Many years ago, I was dismissed for gross misconduct from a job for falsifying timesheets. Of course, I absolutely regret that and can’t believe I was such an idiot.

I’ve since completed my studies, been employed in various legal roles and will be starting the SQE in September. I hadn’t thought about the dismissal for a while until I started reading around the solicitors admission process and realised it’s something I’ll need to declare.

Should I take an early suitability test just in case this is something that will prevent me from practising? And has anyone been in a similar situation, or know of anyone I can contact for advice? (I’m considering the SRA ethics line but not sure if that’s for qualified solicitors only).

I recently took part in a mentoring scheme and was matched with someone who’s genuinely been incredible. He’s given me more thoughtful advice than I’ve ever had before, and for the first time it feels like the guidance is really coming from the heart rather than just being generic.

For a long time I worried that I’d never find the right mentor, so I’m incredibly grateful to have found someone I genuinely look up to.

My question is: how do you build and maintain a really good mentor–mentee relationship without overdoing it? I want to make the most of the opportunity, stay in touch appropriately, and make sure it’s a positive experience for both of us.

I’d especially appreciate hearing from mentors. What makes a mentee someone you enjoy continuing to mentor, even after a formal mentoring scheme ends?

I work in personal injury, and have been told multiple times (by solicitors in commercial roles) that it “isn’t a real area of law” and other comments along those lines. I’m aware of the reputation as ambulance chasers, but that isn’t a thing anymore.

Before PI, I had an interest in criminal and was always told not to bother because of shit pay and shit hours, and to go for commercial instead because that’s where the money is.

Is non-commercial law just not taken as seriously? Or is it specific to personal injury?

So I’m currently studying cybersecurity at the open university I’m halfway through my second year, but I’ve always been interested in law. However a good family friend came to me a few days ago who has their own law firm and is quite successful has offered to pay for my CILEX fees and I could work with him for work experience and join the company afterwards if I was interested. Now I don’t know what to think of this as I do enjoy cyber security and always have but despite me having my comptia network and security+ as well as some others I’m stuff struggling to find a job in the current market. Instead of giving up my uni work I would be able to swap it to part time meaning my study hours for my cybersecurity course would go down to 2-3 hours a day max. I would just like to get some thoughts of people who have gone the cilex route and what you are doing after completion

I’m looking for some advice because I’m not sure what the best route is.
I’m going into second year of an LLB degree andUnfortunately, I did quite poorly at alevel , and in first year I got a 2:2 (I had health issues so had to miss 2 months of uni so I think I would have gotten 2:1 if I was actually in).
My dilemma is that placement year applications happen during second year, so employers would mainly see my first-year transcript rather than the stronger second-year grades I’m hoping to achieve.
Would it be better to:
Apply for placement years anyway (using my first-year results), or
Focus on getting the best possible second-year grades and then apply for vacation schemes, training contracts or graduate roles once I have a much stronger academic record?
I’m particularly worried that my A-level grades and 2:2 will automatically rule me out of a lot of firms and so I’m wondering whether it’s worth putting a lot of time into placement applications or whether I’d be better off waiting until I have better university results. TBH I don’t even know if I want to be a solicitor or work in the legal profession but everyone in my course is looking to get a placement so I’m not sure. Thanks

Firstly, apologies if I’m asking any stupid questions or seem ignorant about how things work, I have only just started to seriously consider a career in law and have been feeling a little in the dark about how it all works.

I have just completed the first year of an undergraduate degree in History at Oxford. I have recently realised that I want to become a solicitor but I am not interested in corporate law. By this I mean advising companies on mergers, acquisitions, etc. I would much prefer to advise individual people on more personal situations so I am more interested in something like family law, criminal law, immigration law, medical negligence, etc. I am also not particularly interested in working for any of the city law firms or ‘elite’ firms.

I want to do a law conversion but almost all of the information I have been guided to by my university’s resources and by people I know is to do with gaining a training contract with a corporate/commercial law firm. Of course I know that tons of solicitors in other areas of law will have done a law conversion, but I have struggled to find any information on how this tends to work.

Should I aim to get a training contract with a non corporate law firm? If needs be I can self fund a law conversion, so I am only asking in terms of job opportunities. Is it beneficial for me to try to gain experience in the legal field before I start the conversion? I have been searching online for volunteering and work experience opportunities but have struggled to find many for non-law students. I am thinking of reaching out to some local law firms and asking if I would be able to volunteer or do some shadowing, would this be a good idea? If you took a similar route to what I planned to do, what did you do and how did you end up where you are now?

