Magic Circle Law - Oxbridge or bust?

Haha sorry if I wasn't clear enough, but I do know Barristers don't go into law firms. Tbf, anyone who doesn't know that probably shouldn't be going on to study law :P I only used the term Magic Circle as the top four barristers chambers can be collectively known as Magic Circle Chambers. In the future I'll be more clearer, and you can be less anal

Well I've been doing a bit of research on what it takes to get into the Magic Circle Law firms and chambers, and one thing that's come to my attention is on the CV of EVERY barrister...Oxford or Cambridge.

The question I'm putting to TSR to debate on is, can anyone break this stigma and get into a chamber like One Essex Court with a non-Oxbridge degree, or is this dream a step too far?

I think what matters as much/if not more is if you have a first, or not. Just want to draw your attention to "The Barristers", which was on tv last year, basically, there was a girl in search of a pupillage, with a 2:1 from Oxford who seriously struggled...

Hi, sorry I think I've asked you before, but how well do you need to perform in your first year to be able to switch to law? How does transferring degrees work at Cambridge?

(At the moment I want to study arch and anth, because I love anthropology, but I'm interested in law as a career).

Or how about my mate; first from Oxford, did the BVC, didn't get a pupillage.

Oxbridge is the best, the candidates are there because they beat everyone else to it.

Most MC/SC firms have a 50% Oxbridge, 50% others approach.

'more clearer'...

Good luck getting into one of them mate. I'm sure McDonalds will keep your job open for you so you've always got a back up.

haha shot myself in the foot there didn't I sorry about that pal, didn't mean to sound like a ****, just a bit wound up today. They best keep a job open for me!!! God knows what will happen if Maccy D's reject me :P

Hi, sorry I think I've asked you before, but how well do you need to perform in your first year to be able to switch to law? How does transferring degrees work at Cambridge?

(At the moment I want to study arch and anth, because I love anthropology, but I'm interested in law as a career).

WestWing stated that its considerably worse than doing law from the start... I'm not so sure, I know 2 people that did it who got on just fine. I don't think it makes all that much difference except you will do 5 subjects in your first year of law instead of 4.

I read an article about this recently.

The magic circle (along with equivalent English-based silver circle) firms were being pressed to 'cast their nets wider than oxbridge' - so reluctantly they seem to have increased their intake from the top London colleges but not much 'wider' than that.

As for the bar, from what I've heard the recent reforms have led to a different culture developing where it is easier for others to break into the career. This is mostly down to the break-down of the old boys' networks which precluded non-Etonian/Oxbridgian barristers from being able to establish themselves.

I don't admit to knowing much about the inside workings of the bar though - this is just what I've heard and may well be nothing more than conjecture so don't hold me to it. But it seems like progress is far harder to make in the employing private sector of solicitors' firms as they are really not answerable to the government or external groups calling for equality in the same way that the bar is. And after a recession which saw most firms' revenue drop, I doubt they are in the mood for risky reforms of their orthodox employing strategies.

If you have a CV like people getting pupillage at that kind of chambers do, then you are in for a shot - we are talking top of your year, written a book, saved a third world country etc. etc., then you are in for a shot.

Op: it is true that nearly all the tenants/pupils at the very top chambers come from Oxbridge. The top chambers are ludicrously competitive, much much much more so than the top solicitors' firms. Take a look at their CVs and you will see that they are absolutely outstanding in all respects. People who are exceptionally driven and intelligent (i.e. much more so than your average Oxbridge or other top uni undergrad) choose to go to Oxbridge: at the risk of making generalisations, there isn't very much difference between the average Oxbridgeonian and the average UCLer, but you tend to find that nearly all the super brainboxes are at Oxbridge. I'm trying to say that its a result of individual applicants rather than systemic bias. If you have a CV like people getting pupillage at that kind of chambers do, then you are in for a shot - we are talking top of your year, written a book, saved a third world country etc. etc., then you are in for a shot.

This is a quote from Nigel Boardman, a partner at Slaughter and May and widely regarded as one of the top corporate lawyers in the City:

"We want the best people to apply to us and to genuinely give them as much help as they need to become good at their job. I wouldn't want the attitude to come over that we only take Etonians, Oxbridge graduates, firsts. None of that is true. I got a 2:1 at Bristol in history. Steve Edge, our head of tax, got a 2:2 at Exeter. It's about ability, it's not about pedigree."

Yup, this is exactly right. There are a lot of people from UCL, LSE, Durham, Bristol, Nottingham etc...that would do perfectly well at Oxbridge. It is fair to say people who go to the "Magic Circle" Chambers are ridiculous brain boxes whom most of us can't hope to compete with. Predictably enough, most people like this will come out of Oxbridge. However, for most of us mere mortals, the best we can hope for is to try our hardest to get a first and then hope for a bit of luck at a chambers lower down the pecking order.

In terms of the actual Magic Circle (that is firms like Clifford Chance, A and O and Linklaters) it is ABSOLUTE RUBBISH to say that you need to go to Oxbridge to get in there. One only needs to go to the profiles of trainees at their sites to see this. Not to mention that as a Durham student I know of several people that are going to Magic Circle firms next year. I think if you go to a good university with a solid 2.1 you will have a shot. It's your application and interview here that really count.

It's pretty straightforward as long as you get a 2.i, though if you do 2-year law you can pretty much say goodbye to any social life you may have, it's considerably worse than doing law from the start.

Under the Tripos system, you can do a Part I in one subject and a Part II in another, provided you have the permission of the subject you want to change into, which you usually can get if you get a 2:1. For some subjects, the Part I is two years, for others, the Part II is two years (the law Part II is 1 year but you need to do it for two anyway, confusing I know). In short, if Anth has a 1 year Part I, you can do 1 year of Anth and two years of law. If its a 2 year Part I, you'll need to do two years of each.

WestWing stated that its considerably worse than doing law from the start... I'm not so sure, I know 2 people that did it who got on just fine. I don't think it makes all that much difference except you will do 5 subjects in your first year of law instead of 4.