Currently an accountant with no legal experience,vacation scheme or training contract

You would be applying for a training contract, alongside applying for the GDL at law school. You have to do one year GDL, then one year LPC, then two years training contract before you qualify.

If you can get a training contract, that's great. They'll probably value your existing finance background. However you may find that firms question whether you truly know what practising law is really all about, so make sure you have an answer to that question.

You do realise you'll probably make more money by carrying on with accountancy than by switching to law, don't you?

THanks, so its possible to get a training contract at a top city firm without any sort of legal work experience?

What sort of thing can I do to prepare? Read law text books,? or go to court to watch or something? How would I be able to convince them i know what its about.


Also I know I would make way more money in my current career, it would probably take me 4/5 years at least to make as much as I do now. Which is why I am only targeting top city firms, otherwise not much point since it might take me 10 years to earn as much as I do

It's unlikely that you'll get a TC without legal work experience. So far you have no tangible reason as to why you want to make a radical career change, unless you've done any legal work experience. You could apply for vacation schemes now because if you are successful they will pay for your GDL. The best way to convince them though is to get work experience, not sure how you would do that working full time though!

[e] The ideal is to obtain a TC before doing the GDL I suppose, but many law students often complete the LPC before obtaining a TC. So for someone to obtain a TC without any legal work experience at all isn't very realistic. You would be in a better position to apply for TCs if you put yourself through the GDL and do vac schemes next summer, then applying for TCs on your LPC. But that does of course mean funding both the GDL and LPC yourself.

hmmm, that doesn't sound very promising, so basically any career changer into law is screwed?

surely you need to start somewhere for work experience so it should be ok to apply for a vacation scheme without work experience, and maybe get an TC offer out of it?

Not screwed, but it will be difficult.

You do need to start somewhere yes, but you do realise the people going on vac schemes right now will be second year law undergrads? Most of whom have done work experience and legal volunteering to get those placements. The competition for vac schemes is high. That's why I said about legal work experience because I don't think it's very likely you'll get a vac scheme without any. Vac schemes are often done in conjunction with training contract applications, so you'd go to a vac scheme for a week or two, do some assessments and if they like you they'll offer you a TC. But especially for such a drastic career change you would definitely need some legal work experience under your belt before applying, otherwise they will question your commitment to a legal career.

Very unlikely that you'll get a TC without any law work experience. They look for commitment to a legal career and it'd be extremely difficult to prove that without any work experience at all, tbh. It's like waking up one day and saying 'Hmm I think I'll train to be a doctor now' without knowing what the career entails, why you want to do it other than on a whim, etc. Especially for the City firms!

ok thanks for your answers, but I thought the vac scheme is legal work experience? what other types of legal experience can you get that would be valuable?

Ok so I am currently a qualified accountant, and have worked for a large company for over 4 years. However I've never had any sort of legal work experience, but I have done a lot of research and decided that city law is for me.


I know its extremely competitive, so how much chance would I have of applying for a TC right now, or should i only be applying for vacation schemes/ insight days now.

I dont really know what the correct way to go about this is for non uni student, does my accountancy work experience mean i have more chance to get a place without law experience.

TIA

I agree with what Blind Monk and Key123 and to a degree with Arrowhead... It is very possible to get a TC without any legal experience. However you would not be the standard candidate, therefore you will not have the normal "profile" like the majority of the TC candidates, however you will have to tow the line and engage in the proscribed process, this may cause some issues, but none that can't be overcome.

Presently, I believe legal firms are seeking finance/accountancy candidates who have a legal qualification and acumen. Assuming you have a 2.1 and the prerequisite AAB or above, to get you past the auto-filter of many city firms, I suspect many will find your background intriguing and depending how you interview/present yourself, you will stand as good a chance as any other non-law grad at securing a TC.

I also agree that you should probably apply for a VS in order to ascertain if the legal field is right for you... from there you can then apply for the GDL/LPC and most likely get it paid for it you are lucky enough to get a TC...
In any event ... Good luck with whatever you choose... as you know, the legal field is highly competitive, but I wouldn't think it is anymore competitive that what you have experienced in accounting or your friends have in finance... as always you have to make yourself standout from the other suitably qualified candidates...

thanks this is very helpful, from the advice of most people it seems sensible to try to get on a vacation scheme if possible, however how do I know which vacation schemes would are likely to lead directly to a TC offer, are there certain companies more likely to go this route?

I don't want to do a vacation scheme next summer and then have to wait another year to apply for a training contract.

thanks this is very helpful, from the advice of most people it seems sensible to try to get on a vacation scheme if possible, however how do I know which vacation schemes would are likely to lead directly to a TC offer, are there certain companies more likely to go this route?

I don't want to do a vacation scheme next summer and then have to wait another year to apply for a training contract.

Just a small and anally retentive point- when we are at law fairs and students start referring to our law firm as a 'company', we do tend to switch off a little.

That kind of commercial detail is quite important in our line of work.

Just a small and anally retentive point- when we are at law fairs and students start referring to our law firm as a 'company', we do tend to switch off a little.

That kind of commercial detail is quite important in our line of work.

I'd echo what Blind Monk says about vac schemes. Often they are the best (and realistically only) way of landing a TC. However, you should apply for firms you want to work for and worry about vac scheme conversions after that.


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