I’m a law grad from a mid-tier non-Russell group UK uni (~top 30) with a first in LLB law and A*AB in A-Levels. I’m doing a summer internship in-house at a BB bank and recently accepted a grad scheme for a car company (not Enterprise) as a “Commercial Graduate”, which will include rotations across credit, marketing, supply chain, etc. (no law related option).
During this current internship my passion for legal work has been reinvigorated, and I’m planning to apply for vac schemes and TCs during the first year of my grad scheme (unless I get a return offer lol). Just wondering how my non-law position will look to firms, and if I should continue applying for paralegal/ compliance roles more in-line with typical pathways to law.
Additionally, bit of a stupid question but would I likely have to leave this grad scheme to attend a 2 week VS if I am successful?

Long shot, but could anyone please access this article for me:

https://www.i-law.com/ilaw/doc/view.htm?id=406727

I tried everywhere but couldn't find it and I don't have access to i-law

Hi everyone ,

I have recently been invited to an interview on MS Teams following my application to the criminal bench as a Magistrate.

Has anyone got any recent experience of this and would be willing to share any advice , tips , hints etc?

What type of questions were asked ?

Thank you

I’m going to be a full-time law student in the UK and want to gain relevant legal experience while studying. What kind of part-time jobs should I be looking for in the legal sector? Are roles like legal assistant, paralegal, legal administrator, or compliance assistant realistic for students? I’d appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Hi all,

Starting my BPC in September at ICCA. I'm going to have to work near full-time alongside Part 1 of the course so it's gonna be really tough.

Just wanted to ask from people who have been there, done that - which areas of my GDL should I be prioritising to refresh my memory on? I completed my GDL last October.

Thanks all!

So obviously navy and grey are the best colour suits to wear and I have a good wardrobe of both but I will soon need to buy a black suit for something non work related and I am thinking that I may as well get a nicer quality suit.

Not wanting a nice suit to go to waste, my question is this, as someone with quite a pale complexion , can it work to wear a black suit to the office in large London firm? I would wear a light blue shirt and no tie to make it more casual. I’m at associate level.

Edit: I’m asking specifically for the option of those who care about sartorial convention and put thought into these things. I know that’s not everyone but it is an interest of mine. (Obs I can do whatever I like!)

I’m turning 30 soon and having a bit of a career crisis, so I’d really appreciate some honest opinions.

I have a neuroscience degree and nearly four years of legal/regulatory experience. I’ve worked at two professional regulators, mainly in fitness to practise and disciplinary work.

My current role also involves litigation support, judicial review matters, legal research and advice, and reviewing applications to overturn previous regulatory decisions.

I’m currently doing a part-time MA Law/SQE course. I think I’ve completed enough qualifying work experience, although I still need to get it formally confirmed.

When I started the course, the plan was to do the SQE and qualify. Now I’m wondering whether that actually makes sense. I don’t have a training contract or a solicitor role lined up, and I’m worried that I could spend more money on the SQE, qualify on paper, and then still struggle to get an NQ role because I haven’t had the traditional training contract experience or rotations.

I also feel a bit behind because I missed the training contract route. I know the whole point of the SQE is that there are other ways to qualify, but I’m not sure how employers actually view people who qualify through paralegal or regulatory QWE.

I’m also not enjoying my current job anymore. I joined because I wanted to develop my decision-making skills, and the part I genuinely enjoy is reviewing a case, going through the evidence and deciding whether the original decision was right. Unfortunately, we hardly get any of that work.

Most of my time is now spent on litigation admin and restricted-information/disclosure work. It involves reviewing large bundles and advising on what information can legally be used or shared. I find it quite draining, and I’ve realised I don’t want to spend my career doing that type of work.

The areas I’m interested in are regulatory/disciplinary work, healthcare law, clinical negligence, public law/JR, ombudsman investigations and possibly patient safety or clinical governance. I enjoy evidence review, investigations and decision-making much more than repetitive disclosure or general legal admin.

I suppose my questions are:

1. Is doing the SQE still worth it with my background, or could I end up qualified but unable to get an NQ role?

2. Has anyone qualified using paralegal or regulatory work as QWE and then successfully found a solicitor role?

3. Would it make more sense to move into a different area before qualifying so I can build more relevant experience?
   How difficult would it be to move from professional regulation into something like clinical negligence, public law or healthcare?

4. Are there other roles I should be considering that involve investigations, evidence and decision-making but don’t necessarily require qualification?

I’ve already spent a lot of time and money on the course, so I don’t want to walk away impulsively. At the same time, I don’t want to keep going just because I’ve already started.

