career

[beggarman]

Am I too old to take up a Law degree? I'm 37 but am now in a position to start studying. Would any firm take me on in six years time??

[DJerba]

Hey I finished my law degree last year and although I wouldn't say you to were to old to start (we had 2 women who were 50 doing the degree!) there are probably a few things you want to keep in mind before you committ to a seriously challenging degree!...here goes

To qualify as a solicitor you need to do your law degree -3years & lots �, books can be anything up to �50 and can go out of date from one year to the next i.e. theres not much point buying last years books cheaper cos the info is most likely to be incorrect. To get in with a good law firm and lets face it if you dont its pointless having a career in law as it is only the big firms that pay the big bucks. Smaller firms pay the same as any other average job. So whilst studying you will be expected to do lots of outside activities i.e. moots (debating) which can be held anywhere in the coutry, client interview competitions and court visits etc. The degree itself is really tough and challenging but I enjoyed it because of that, you will push your self to the extreme and exams are usually 4 hours long, considering you do 4 modules a year that 16 hours of exams at the start of the summer.

[DJerba]

CONTINUED...

Once you have started your degree, usually in the second year you will need to apply to chambers (for a barrister) or a firm/practice( for a solicitor) in order to get a place with them so that they will fund you on either an LPC (legal Practice Course) or BVC (bar Vocational Course) these places are few and far between and usually filled by red brick candidates the courses cost �10,000 approx without living/traveling/material costs, so if you dont manage to get a place with a firm you will have to fund it yourself. Once you have completed the LPC/BVC you then need to do a 2 year training contract, again if you haven't already got into a firm at this stage it can be tough and almost impossible to get a place as there will be fresh Grads coming out of uni and remember the law changes and the industyr loves 'fresh meat'!! If you've funded yourself through the LPC and dont have a training contract you wont be a qualified sol or barr you could qualify as a paralegal whihc is now seen as a career in itself. It's a really really tough market place and is mainly about who you know not what grades you've got. Also if you dont qualify within 7 years of finishing your degree you're degree will be considered 'stale' i.e. you will be to out of touch with the law to qualify as a sol or barrister.

I hope that hasn't put to much of a downer on things but I figured you'd rather know the truth from the start. Good luck in whatever you choose to do, if you're going to do a degree it may as well be a good one which Law certainly is there is definitely a stigma attached to it so even if you dont go into law, as I have chosen not to do, it is still a well respected qualification.

Good luck