Re: Autumn 2013 | Page 59

want to I can’t quite put my finger on what it is about the legal profession that continues to fascinate so many people, but fascinated they are. There is still a perception that a career in law is a prestigious achievement, something respectable and glamorous, which offers its participants enormous riches and perks to match. Your parents will be proud of you. They think their friends with non-lawyer children are jealous (unless their friend has a child who is a doctor…everyone wants their child to be a doctor). This old-fashioned perception is not reflected in everyday life in the legal industry. Clients aren’t bowled over by your brilliant academic mind anymore. They have a lot more information at their fingertips (thanks Google…) and are highly experienced service users. They are decisive and intelligent. They are challenging and they want value for money. And, of course, it isn’t just clients who have changed. It is your colleagues. More and more graduates are leaving university with fantastic grades and tons of work experience. The competition is huge. Everyone wants to be a lawyer – including you. So, what does a wannabe lawyer need to know? You have a lot of competition. There are over 125,000 practising solicitors in England and Wales and around 15,000 barristers. There are around 30,000 students graduating with a law degree a year, approximately 1,600 people completing the BPTC a year, with under 500 pupillages available, and nearly 8,000 students completing the LPC with under 5,500 training contracts registered by firms. Competition for jobs is fierce. Getting on to vocational courses isn’t that difficult (they want your course fees) but getting a job at the end of it all is. Grades matter. Standards are high. You will need to take rejection well. The legal industry isn’t glamorous. Films like Legally Blonde and Erin Brockovich have a lot to answer for. You won’t be able to take your dog into the Court or wear a pink suit. And if you had watched an accurate interpretation of the work that goes into taking a company to court for contaminating a town’s drinking water with a chemical that increases cases of cancer in the town’s inhabitants – you would have seen a woman sat at a desk completing lots and lots of paperwork, for years and years at a time. The amount of time that a solicitor spends in Court (if any) is miniscule in comparison to the amount of time they spend preparing for it. Essentially, a lot of legal work involves sitting at a desk or shuffling/reading/writing/moving paper – even for a barrister. Financial remuneration is vastly different depending on what type of lawyer you are. Only a fraction of lawyers earn mega bucks. I assumed that becoming a lawyer meant I would be rolling in money, living in a nice big house, driving a Porsche and wearing a nice big Rolex. This might be true for some people, but for the majority, particularly in the earlier stages of your career, this simply isn’t the case. If having vast amounts of money drives you, you may achieve this goal more easily in a sales role. You will need to factor in any debts you may have to rack up paying for tuition fees. Student debt is a considerable worry now that tuition fees have increased. You will need to consider whether the job that you are going to be able to obtain at the end of your studies is worth the financial investment. On top of your degree, you will need to complete the LPC or BPTC to become a solicitor or barrister and financial help So you be a lawyer is scarce. Think of your studies as an investment into a business. Alan Sugar wouldn’t pump thousands of pounds into a business that leaves him in lots of debt without any gain. You need to have more than just great grades. Academics are, of course, important, but if you are a legal genius but you can’t shake hands with a client without your knees knocking in fear – you won’t get very far. Confidence, social skills, ability to manage and interact with people are all skills that are incredibly important. Commercial awareness is a phrase that is constantly used by law firms when listing desirable skills. You need to understand the business requirements of your clients and your own firm. Your advice is only going to be effective if you understand the context you are giving it in. Experience of working in alternative industries will prove invaluable. Start small, think big. I’m a big believer in the idea that gaining some experience is better than having nothing be