Is it worth getting into law at 28?

Hi,

I am 28 years old currently based in London. I somehow managed to scrap a first in Archaeology at UCL, and for the past few years have been working in very middling civil service jobs.

I graduated in 2020 during the pandemic which was a very difficult time for everyone especially those seeking employment.

I’ve been interested in working in law for a while. I have recently become a qualified junior paralegal and have applied for hundreds of roles and to no avail. I do know the demand for paralegals isn’t that high currently.

I am thinking of just self funding a law conversion or doing a second degree.

Am I too old to have a career in law?

In short, no. There are plenty of applicants for training contracts and pupillages around your age and older who go on to have successful legal careers. Your age isn't a barrier at all.

Reply 2

SimCharles

OP

2

Original post by Crazy Jamie

In short, no. There are plenty of applicants for training contracts and pupillages around your age and older who go on to have successful legal careers. Your age isn't a barrier at all.

Thanks for the reply 🙂

I am a tad confused. Is a NALP paralegal diploma at level 3 not enough to even get interviews? My lecturer said it was but all the jobs I’ve applied for all seem to strongly imply or outright state they want experienced paralegals. My experience is wholly contained within the classroom. I did some work experience at a law firm nearly ten ages ago..

Original post by SimCharles

Thanks for the reply 🙂

I am a tad confused. Is a NALP paralegal diploma at level 3 not enough to even get interviews? My lecturer said it was but all the jobs I’ve applied for all seem to strongly imply or outright state they want experienced paralegals. My experience is wholly contained within the classroom. I did some work experience at a law firm nearly ten ages ago..

I'm afraid it's been quite some time since I was a paralegal or had a handle on how that market is going, but even 15 years ago the paralegal market was getting saturated with LPC and BPTC (or BVC then) graduates. At that time it caused a shift because a paralegal was traditionally, by definition, someone who was not qualified, but suddenly there were a lot of candidates who were more qualified that paralegals ever used to be. So the tiebreaker at that point started to shift to experience. As I say, I don't know how the market is now, but if there's less demand, I suspect it would be difficult to get interviews without experience. I don't have any knowledge of the diploma at all, so don't know how that would do competing against candidates who have other postgraduate qualifications.

Of course the one thing you do have is a previous career. Even with 'middling' civil service jobs you do have experience of the workplace than a lot of candidates you will be competing against. If I were you I would be figuring out how to stress the transferable skills that you have gained from the time that you have worked.

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 4

lawofducks123

12

Original post by SimCharles

Hi,

I am 28 years old currently based in London. I somehow managed to scrap a first in Archaeology at UCL, and for the past few years have been working in very middling civil service jobs.

I graduated in 2020 during the pandemic which was a very difficult time for everyone especially those seeking employment.

I’ve been interested in working in law for a while. I have recently become a qualified junior paralegal and have applied for hundreds of roles and to no avail. I do know the demand for paralegals isn’t that high currently.

I am thinking of just self funding a law conversion or doing a second degree.

Am I too old to have a career in law?

Hi! This is a list for firms which would fund law conversion degrees, if that is something you are wanting to do: https://www.lawcareers.net/Solicitors/GDL/Law-school-sponsorship

Original post by SimCharles

Hi,

I am 28 years old currently based in London. I somehow managed to scrap a first in Archaeology at UCL, and for the past few years have been working in very middling civil service jobs.

I graduated in 2020 during the pandemic which was a very difficult time for everyone especially those seeking employment.

I’ve been interested in working in law for a while. I have recently become a qualified junior paralegal and have applied for hundreds of roles and to no avail. I do know the demand for paralegals isn’t that high currently.

I am thinking of just self funding a law conversion or doing a second degree.

Am I too old to have a career in law?

Hi @SimCharles,

You are certainly not too old to have a career in law!

Lots of people convert to law and so the age that people train and join the career are really wide ranging. Of course, some people go straight from undergrad but there really is no common way or age in which people start their legal career. I have done a law conversion and am now doing the BPC to qualify as a barrister and I would say a 1/3 of both of these courses have been students over the age of 30 with another 1/3 being over the age of 24 so you really wouldn't be much older than many of the students.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Sophie 🙂

Reply 6

AdB09

6

Original post by SimCharles

Hi,

I am 28 years old currently based in London. I somehow managed to scrap a first in Archaeology at UCL, and for the past few years have been working in very middling civil service jobs.

I graduated in 2020 during the pandemic which was a very difficult time for everyone especially those seeking employment.

I’ve been interested in working in law for a while. I have recently become a qualified junior paralegal and have applied for hundreds of roles and to no avail. I do know the demand for paralegals isn’t that high currently.

I am thinking of just self funding a law conversion or doing a second degree.

Am I too old to have a career in law?

Hey Sim Charles!

I think you should start from the point that the average age that solicitors qualify at is 28. If you do a law conversion course and start a TC in 2-3 years, then you will be 34, which is not too old and still leaves you with a lot left for a legal career. It will be your decision if law is something that you want to pursue as a long-term career but if you are not committed on that, then I don't know if I would recommend it.

If you do decide to switch careers, I would advise to start applying to law firms and try to secure a TC. You have plenty of experience and transferrable skills from your civil service career that could be useful for a career in law. When you submit applications I would try to highlight those. Since you are a career switcher make sure you have a good answer as to why you are attracted to commercial law. I used Commercial Law Academy's course "writing successful applications", which helped me to express my intentions for pursuing a career in the City and talking about my experiences.

Is it worth getting into law at 28?

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