Is it too late for me to get legal work experience?

I'm a non-law undergrad going into my year abroad (which might be going ahead still)/final year of uni and I've come to realise that I may still want to be a lawyer, but I don't have any legal work experience and I just really want to figure out if becoming a lawyer is what I want and whether it's achievable.

Is it too late to apply for stuff in my final year? I remember hearing that you have to apply for Vac Schemes in second year if you're non-law so what are my options currently?

Are there any books which are recommended reading?

Reply 1

Tinders

Not necessarily. You'd need to look at and research individual firms, but some may accept a third-year student onto their vac scheme.

Reply 2

james_law2.0

It is very do-able!

Just be very careful how much you take on and do as you do not want it to be detrimental to your third year results. I would advise trying to secure in holidays etc, when you are not at university.

Reply 3

apolaroidofus

This might interest you - https://www.brightnetwork.co.uk/internship-experience-uk/law

Reply 4

Lucas Scott

Are vac schemes the only necessary law-related work experience required to secure training contracts? I didn't do any law related experience in year 10 or in Sixth Form so I'm wondering if I'll be at a disadvantage because of that.

Reply 5

Lucas Scott

Alright thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

Is prior knowledge required when applying for internships? I've seen an internship which I may apply for but there's no clear requirement of prior background knowledge of commercial law, so would researching general information about that specific area of law be fine? Or are internship students usually expected to have a bunch of background knowledge on the subject?

Reply 6

Lucas Scott

Oh okay, that is very useful info thank you! Do you think this would apply to this online internship one of the posters linked from Internship Experience UK (https://www.brightnetwork.co.uk/internship-experience-uk/law)?

Reply 7

Lucas Scott

oops, my bad. Here's the link again. https://www.brightnetwork.co.uk/internship-experience-uk/law

Reply 8

Lucas Scott

Found this timetable, seems like much pre-knowledge won't be necessary but it's best to be safe? https://brightnetwork.egnyte.com/dl/SBYq2CYzrA/

Reply 9

Lucas Scott

Okay great! I'm assuming I shouldn't be required to have any legal knowledge on commercial law for it? It looks quite interesting and not too daunting.