subject: Becoming A Solicitor [print this page] Becoming A Solicitor Becoming A Solicitor
The legal profession has always been a popular and competitive one, with thousands of students enrolling on to a Law course at university each year. Becoming a solicitor can be a challenging career path but the opportunities to progress and expand your knowledge are never ending.
There are two main routes that potential solicitors go down before they are qualified.
The first is to take a degree in Law at university. A Law degree comprises of a three year course. The best universities to attend to study law are Cambridge, London School of Economics, Oxford and Nottingham.
The second route to go down is to take a conversion course after you have a degree in a different subject. The idea behind this was to encourage more students with diverse educational backgrounds to enter the profession without having to take another three year course. The conversion course is called the Common Professional Examination. It consists of around three quarters of a law degree and takes around a year to study in intense education format.
Once you have your Law degree or have obtained your CPE, the next step to take a Legal Practice Course. The LPC is much more vocational that previous exams and courses related to law and can be studied for full or part time. It takes around a year to complete if studied for full-time.
A would-be solicitor is then very close to becoming fully qualified. They must now enrol on an apprenticeship course with a firm that is allowed to take on potential solicitors. The apprenticeships usually last two years.
It is possible to become a solicitor without having been to university at all. To do this you need to contact the Institute of Legal Executives and become a member. After this you would need to complete some hands-on practical experience and then take the Legal Practice Course.
Once qualified, you will always be able to learn more as the law adapts to an ever changing society. You can opt to join a large firm of solicitors where you will most likely have to start at the bottom and work your way up but at the same time have many mentors around you; or join a smaller firm where there might be more hands on experience.