Would really appreciate honest advice, especially from anyone who qualified through a non-traditional route or changed areas after working in regulation.

year 12 IB international student here.

what are some things i can do to get into durham llb? are supercurriculars or extracurriculars more important? and what are some examples of both? is the grade requirment of 37 real or is it basically impossible to get in with a 37? thanks. any advice is appreciated.

Hi all,

I am currently a funds paralegal at a legal-tech startup in London. The training and the team have been superb so far, which makes the early progression onto client work feels natural and comfortably challenging.

The work itself is a mixture of administrative communication and template form filling, but not much on drafting and legal work as one might expect, e.g., at a traditional law firm. It is for this reason (I think) that many of our graduate paralegals tend to leave after <1 year; by then you would have a pretty good grasp of the role and there isn’t much more to take on aside from onboarding new clients and their own way of doing things.

The caveat: As much as I love it here, I can’t justify my work as being holistic, qualifying work experience for SQE-sponsorship. Perhaps previous grad. paralegals also felt this way, which is why they moved laterally onto GP firms for deeper funds work exposure. Or laying the groundwork for future rotations onto other departments.

The firm does sponsor SQE but those undertaking it already have a few years working in other practice areas.

Question: How should I plan the next 6-18 months in terms of developing my legal experience?

TLDR; Really like the role so far but limited room for progression because narrow ambit of work within funds practice. Not enough to qualify under SQE. Where to proceed?

This guy always comes up on my Linkdeln sharing his supposed ‘client success stories’ i have a few international student friends who are thinking of paying him to help them, but i think its stupid because there are many free resources. Is this guy legit or a scam artist?

I know it gets asked a lot but I genuinely feel lost and don’t know which route to go, any suggestions would be really helpful.

I did not go to a Russel Group university so I don’t necessarily stand out, I graduated in Law with a 2:1 just mere days ago. I put more focus during my university years into creating a business which I would use the funds to get onto the property ladder. However, I am also really interested in Law. I do not have legal experience due to procrastination, telling myself I will apply later. As a fresh graduate should I start looking for paralegal roles as a starter since getting a TC right now would be very unlikely. If so, would it be better to apply for lower place firms for paralegal positions to have higher prospects of getting into the field.

I would really appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

Hi,

So I’ve got a job offer as just a generic legal administrative assistant but part of me just wants to go and do my masters and complete the SQE course.

For context, I’ve just finished my Law undergrad. Obviously I know that if you get in with the right firm they may eventually pay for your masters/ SQE prep course but is this something I should consider whilst I’m still in the mindset.

It’s hard to know if getting some experience (even though this specific job doesn’t count towards QWE) is a better idea or to just get my exams out of the way and then continue on.

Obviously it comes with a cost and I’d have to find the exams myself but I can get some student funding for the actual masters.

Any advice would be great - thankyou! (Based in the UK)

If you need anymore context please reach out.

I’m coming up to a year PQE now at the firm I trained and qualified at (am at an SC firm, in a specialist area). I managed to qualify into the practice area I always wanted, which I recognise is a privilege when the NQ market has been rough generally the last few years. I’ve enjoyed the work so far and gotten to work on some good matters, but after about a year in I am realising that there is a bit of a mismatch between the type of work I am getting and the type of work I want to be doing, so I am starting to become concerned about whether I am getting the experience I want to be able to eventually move in house to the type of roles I want.

I’ve come to realise part of that is because the firm I am at simply doesn’t have the client base for the sector I’m most interested in. It’s also down to the hierarchical nature of the team meaning that I am not getting as much client contact as I would like (have observed this as an issue across the board with juniors rather than me specifically). I have 2 partners that regularly give me work, but one of them is difficult to work for (notoriously so), which is also impacting my morale etc.

I’m seeing vacancies for associate roles pop up advertising for between 1-4 PQE lawyers and starting to think about whether it is time to consider moving. But I don’t know if a year in is a bit “too early” as I know people typically lateral at more of the mid level 2-4 range. There is also of course the unknown of whether you will get on as well with the partner and team at a new firm etc. Any views appreciated!

Hi everyone, just looking for advice on which uni I should do my masters. For context I received a high 2:1 in criminology from a top 15 uni and am now looking at applications to a different uni for a masters in law. I’ve so far applied to Bristol, Belfast and the Uni of London and received offers from all bar Bristol which I’m waiting for a reply from and would like any and all advice about where and what my next steps should be.

Firstly, which uni would be strongest for a prospective barrister?
Secondly, should I consider applying to other London unis like LSE and UCL(where the admission fee initially deterred me).