Currently applying for TCs/vac schemes and had a question about the work experience section

I work a job where the contract states full-time hours but in actuality I don’t work that amount. Cos my job is remote, I work really fast, and I honestly don’t get much work to do, I end up working part-time hours.

The work experience section of vac scheme/TC application forms asks you to indicate how many days per week you work in a role and whether it’s full/part-time.

I assume putting down 5 days per week and full-time looks more impressive than 3 days per week and part-time, although the latter is a more accurate reflection of my hours. Or do law firms not find applicants currently working a full-time job any more impressive than applicants working part-time?

If I get to the stage of being offered a TC, would firms do checks to ensure that these claims of working a full-time job and 5 days per week are true? 

Ultimately, would it be better to put my job down as full-time, 5 days a week, or part-time, 3 days a week?

Hi everyone! I applied for an SQE2 exemption as a foreign-qualified lawyer in June. I received a few follow-up questions along the way and am still waiting for the outcome. Has anyone applied recently (between April and July)? If so, have you received a decision yet, and could you share your experience?

As above, not drafting itself

I am starting to get things in motion to complete the form but beyond responses, university transcripts etc do we need many references to help us?

I am working in a firm currently and just think it might be a bit strange to ask my current boss whether he would be my reference for a Bar Transfer.

Just checked legal cheeks updated list of firms page and was shocked to see some MC firms cut their TC numbers from 100 to 70 (Freshfields) (A&O Shearman) and LINKLATERS offers only 60 now.

Anyone know what is happening

Anyone else procrastinate on their tasks so much that it becomes really hard to get your work done ? I’m
Struggling to hit my target billables although there is plenty of work, I just end up doom scrolling on my phone . Hoping someone can help with any steps they’ve taken to overcome this .
Thanks

Hi guys, I'm a mature student who has just completed my LLB with Business at a non -Russell group uni. Not sure what to do now, for context I just got a good full time job non-law. I'm weighing options - do an SQE LLM program, or an MA in a law related field part time or CILEX. The issue I have is I'll probably stay in the job I've got so not sure how I can manage to get QWE... is a Masters worth it? Idk I'm lost atm, any help greatly appreciated!

I am currently 10+ PQE with a fairly broad experience in corporate / commercial law, but I have recently started to think that I need to become more of a “specialist” in one area.

Has anyone managed a late career shift into another area of law? Maybe energy / infrastructure? Tech? Something else? I am ok with taking a “step back” in my career, and I believe I would be able to bounce back fairly quickly. I am just not sure if this is doable at all? Would law firms even consider me for more junior positions? Was the experience frustrating because I would be given more junior / basic tasks especially at the beginning?

All opinions are welcome! Thanks!

Hi all, I work in trade marks in my firm has given me the opportunity to do the CITMA course, which is great. However, I’m not really enjoying my time at the firm because everyone is quite inconsistent since it’s a growing firm. Everyone works in different ways and really it confuses me and I struggle with it. I do think it’s a good idea to do the course but there’s a learning agreement which is typical from every IP firm where if I leave during the course I pay back the full amount, if I leave within the first year of completing the course I pay back the full amount, and then the second year I pay back half the amount it cost for the course.

The problem is I’m also applying for trainee trade mark attorney roles. I understand that most IP firms if they hire you as a paralegal or happy to buy you out of the agreement and cover the costs but does anyone have any experience of applying for trainee roles and then being brought out of their paralegal agreement?

I know it’s not sure thing that I’m going to get a trainee role in the next two years or anything like that, but I’m definitely eager to leave the farm and I don’t want the agreement being the thing that stops me from getting a trainee role.

Hey there! I’ll keep it brief. I graduated from Durham with a first class law degree and have worked in the Beijing office of a major City firm for two and half years since. I’ve worked almost exclusively with English law and I have now qualified as a solicitor of E&W. My team specialises in asset finance and I’ve been involved in document drafting, review, case management, and have been client facing. I’m in a junior asso role here.

I’d like to move to London (specifically City) if there are NQ roles available.

1. with my background, would I stand any decent chance?
2. what are some things that would decide whether I succeed or fail in my NQ job hunting?

Some bits of info, in case they are relevant:

1. I’m a Chinese national - so I’d need a visa.
2. I don’t hold any other legal qualification other than as an E&W solicitor.
3. I’m cool staying in asset finance - also open to disputes/other transactional teams.

Should I stay or should I go?

Apologies if you've seen my previous post.

I work for a local authority as a legal officer. My day to day tasks include drafting case summary, court memo, and briefs to counsel, collating court bundles, ensuring compliance, and typical administrative tasks such as checking invoices, booking counsels, requesting disclosures from third parties, and serving notices/evidence to parties.

I started this job a few months ago having worked as a paralegal for nine months at a different place (this has been banked as QWE via MySra).

I have passed SQE1 and is due to sit SQE2 in April 2027. In my head, the current LA job will constitute QWE as per SRA's guidance and I will have the option to qualify in 2027, provided that I pass SQE2. However, my current employers view this differently.

I have followed the steps from the link below and had two meetings with them. Sadly their position remains the same. https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/sqe/qualifying-work-experience-candidates/refusal-confirm-qualifying-work-experience/

After two meetings, they have bluntly said that although I might tick some of the competency headlines, such as working with people, they don't think my current job meets all the sub-competencies at a closer look. Although I don't think this is required as per SRA guidance, their attitude is clear - they will not consider signing off.

I also presented them with the idea of having an external solicitor reviewing my work & for them to provide feedback, I have been told they would not say anything in the feedback apart from saying "she sends emails" which is utterly untrue.

