Pretty much the title.

I understand it’s very common for partners to transfer to the Bar - but why?

Is it pay, lifestyle commitments, better work-life balance?

If a barrister were to transfer and become a solicitor, where do they even end up?

Would it be senior associate, salaried partner, etc?

Hi, I studied Law at university and currently work for a firm doing clinical negligence. I’ve also tried personal injury for a few months but moved teams because I didn’t like the harassment from clients.

I’ve only been a paralegal for about a year but I’ve not sure if this is for me. I don’t enjoy the client facing role and feel limited in my ability to progress at this firm. I’m not sure what other areas of law would be any better, or if I should consider an entirely different career altogether. Does anyone work in an area of law they’d recommend or moved away from law? I’m definitely not interested in commercial law.

Is failing one of the bar course exams career suicide? In particular the drafting exam in the hopes of going into civil practice.

The good
Just finished a sandwich year abroad, about to apply for pupillage in the coming months and a scholarship at the bar course: I'm expected to get a 2.1 (though aiming for a first) RG Uni, have mini pupillages under belt, attending webinars and in-person seminars at where I am planning to apply, done marshalling, I've done a few moots, worked at a fast food place for four years alongside studies, visited the crown court more times than I could count, always asking Qs where appropriate.

I have a spreadsheet with all of the Chambers I'm planning to apply to, so I'm getting prepared. In short, I'm doing everything I can to make my application as attractive as possible.

The bad
I don't know if it's OCD, and I wish I was joking, but I cannot go to sleep if I don't ask myself 'why do you want to be a barrister' and 'what would make you a good barrister' at least a dozen times before I can go to bed. It's like an obsession, and an unhealthy one at that. One set of Chambers says 'don't number your answers' (I will speak about three things, XYZ, I'll start with X ect), the other set say that they want me to signpost my oral answers.

I know it's very rare to get pupillage in third year, but I just don't want to be that guy who's applying year after year and not getting anywhere. Obv. have plans if I don't get pupillage this year or next, will look to get my PSR and do a bit of freelance until next round. But it just feel existencial, like if I don't get pupillage, that none of this will have been good enough.

I don't know what I'd do if I even got pupillage
If I miraculously got pupillage, I honestly don't know what I'd do with myself. The imposter syndrome would probably eat me up. So basically, I'm obsessing over something that I don't feel I'm good enough (or ready) for and I don't know how to stop.

Bar course
I'm obviously getting ahead of myself, haven't started bar course yet. Will apply to scholarship at the same time as pupillage, been advised to do one thing at a time.

Would appreciate any advice ty

Hey all, I was wondering if there is much difference in questions/ expected areas of knowledge for a TC following a vac scheme that for the VS itself?

As they have already asked much of the basic questions in assessing candidates already, do the questions focus much more on a the vac scheme itself? Or are they similar to before but just with a greater expectation of knowledge?

Many thanks in advance

I’m an international law student doing UK LLB. How does the UK grading system works? For first class, what the grading system? Does first year marks count?

Soooo idk where I stand with my grades. I have a couple of 1sts, 2:1s, 2:2s, and two 3rds (only because the modules was completely messed up, they weren’t even law modules). I’m averaging at 63 which is still a 2:1 but considering that this is so inconsistent am I cooked??? Especially given the 3rds (one was in 1st year and the second one was in final year). HELP PLEASE I’m freaking out

Hi all,

I’m a 2PQE working at an international firm in London. My hours are good - usually 9am to 7pm, but I am starting to be tempted by the higher salaries promised by MC and US firms. Can anyone working in commercial litigation give an insight to the hours for junior associates / associates ? I have heard the horror stories but want to know from someone directly. Is it worth the £££? I’m finding my current hours fine and feel like I could do more?

I am a law school graduate and I am due to start the Bar in September. I am a member of Middle Temple and I live in South Yorkshire.

To do the Bar, I have to do 10 qualifying sessions, with a minimum of 1 in each type of theme (advocacy, EDI, legal skills etc.). However, I also have to do a minimum of 6 sessions in-person. This means travelling down by train and then tube to London for an evening session which I have to pay to attend, then probably either get a late tube and train home (which as a lone woman would be utterly terrifying) or I stay in a hotel in London and travel back the next day.

Whilst there are a limited number of events in the midlands (Birmingham) and north (Newcastle or Leeds), its disappointing to see that most events are held in London. I understand that the Inns are all in central London, but when they are trying to bridge an accessibility and diversity gap between London students and those elsewhere, its annoying when they don't accommodate for the non-London students.

They host online sessions so I can still receive qualifying points, but they are still worthless when the minimum attendance for in-person events is more than half the points I need.

As well as this, the sessions are hosted by old white male barristers. Whilst I respect their expertise, for events that are aimed at young barristers, they should host events which tailor to us. We are more likely to listen to someone's advice if we can relate to them.

