Just a question

So basically I wanna become a lawyer. But I guess the confidence is still not there if I’ll be successful. Anyways I’m gonna be in second year soon (law undergrad). And my first year results were all 70 or near percent. Anyways I still feel like I wasted the first year or doesn’t really gained any valuable knowledge. So what my question is for example I do 2 more years of law and then SQE exam. And I go in corporate law or family etc. but how would I have the knowledge tho??? Like 3 years of law is not enough to be a expert in that field. I just feel like after my uni. I still won’t have that all enough knowledge to be expert in a specific law. So like let’s say I wanna do criminal law… but in the 3 years of law of school I don’t think I would have learnt everything about criminal law and when I find a job how would I be good at it? Or what do I need to do? Or is it just reading so there is not any point actually knowing all the law.

Reply 1

LegalTom

20

I think the undergrad level of law education is to introduce you to the different parts of the law in England and Wales (I presume you’re in the UK). You’re not expected to be an expert in an area of law at this point, rather, you’re expected to have a preliminary understanding of the principles of the law, have a thorough understanding of legal doctrines and research, and demystify the legal profession.

To have a practical understanding of the law, most students while taking the SQE take up training contracts, which exposes them to various areas of a particular part of the law (commercial law, criminal law etc). Some firms will gladly sponsor your SQE and your training contract to give you practical training on what it means to be a lawyer, and this, alongside your SQE and other requirements, qualify you to become a lawyer.

So, once you get to you second year, you can apply to vacation schemes or training contracts and this will secure your opportunity for a practical exposure into law. The law is vast and it’s virtually impossible to know it all even after years of experience, I think.

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 2

ToGodly

OP

21

Original post by LegalTom

I think the undergrad level of law education is to introduce you to the different parts of the law in England and Wales (I presume you’re in the UK). You’re not expected to be an expert in an area of law at this point, rather, you’re expected to have a preliminary understanding of the principles of the law, have a thorough understanding of legal doctrines and research, and demystify the legal profession.

To have a practical understanding of the law, most students while taking the SQE take up training contracts, which exposes them to various areas of a particular part of the law (commercial law, criminal law etc). Some firms will gladly sponsor your SQE and your training contract to give you practical training on what it means to be a lawyer, and this, alongside your SQE and other requirements, qualify you to become a lawyer.

So, once you get to you second year, you can apply to vacation schemes or training contracts and this will secure your opportunity for a practical exposure into law. The law is vast and it’s virtually impossible to know it all even after years of experience, I think.

Thanks for the reply, so you are saying I will learn the “law” through working in firms… so basically I will never stop learning. Like through cases I’ll be introduced to different parts, this I will still be faced with something new which I won’t have much knowledge about. And idk how expert are you in law but when you say I can apply vacation schemes in second year… I feel like I still won’t know enough or be good. Idk why I get this feeling like even I’ll say I got decent marks in first year 70 percent but if rn I’m put into a firm as a trainee I don’t feel I know anything so what much will change in second year lol

Reply 3

LegalTom

20

Original post by ToGodly

Thanks for the reply, so you are saying I will learn the “law” through working in firms… so basically I will never stop learning. Like through cases I’ll be introduced to different parts, this I will still be faced with something new which I won’t have much knowledge about. And idk how expert are you in law but when you say I can apply vacation schemes in second year… I feel like I still won’t know enough or be good. Idk why I get this feeling like even I’ll say I got decent marks in first year 70 percent but if rn I’m put into a firm as a trainee I don’t feel I know anything so what much will change in second year lol

It’s not about being good enough, it’s more about being committed to learning the law and having really excellent legal and soft skills. Depending on the kind of firm that you apply to, you’ll learn about a sector of the law. For example, commercial law firms offer several seats to legal trainees, which exposes them to the areas of a legal sector and you can then choose a seat to specialise in. Just like a medical student can’t be expected to know everything about medicine, a law student isn’t expected to know everything about law.

There is more to law that just knowing the law. You have to be commercially aware - if you’re interested in commercial law; have good research skills to enable you find legal solutions to legal issues, have excellent communication skills in order to perfect the act of persuasion during negotiations, and have excellent drafting/writing skills for scouring through contracts and other documents.

You can start with vacation schemes, and with that grade of 70%, you should be able to get into magic circle law firms - if commercial law is your desired interest. Or, criminal, property, family law. The vacation scheme will introduce you to practical law and you can ask these burning questions to expert associates and partners, who have first hand insights and experiences with the law.

(edited 9 months ago)

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