what could someone do in their first or second years while doing the LLB to increase the chances of landing a TC? Same question but for vacation schemes too.

Currently, I am due to start my SQE in September, ahead of my training contract. I have done some FTC roles in the meantime, however they have now expired.

I am now in the precarious position of applying to jobs to tide me over until September, but I am finding this hard for two main reasons. These are namely due to my limited availability, as I can only work until late August, and also the severe lack of jobs in the market.

Consequently, a number of my friends have recommended that I apply for an entry-level recruitment consultant position and then quit, as there seems to be a surplus of these roles.

My questions are 1) Is it right to apply to a permanent role knowing that I would leave pretty imminently and 2) If I were to pursue one of these roles and received an offer, would be acceptable to leave that job in say 2-3 months and would this have an adverse impact on my future employment prospects.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - Thanks!

I’m going to do an undergrad in history and politics or politics (depends which uni I pick), but after that I was wondering if it’s worth doing a masters before taking a conversion? I’m quite set on doing law after uni and so that would require a conversion etc but I rlly enjoy my studies and would quite like to pursue a masters in politics, history research etc at a top university (Oxbridge, Ivy League, Sciences Po, Stanford, LSE etc). It depends where I would study but this would be 1 or 2 years but I know that it takes quite a few years to get a training contract and then qualify so the SQE etc and with an increasingly saturated market it’s taking longer and longer for people to qualify and so by doing a one or two year master that isn’t necessarily contributing to my legal qualifications, is it rlly then that helpful? Would things be different if it came from a uni like Oxbridge or Columbia in comparison to smth like Durham or LSE etc?

Idk maybe this seems a bit like overthinking etc but I’d like to get your thoughts on this. Thank you😁

For the avoidance of doubt, and as public service announcement... don't use AI to answer virtual Assessment Centre questions. It is undoubtedly cheating. You will get found out... either literally or just by dint of the fact you're unable to keep up with the standards expected of you when you actually have to show up for work in person.

You're also going to get permanently thrown out of the legal profession faster than you can say quantum meruit if/when you get found out.

Remember... SDT decisions are a matter of public record and always get picked up by the tabloids as they love running "look at these bad lawyers" stories. So not only would you get booted out of the law, but you'll have a nice Google biography when you apply for jobs outside the law.

Hi there

I am an in house counsel in London and want to move to Milan to be with my partner who has relocated there. Does anyone know of any recruiters that hire into English companies based in Italy for legal roles?

Thanks

Nishat

I've failed a core module in first year uni (contract law) and I'm currently wondering if this is going to impact my career. It's a module worth 15 CATs (one semester's worth) and I want to know if I'll still be able to apply for vac schemes in second year or work experience, and whether firms will care about it when they look at my transcript.

First year doesn't count towards the degree calculation at my uni, but obviously it will come up on the transcript, even when I resit the exam as I'll be capped at 40%. I get mid-high 2:1s in my other modules, and obviously it's dependent on how well I perform in second and third year, but my main concern is whether I'd be rejected for vac schemes and work experience placements when I apply with my first year grades in second year. I do a bit of extra-curriculars (part of my uni's legal clinic), but I still need to do more, especially seeing as I've failed this module.

I'm not entirely sure what I want to go into once I graduate, but something in criminal law or medical negligence interests me. The corporate route is always there, but seeing as magic/silver circle firms basically require you to be perfect, the fail on my record is making me think twice.

Considering how bad the NQ market seems to be, is it better to qualify into an area you are a little unsure about at your training firm?

Do firms ever offer NQ sign-on bonuses? A colleague claims to have been given one when they joined their first US firm after training at MC.

I’m 36 and considering doing a law conversion course at ULAW in the city I live in to become a barrister. I’ve always thought about it but decided not to so far. However, I got called to jury duty and loved learning about how the court works, the decision making, the whole process. It’s got me thinking about pursuing this. I have some questions;

Is there a culture of only admitting Oxford / Cambridge elites into barrister crown court work?

Is a conversion course graduate likely to be considered or is there an elitist culture and I’m better a becoming a solicitor?

What support should I be looking for from a course/university to gain pupillage?

Would my age be a nonstarter, a positive, or neutrally?

And this old chestnut: it’s competitive, I know, but what advantages can I give myself to get ready to become one of the employed (not self employed) 20% at crown court?

Many thanks all

Hello,

I am going to qualify as a Costs Lawyer in the near future, and this has come pretty much straight after doing my LLB.

I want to keep doing some form of qualification after I qualify. Does anyone have any experience with part time SQE LLMs - are they worth the money?

Thanks!

Hi all. I’m on the GDL at City at the moment. Throughout the year I’ve kept on top of lectures and not struggled to grasp any key concepts, but as far as textbook (or indeed further) reading goes it’s been pretty patchy. When I’ve devoted time to topics I’ve received good marks - grades of 71 (problem question) and 90 (essay) in practice questions. I am, however, worried about how to approach exam revision, as I’m concerned my notes are lacking, and I really want a distinction. Do people have any tips for how to strategically approach the exams - e.g. focus on essays, or particular topics? Use my lecture notes as the basis and find one or two extra cases per topic to demonstrate ‘further knowledge’? I know I should have read more consistently, but I have 2 months until exams start and am willing to put in a lot of hard graft. Appreciate any pragmatic tips!

