law conversion years

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 1

There is no easy route into the legal profession. No cunning plan, and no amount of blaggery or stuntery will land you a pupillage or a training contract.

Study the degree subject which most interests you. Study at the most competitive university which offers you a place.

University rankings don't matter. They are made up by lazy journalists, and are ignored by law firms and sets of chambers. The rankings are of interest only to ill-informed students, their ill-informed parents, and lazy journalists.

The quality of your higher education does matter. In general, more resources mean better education. That's why it's worth trying for big name universities.

Only study law if the subject interests you. Do not try to become a lawyer because you like the idea of money or think that "Suits" is real life. Think about what you want to do and why you want to do it.

Good luck!

Reply 2

chalks

Original post

by Levihour

Technically can't you apply to a niche course with lower entry requirements and then do a conversion year for law? That could mean you end up doing law at a highly ranked university with lower A level grades....or do you still need to meet the A level requirements of law LLB too? Was just thinking if I could be cheeky and do that as a safe option lol, but then again my ps is all law.

The institution where you might do a conversion course won't "whitewash" your previous academic record.

Whilst law firms increasingly recruit "blind", they will still see your A-level grades and the Uni course you studied pre-conversion. Average A-level grades (by which I mean "average" in the context of applicants to law firms) will stand-out and set you back. Equally, studying a less academically rigorous course at undergrad level may be an issue.

As Stiffy notes: think hard now about what you want to do, and why. Be honest with yourself about your capability and potential to be successful in terms of your academic abilities, resilience and determination. Do your research about what a law degree entails, the various aspects of different potential careers in the legal profession and the levels of associated competition. Then undertake a realistic assessment of whether that is right for you. There are too many students sleep-walking into courses at average institutions, incurring huge debts and then being horribly disappointed when they can't find a way into the profession.

Reply 3

Stiffy Byng

Original post

by chalks

The institution where you might do a conversion course won't "whitewash" your previous academic record.
Whilst law firms increasingly recruit "blind", they will still see your A-level grades and the Uni course you studied pre-conversion. Average A-level grades (by which I mean "average" in the context of applicants to law firms) will stand-out and set you back. Equally, studying a less academically rigorous course at undergrad level may be an issue.
As Stiffy notes: think hard now about what you want to do, and why. Be honest with yourself about your capability and potential to be successful in terms of your academic abilities, resilience and determination. Do your research about what a law degree entails, the various aspects of different potential careers in the legal profession and the levels of associated competition. Then undertake a realistic assessment of whether that is right for you. There are too many students sleep-walking into courses at average institutions, incurring huge debts and then being horribly disappointed when they can't find a way into the profession.

This, times eleventy bazillion. Many law schools are just rackets. Too many punters are handing over the readies to no good purpose. There are few pupillages, not all that many more training contracts, and most aspirant lawyers won't get anywhere near the career which they may hope for. I'm sorry, but it's tough out there and sugaring the pill won't help.