The Student Room Group

Career Change to Become a Solicitor with a 2.2

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some realistic advice to help me with expectation management for becoming a solicitor.

My background:
I graduated from a Russell Group University in 2018 with a 2.2 in Pure Maths. I was only 1% off a 2.1 as I suffered from depression during my second year which I did report to my tutor at the time but I don't think anything formal was ever documented as mitigating circumstances.
Since then, I have been working full time as a Business Analyst (BA) in the tech industry. I have gained multiple promotions and I am currently working in a senior position. I have been able to gain some relevant legal experience during my work as a BA such as reviewing contracts, IPs, risk, GDPR etc.

I have always wanted to be a commercial/corporate solicitor but my limiting self-beliefs have always stopped me from applying. That is until the beginning of this year when I finally took the step to apply for a law conversion course which I have been accepted on and am due to start in September. (I am planning on doing weekly pro bono work and shadowing some solicitors before then to gain some more legal experience.)

I know I will be able to complete the qualifications to become a solicitor but my concern now is if I will be able to secure a Training Contract with a 2.2. What are my chances? Should I even bother with this career change or stick with what I know and stay in tech?

Thanks!
Some firms have an AAB A level and 2/1 basic requirement to apply but not all. If you are funding the law conversion with a graduate masters loan you might want to change to the law conversion with SQE1 masters course to obtain the funding to cover your SQE 1 exam course too by the way. You should also apply for training contracts as firms recruit years ahead and you might find one to pay for your law courses and train you.
Reply 2
Original post by AmeHeart5
Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some realistic advice to help me with expectation management for becoming a solicitor.

My background:
I graduated from a Russell Group University in 2018 with a 2.2 in Pure Maths. I was only 1% off a 2.1 as I suffered from depression during my second year which I did report to my tutor at the time but I don't think anything formal was ever documented as mitigating circumstances.
Since then, I have been working full time as a Business Analyst (BA) in the tech industry. I have gained multiple promotions and I am currently working in a senior position. I have been able to gain some relevant legal experience during my work as a BA such as reviewing contracts, IPs, risk, GDPR etc.

I have always wanted to be a commercial/corporate solicitor but my limiting self-beliefs have always stopped me from applying. That is until the beginning of this year when I finally took the step to apply for a law conversion course which I have been accepted on and am due to start in September. (I am planning on doing weekly pro bono work and shadowing some solicitors before then to gain some more legal experience.)

I know I will be able to complete the qualifications to become a solicitor but my concern now is if I will be able to secure a Training Contract with a 2.2. What are my chances? Should I even bother with this career change or stick with what I know and stay in tech?

Thanks!
Hey!

There are firms that do not require a 2:1 for your undergraduate degree so I would recommend applying for those. Although a lot of firms look for good academics at undergrad level, there are also firms who value work experience and transferrable skills. To be honest, it will be difficult to break into the top firms - it is difficult even for students who graduated with a 2:1 or 1st but like I said maybe focus on those firms that do not have a minimum grade requirement.

In addition, I would also work on application writing and researching law firms to find out which ones you would like to work for. It would help to attend events with law firms and talk to trainees and senior solicitors about their journeys and law firm culture. Use these conversations and details when writing your application to show the firm you made an effort to connect with them and find out about what they do. If you are not sure what law firms you are interested in, I could recommend Commercial Law Academy's "law firms profiles and research course", which includes the profiles of 90+ law firms.
One suggestion is to do the OU law conversation graduate LLB and work hard to get the 2:1 / 1st. I'm not sure if it's much more than a GDL but even if law doesn't work out you'd have a valuable qualification that might open doors to other avenues where a strict 2:1+ is required. Could keep working alongside too

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