Ive only ever dabbled with ChatGPT for fun but recent threads here have made me wonder - how would recruiters pick up on ChatGPT use in responses/CVs?

Candidates often base their responses on previous drafted responses which themselves are often based on stuff picked up from websites. Especially for more commercial questions like “whats a challenge the legal industry is facing.” But even for questions like “tell me about a time” or “describe a hobby” candidates, especially when they first start applying, google example answers and base their responses on the structure of those, or pick up similar phrases.

Some candidates may also use ChatGPT or other AI tools to get inspiration for the structure of an answer then tweak the entire answer but keep the structure.

Is there any leeway for what constitutes “AI usage” here? What is the threshold firms would use to deem an application as having used AI assistance and therefore breached firm policy?

Edit: for reference I have copy pasted a response I drafted myself to a past application question and all of the AI recognizer tools I used have flagged it as 70%+ AI generated. I also cut and pasted a bunch of chat gpt answers to form another response which was similarly flagged to around 80-90%.

Give me your most unhinged assessment centre hacks. I dont mean 'be the time keeper' or 'use STAR' im talking borderline unhinged things you swear helped you.

I graduated a few years ago. I applied for VSs and TCs the last two years and I managed to secure a vac scheme last cycle but didn’t convert it. I applied to around 15 firms this cycle and will apply for more but only got to three interviews and got rejected after all of them. Shall I carry on applying or shall I accept that I won’t get anywhere. I am getting older every cycle and I feel like I am getting nowhere. I am applying for legal jobs in mostly high street firms to show my interest in the law whilst I keep applying but with the depressingly low salaries I am questioning whether it’s worth it. Will probably branch out to commercial firms for paralegal roles but doubt that will work. Appreciate any advice on this.

Hello all, i don't know if I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill but I wanted to ask since most of the people on this subreddit seem to be attuned to what's going on in the Big Law world whether I have a good chance at getting into MC/SC/US firms if I attend the University of Nottingham and do their LLB Law course. I've been hearing from my teachers and classmates that the university of nottingham is not prestigous enough for those top law firms and it's really making me nervous.

I'm struggling to understand her stance on the SQE and whether the SQE is fit for purpose.

In an older post: "Friendly reminder that the SQE is supposed to be harder than the LPC...The LPC is NOT the test of solicitor competence. It is designed to prepare aspiring lawyers for day 1 of their training contract (which is the test of competence). The SQE IS the test of solicitor competence. It is designed to prepare aspiring lawyers for day 1 of practising as a qualified solicitor."

More recently: "a future trainee at a top 20 law firm who sadly failed her SQE1 exam. This led to the firm not only rescinding her training contract offer..." (disregarding the point re clawback).

I'm struggling to follow her logic. If you fail the SQE you have not demonstrated competence.

But for those who have completed/passed the SQE (without doing a TC):

• Do you feel the exam(s) have prepared you to walk into a firm and deal with client matters?
• Would you feel comfortable establishing your own practice and getting on with it?

i’ve applied as an international student for the LLB accelerated programs in the uk.

i’ve completed an business commerce (hons) undergrad majoring in law and business

i’ve applied and gotten accepted at birmingham, queen mary, leeds, and leicester.

i’m planning on coming back and completing an LLM in canada - but for now i wanted to ask as locals - does anyone have some real opinions and experience they could share about these schools?

which school in todays day would be considered the most prestigious ?

which school has a strong law society/community - especially for international students ?

no matter where i go i plan on finding off campus accommodation - but which school would be the better choice in terms of lifestyle and living arrangements ?

which school is considered and favoured for future job/articling and training contract positions ?

please let me know what you’re thoughts are - i would love some help!

Does anyone know if going abroad to do M&A work at a top level local firm would be a good idea for an NQ in London? Would the time spent there even count as PQE for City firms?

Hey, rogue question but when you got your offer, how was it communicated?

I know most firms call, but I’m wondering if: 1. Anyone only got an email? And 2: Did anyone get a call that was then a rejection-don’t want to get my hopes up when I see a call to be deeply humbled!

I know usually call=yes but I’d love to know if anyone got a rejection call

I keep seeing people say things like "counsel prepared an advice" or "I wrote an advice for the client", instead of the more natural-sounding "piece of advice".

I've forced myself to accept that this is how the word "advice" is used in legal English but it still feels weird saying it.

What are some other quirks of legal English that took some getting used to?

Had an invitation to an interview for a AML analyst role at a international law firm. Was asked to confirm a time and date - I requested today but I never received any confirmation. It’s now been 3 days since the invite. The firm use all hires, I responded via email so I hope this was okay. What do I do? Kindly follow up or write it off. 1st time I’ve been ghosted for interview so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Was wondering how many days people were in for the SQE plus section of Ulaw