Even if the Inns of Court are claiming to become more diverse and accessible, they still aren't doing it well enough as they still have to maintain the elitism of the barrister career. It has become so bad that students from "non-Russell Group universities" have a stigma that they believe they cannot go to the Bar (I went to Sheffield Hallam and this was exactly the attitude here).

The Inns of Court need to be more proactive about diversity and accessibility.

Apologies for the rant. I am just a disappointed and tired student.

Edit: Hi.

A) Apologies if I came off entitled and ungrateful but that is no reason to label my post as ragebait. I want the Inns to do better in an age where EDI is a hot topic and the law industry (especially the Bar) are being urged to make their career more diverse and accessible for young people, people of colour, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities.

B) I think everyone kind of missed the part in paragraph 5 where I said that I respect the expertise of the barristers I was listening to. I didn't know that they volunteer their time to this, but I dont think I should be slammed for saying that the Inns should catch up with the conversation in EDI.

C) Even if I went to private school, none of you have any idea of my situation. Taking out loans to support my education, begging for scholarships and support, having three people's salaries go into paying my school fees because they want whats best for me. Its unfair to label me as entitled just because I went to private school and didnt get good grades for Oxbridge or Russell Group Universities (I was in the Covid-19 era so I was heavily affected by that). As a sixth-form student, I did not know I wanted to be a barrister, and I did not have much information about the field until my final year of university. I am also very appreciative of my time at Hallam and realise that their environment and the way they structure their education was the reason I was able to achieve a first-class degree, and not a 3rd from a better university.

D) A lot of the comments here forget that I am a young student behind this post. Its easy to be rude to someone over the internet with no consequences, but you can cause genuine harm. I am hurt to see that people are calling me ungrateful and entitled and labelling my post as ragebait, especially when I believed I structured my post as constructive criticism.

Did I post in the wrong subreddit? Maybe.

Hi everyone, I’d like a bit of advice into what to do/reassurance!
I’m very fortunate to have been offered a training contract but of course it doesn’t start till 2028 and I don’t start the SQE till 2027. As I will have a year out, I of course want to travel for a while but before that need to find some kind of work. I wanna do something non-law related/something a bit different as because I’ve secured a TC I don’t really wanna get a paralegal role as personally I want to try something different as I’m never gonna have this opportunity again- if that makes sense!
I was wondering if you have been in my position, what work/what did you get up to on your year out! I’d just like a bit of insight and inspiration into what sort of work I could undertake before I go travelling!
Thanks :)

Hi guys,

I’m a Year 13 student who has firmed Bristol Law for their 2026 intake and I am currently leaning towards deferring my offer to 2027 so I can take a gap year. However, I’m unsure if there are any downsides I’m not considering, so thought I’d ask here.

At the moment, my plans for the gap year are to continue working part-time, visit at least three countries and generally take a break after A-levels. The issue is that, beyond that, most of the things I’d like to do (new hobbies, societies, learning new skills etc.)… are things I could just do during my first year at university anyway.

With roughly 15 months between finishing A-Levels and starting at Bristol, it’s quite a long while and I’d like to still be productive and help out future me beyond simply saving money for Uni. However, I’m not sure if there’s anything meaningful I could within that time to better my prospects for Vacatiom Schemes, Training Contracts or future applications generally.

I’ve looked at work experience placements, legal insight schemes and even reading ahead, but would employers actually care about any of that by the time I’m applying for vacation schemes? Or would I mostly be doing it to make myself feel less like I’m wasting the year?

For those who took a gap year before studying Law, what did you do with it, and looking back, was there anything specific that genuinely benefited you later on?

And if there are any downsides to starting university a year later that I haven’t considered, I’d be interested to hear those too.

Thanks for any and all help!

So I am just posting to ask if anyone has advice for assessment centres. Specifically I have an upcoming AC with Baker McKenzie for a direct TC.

I have never got this far in the process before & really don’t want to mess it up!

Please has anyone got any advice/tips!!

Hi everyone,

I’m an Irish student hoping to become a solicitor and ideally work in the UK in the future.

I wasn’t planning on studying law when I sat my exams, so although I did fairly well overall, I didn’t focus on English and didn’t count it towards my application. Because of that, I wasn’t able to get into a Russell Group university.

I’ve been offered a place at Manchester Metropolitan University and I’m seriously considering accepting it. I genuinely think I could do very well there, get a First, and make the most of opportunities like insight days, work experience, networking events, etc.

My worry is whether I’m making a mistake by going to a university that isn’t particularly highly regarded for law. I know people always say grades and experience matter most, but realistically I would like to end up at a good firm and earn good money. I don’t want to spend three years working hard only to find that I was at a major disadvantage from the start because of where I studied.

One thing that might help is that I plan on sitting my FE-1s while at university, and I also have connections with a well-regarded firm in Ireland where I could probably get some summer experience.

