There are a lot of different things that might attract people to a career in law. You may want to spend your working life making a positive difference to the lives of others, or simply want a vocation that’s both challenging and well-paid. Like any career, there are going to be various obstacles and other deciding factors ahead of you. Here’s a post that will help you determine if a career in law is really for you.
The Challenges
The biggest challenge you’re going to have to overcome is the high academic standards you’ll have to meet. If you have mainly As and A* at GCSE, As and Bs in your A-levels, and a minimum of a 2:1 degree, then you’ll have little to worry about in terms of making the bar. The poorer your grades are at all levels of education, the harder it will become to break into a career in law. Almost every legal professional you ask will have an very strong academic record, and this will be a major deciding factor in your progress. Even if you can scrape into a law school with a less impressive degree, the exams you’ll have to pass there will be extremely demanding. Make sure your academic skills are up to scratch before taking any big steps.
Personal Skills
While being good in academic pursuits will certainly help you get your foot in the door when pursuing a career in law, this is only the start of your journey. You also need to be able to relate to a wide range of people naturally and confidently, understanding their needs and opinions, showing empathy, and making complex legal jargon more accessible. This is especially true if you want to go into a niche that will have you dealing with a lot of high-stress situations, like DWI lawyer, Grant Scheiner, or child custody and divorce lawyers such as Holmes Diggs Eames and Sadler. One universal skill that will always help you in a legal career is an ability to process information quickly, and understand the practical implications of what you’ve received. It’s also very important to be able to keep a clear head in any high-stress situations. It’s not unusual for a lawyer to work for twelve hours straight or even longer when the case demands it!
What to do After Uni
Even if you have all these skills in buckets, it’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to start a career in law. Once you have a law degree or some other degree, along with a one-year conversion course, the next big step on the ladder is to secure a training contract with a law firm. There are always going to be more candidates for these than contracts, so it’s important to get all the counsel you can, and take steps to maximise your chances of securing a place. Things like signing up to vacation placement schemes and other forms of work experience can greatly increase your chances of pinning down a training contract.
Do you fancy a career in law? Let us know how you are getting on
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