Law

[sexy_bef69]

how hard is it to get into the law profession? I am really interested and feel i will gain the required qualifications when it comes to it. However, maths is not my strongest subject but its not my worst. I am pretty good at it. will i be able to do law? do i need to start early? thanks so much

[morg_monster]

How old are you?  This would help to answer your question!  But, don't worry you don't need to be good at maths to do Law.  Try http://www.lcan.org.uk for some up to date advice.  As far as I remember when I was getting careers advice a few years ago in 6th form, it was best to keep a good balance of subjects and in general you just needed to show a decent ability.  Think it also makes a difference if you want to be a solicitor, or aiming for a barrister, or whatever.  Also you don't need to do a law degree, you can do any degree and then a law conversion course after that.

[Octavius]

Yes age is important, to know where you are at.  I am really not sure why you think maths is important, although if you are at GCSE level then you will need it.  Also, you don't say what you want to do in law - there are many roles including legal secretaries, court ushers, solicitors etc.  The web link below has a career leaflet.

 http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/becomingasolicitor/careerinlaw.law

[sexy_bef69]

im 15 :)

[Elfin]

To give you some idea of whether you would enjoy studying law, you could do A/S Law (next year?) as part of your A level course.

[Octavius]

Yes I recommend that you experience the subject before taking the career (if thats possible - maybe work placement).  I used to have visions of training to be a solicitor, but when I found that it took 7 years to get qualified I tried something else.  The degree I took had modules where I had to learn the law, statutes and cases etc, and in the end I actually found it to be as dull as dishwater and being a solicitor wouldn't have suited me at all.  My career does involve  contract law, but not in too much detail.  Good luck but most importantly keep your options open, just in case you decide you want to do something else. 

[Octavius]

Didn't mean to tell you 3 times, dunno what went on there!

[Miss Zippy]

The legal profession isn�t especially difficult to get into if you have good academic qualifications (not necessarily in law as you can do conversion courses), but it is expensive to qualify as a solicitor or barrister. Due to limits on places on the Bar Vocational Course, it can be more difficult to pursue a career as a barrister than a solicitor.  For either profession though, you can expect post-degree qualifications (Legal Practice Course in the case of solicitors and BVC for barristers) to cost you a minimum of �8k. If you are lucky enough to secure a training contract as a solicitor though with a big City firm, they will often fund the cost of the LPC. Octavius� idea of obtaining work experience in a local solicitors� firm is a good one.  If you are able to build up a working relationship with a reputable firm while you are studying, you stand a good chance of being offered a training contract on completion of the LPC� firms only offer a limited number of training contracts each year and it is very competitive  I used to be a trainee solicitor and whilst I loved studying law I found practising law to be disappointing and not the challenge I had hoped. However, there are numerous other career options open to law graduates so your legal qualifications would not be wasted if you decided against a career as a lawyer.  P.s. your weakness is maths isn't a particular problem, but a lawyer's work does involve some maths so don't give up on this subject. For instance, if you are working on a personal injury claim you may need to calculate a person's future loss of earnings claim using actuarial tables. 

[El D]

yup I did a conversion year and found it the most mind blowingly dull experience. Its not even that intellectually challeneging, a lot of it is form processing and very routine stuff. on top of that you have the 'culture' that law firms like to develop (licking ass) and the expectation of long hours.

 

the suggestion of work experience is a good one.

[supastasia]

Being 15, it's a good idea to start thinking about your future career! What GCSE's are you taking? Don't worry bout startin early, they will teach you all you need to learn at university, though it is hard to get into a university these days to study law! see ya!!!!!!!1