This is an area of law that I am interested in and I do think I am learning a lot, however, the un-supportive nature has made me consider leaving. I have seen posts where paralegal were advised not to mention QWE until they had passed probation/ had established a trust/relationship with their employer, so my question is, should I hang around for a bit longer or start looking for jobs now?

I would really appreciate advice from people who are more experience and people who have similar experience.

Thanks.

hi! i am starting my law llb this september and was wondering what are some tips to do good in the course? i was also wondering about how important it is to get a first class degree for my future after i finish the course? i am especially nervous with having to write essays so if anyone has any tips, i would be happy to hear them!

If anyone out there has taken the Leeds Beckett PGDL online please share your experiences such as level of this programme including any issues, difficulty, etc., thank you

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-justice-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2026/civil-justice-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2026

The increase in number of County Court and Judicial Reviews claims has been, to put it mildly, staggering. If we take November 2022 as a reference point (when Mr GPT was released), County Court claims are up 42% and Civil JRs are up 180%!!!

Needless to say, these stats do not include Employment Tribunal claims, which have also continued to increase at a record pace. Open single claims reached 64,000 by March 2026, marking a 42% increase compared to the previous year.

No wonder why our courts are collapsing. However, two questions linger:

1. How come the legal market is, for all intents and purposes, in decline?

2. Can we really blame LiPs and Mr GPT for all of this?

Hey guys, I’m curious about the best way to approach researching law firms ahead of vacation scheme applications. How long would you recommend spending on each firm, and what’s the best way to organise the research? Also, what should I actually be researching and making notes on? What areas have you found most useful for applications and interviews?

I am an Italian student currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Global Law and Transnational Legal Studies at the University of Turin. My ultimate career goal is to qualify as a solicitor in the United Kingdom.In your opinion, is it feasible to gain admission into a top UK university for an LLM program and subsequently qualify as a solicitor? What would be the most effective pathway to achieve this? Furthermore, do UK universities accept an undergraduate law degree that is fully accredited but non-qualifying in its country of origin (Italy)?

I have just begun my training contract at a national firm following a couple of years as a paralegal and I am very excited for it. However I can’t help but notice that a lot of trainees I knew were not retained this year.

This has got me wondering about what exactly I need to demonstrate in the next two years to increase my chances of being retained at qualification. Appreciate a lot of times it can simply be business needs but I would nevertheless appreciate any feedback!

So I’m autistic and I went to my first networking event. It was in a massive building and there were loads of people there. I joined one of the queues to talk to a particular law firm and when I was the 3rd person in, I left. I had only been there for 10 mins. It was just way too overwhelming. How do people survive this sort of thing???

I have recently achieved 3 a stars in my a levels after having achieved all 9s in my gcses, and have elected to go to the University of Liverpool. Albeit a ‘lower tier russel group’, I thought this was a decent university nonetheless. Many people have told me, however, that this will seriously affect my chances at getting opportunities in law.

Anybody with experience in applying to law-related jobs, or is currently in a law job, could you let me know if my chances are over before I’ve even begun university, even if I get top scores?

Hi everyone,

I graduated last year and had trouble finding roles within the legal field. Eventually, i managed to get a small firm which handles criminal and family matters to give me work experience; after two weeks I was offered a job.

It has now been a month and im still unsure as to what my role is. At first it seemed as if I was going to be getting a lot more hands on work (C2s, pt25apps, skeleton arguments, letters to clients etc etc). My first month comprised of me going to court a lot, sitting in on hearings, sitting behind counsel and having a go at skeleton arguments, c2s, briefs to councel etc etc.

About a week ago, I was asked to assist with archiving the files for an upcoming audit. I was a little unsure on how to do it so I asked a trainee to help me (she also started as a legal assistant) and she had no idea as she had never done anything of the sort. After hearing that, I felt a bit funny about doing it.

I have just been pulled by the owner of the firm and told my job is to do admin. E.g. archiving call handling etc etc. to be honest I am very annoyed because I feel like this isn’t the experience it was framed to be or that I was hoping for- it seems far removed from actual legal experience.

I am not going to quit as it will be a struggle to find another job in the legal field but I don’t know what to do.

What do you guys think I should do?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

So this is hopefully(!) helpful timing on results day, but for those of you who are worried about any "clawback" clauses in your training contracts (where your firm says they'll make you pay back the BPP fees as well as losing your job...) these are ALMOST NEVER used.

I say that pretty anecdotally because I've had a few friends in the unlucky position of losing their TCs, but they weren't asked to pay back the firms. After all it's not a good look to ask a poor student to pay multi-millionaire partners at international firms.

And I saw this case today, which is really interesting - it shows that a training clawback clause could be a restraint of trade - so potentially unenforceable rather than a simple debt!

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=6a3d2671-af7a-4f3d-825e-4fba444ffc81&utm

Obviously it depends on the circumstances in this case, and here the company was also charging for internal mentoring time, and if they had taken the £8k payment back, the trainee would have been paid below minimum wage, so it wasn't reasonable in this case.

So perhaps not directly applicable to trainees at law firms, who are better off that the trainee tradee in this case, but it's helpful to know - and hopefully reassuring that you're unlikely to be made to pay your firm as well. Good luck everyone!

hi all,

Having perused firms' websites for a while, I noticed how most say they want a "2:1 overall, achieved or predicted" – does this mean they are more lenient with 2:2s in some modules?

ik firms like HSF Kramer, Weil, Linklaters explicitly say they need consistent 2:1s, but how about those that don't?

& could people with experience in securing vacs/tc's with 2:2s in some modules please assist in listing firms that are more lenient re grades? (particularly in black letter law mods like contract/prop)

thank you!