1. My Warwick Journey It’s all about YOU And how you realise your potential

2. What does the Careers Service do? Job

3. We offer One to one appointments for guidance Students only! Job search appointments and drop in at University House learning grid 11.00-3.00pm daily. Skills sessions Careers Fairs – Law Fair is on 27 th October Facebook page Law Facebook pageLaw Facebook page Twitter Claire's twitter feedClaire's twitter feed A wealth of resources on the university intranet University Careers pages and the Law School careers pagesUniversity Careers pagesLaw School careers pages Blog Warwick Careers BlogWarwick Careers Blog International Careers Moodle pages

4. It is completely up to you! 2 choices!

5. Working together ? "Through an hour long discussion with Claire about my career options, I benefitted enormously from her knowledge and understanding of the legal job market. I left with a number of great opportunities to apply to and with a second opinion on my current application methods. Don't let your time at university fly by without using the careers service. After all, an hour or so out of your 3-4 years here is nothing and could completely change your career prospects for the better!“ Ben Renshaw 2014 Graduate Law & Business

6. Legal Professional Careers are one possibility of many! Solicitors Barristers Graduate schemes in Marketing, Human Resources, Retail, PR, Financial consultancy, Accountancy, Financial Analysis, Civil Service Charity work

7. Do you want to be a solicitor? Do a qualifying Law Degree Do a non qualifying degree and then the GDL Do the Legal Practice Course LPC Undertake 2 years of recognised professional training Become qualified Here’s how it works……….

8. So how is the profession structured? Understand the City Magic Circle Silver Circle White shoe firms Large City Practices And the future? Global Elite? International Business Firms?

9. What else is out there? All the rest of the profession! Niche Practices Smaller City firms Major National firms Smaller firms, (some in loose groups) High Street practice In house law Government Legal Service Local Authority Legal Departments

10. Pay on starting training and just qualified LPC funded Working conditionsWorking hoursTrainingProspects White Shoe40/100YesFunctional?ExtremeActive involvement Good retention Magic Circle40/75YesOpulent officesExtremeObservationDitto Silver Circle40/75YesVery smart officesExtremeObservationDitto Major City40/75YesVery smartPretty awfulWork and observation Ditto Top niche35/60YesVariableLongDitto Smaller City35/60YesQuite smartLongDitto Major National 30/50Yes VariableSometimes long WorkDitto High Street20/30Possibly or loan Basic?Often OKImmersionEarly partnership

11. Key facts about City training contracts You need to start working on it in your first year! Only a tiny proportion of the training contracts available are in City firms.

12. Timeframe for applications for Solicitors’ training contracts Year1 January application for experience days Attendance at various points during year Penultimate Year January deadline for vacation scheme applications July 31 st deadline for training contract applications Final Year Mid October deadline for Christmas Vac schemes January deadline for vacation scheme applications

13. What can you do to maximise your chances of getting a training contract Get customer service work experience Get involved on campus Research the profession Go to the Law Fair Selectively go to presentations Look for some experience in a small firm For City practice go to 1 or 2 Open Days Take advantage of careers support! Do not just apply to top firms, spread your risk - just like with university applications. Work for organisations likely to be clients of top firms

14. Some brutal facts! Almost all law firms want a 2.1 degree in order to offer you a training contract. Typically firms will scrutinise all your marks. Your 1 st year marks matter. You need a 2.1 -59% is not a 2.1!! Spelling or grammar mistakes or typos can be enough to stop your application from progressing.

15. On the plus side Remember the earlier slide? There are lots of possibilities with a law degree. There are alternative routes into a legal career. More and more people are managing to forge one having started as a paralegal. There are a number of career routes which are similar to being a solicitor: tax practitioner, accountant, investigator, contracts advisor, estate agent, negotiator.

16. What about the Bar ? Do a qualifying Law Degree Do a non qualifying Degree and then the GDL Do the Bar Professional Training Course BPTC (you have to pass the aptitude test first!) Do a minimum of 12 months pupillage Find a tenancy!

17. How does it work? You need to sit the Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT) between the beginning of April and end of July in the year in which you want to start the course. You must have joined one of the four Inns of Court before your course starts. Your application must be received by 31 st May in the year in which you wish to start the BPTC. If you are not a native English speaker you must have achieved IELTS a score of 7.5 or above in all subjects before the BPTC starts. There are no overarching deadlines for pupillage and tenancy applications.

18. Barrister or Solicitor? Do you like working on your own or in a team? Do you like the security of knowing you are going to be paid or the excitement of generating your own business? Do you want paid holidays and sick leave or would you rather be completely independent?