So I guess my question is: if I get a First, build up decent experience, and make the most of networking opportunities, can I still realistically compete for training contracts at strong firms, or does not attending a Russell Group university put a ceiling on what I can achieve?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone involved in legal recruitment or anyone who has taken a similar route

let me start off by saying i know i am lucky to have a job in the legal industry in the current market. i graduated last year from a RG uni and have been at my current firm just under 6 months. its a small high street firm doing the standard practice areas. sometimes i enjoy it, and then other times im at breaking point. it does feel like the culture is a bit toxic; the partner who owns the firm and manages everyone is probably the most narcissistic, abrasive, entitled person i have ever met. she makes me feel so stupid for asking questions and quite frankly she intimidates me. most of the others are okay, apart from this one trainee who is like a mini version of the partner, very abrasive and unapproachable. long story short, i know im getting good experience and im obviously still applying elsewhere for other paralegal roles and TCs, but im not sure how much more of this i can take. i never get praised for my work, even when i know ive done something well, i only ever get criticism if anything. there is no HR, the other manager happens to be the partner’s husband. i’m not doing the areas of law i truly enjoy and dreamt of a career in, and im frustrated with the quality of the legal work i am doing. i also do a LOT of admin, tasks like managing the partner’s diary, booking her places for events, credit control and invoicing, stuff that i feel should really be done by a PA/admin assistant rather than someone with a law degree that i worked hard for. today reduced me to tears due to being belittled over something fairly minor by the partner and the trainee constantly delegating work to me only (not the rest of the paralegals) unnecessarily, stuff like draft me a response to this random case i’ve just thrown at you out of nowhere even though ive been working on it for months. i snapped at her today and i feel awful about it now even though i apologised and explained that i was having a bad day and things got on top of me and i had a ‘human’ moment. no one came to check if i was okay when i took myself off to cry for 5 mins and i feel very isolated there. i guess the question is, with all this in consideration, at what point is it acceptable to leave without another job lined up? i know no job is worth sacrificing your mental health but even if deep down i know i need to leave i will still second guess it.

Hello all! I was wondering if those who have experienced applying externally as an NQ to Litigation/Dispute Resolution roles could talk a bit about their experience? I'm particularly interested in the technical tests and the "meeting the team" aspects - was there anything you did that made you stand out (either for good or for ill!)?

Any and all reminiscing is welcome! I don't know many others in this position, so looking forward to hearing about your experiences 😊

And how are you now and what did you learn from it?

Hi Reddit,

Taking a different approach to the job search.

I’m a UK-based legal professional with an LLB, LLM, legal experience, administrative experience, and a strong background in client-facing and commercial roles. I’m currently seeking a sponsored opportunity in:

⚖️ Legal
📑 Compliance
🏛️ Governance
📋 Contracts & Legal Operations

I’ve spent the last few years developing skills in legal research, administration, stakeholder management, and working in fast-paced environments.

If your company is hiring, or if you know of any organisations that sponsor skilled professionals, I’d be grateful for any leads or introductions.

Thanks in advance—and if nothing else, perhaps this reaches the right person at the right time. 🍀

P.S. After 500+ applications, I figured networking might be the smarter strategy. 😅

Hello, I’m (27M) from Singapore and am currently working as a corporate lawyer in the technology / TMT space.

Overview of my stats:
PQE: 0 (though it’s been 1.5 yrs of experience in my current role)
Grades: Second uppers from NUS (nothing special)
Bars: Passed the SQE last year so will be dual-qualified in SG & UK in 2027.
Work exposure: More local than international

I really want to make a move to the UK for either private practice or an in-house role, but am struggling to formulate a clear game plan.

Other responses to similar questions in this community generally point to a UK-linked international law firm in Singapore first before trying for an internal transfer to the UK, which frankly speaking, is not the most confidence-inducing of plans given how limited the spaces are.

Wanted to check in to see if this is still the general consensus, and figure out if my UK qualification and openness to in-house roles would change the analysis and/or open new pathways to the UK.

Also, would switching practice areas e.g to M&A help my chances? To what extent and in what way?

Grateful for your wisdom :)

Thanks!

How long does it usually take for SRA to admit with a character and suitability disclosure?

I applied for admission today and seeing mixed answers about how long it usually takes.

I did an early character check 3 years ago and it was clear. This is about the same thing (financial) with the only change being that the debts are now paid off so actually in a much better position than before.

I presume June isn’t a peak time for them?! Is it quicker when you’ve already done an early check?

I have a mini-pupillage at a commercial Chambers next week and I’m quite nervous about the advocacy exercise on the final day. I’ve never done anything like this before and don’t really know what level is expected from mini pupils.

Are these exercises usually more about confidence/engagement than technical legal knowledge? Any advice from people who’ve done similar minis would be appreciated.

Any other relevant advice for the mini pupilage would be greatly appreciated.

I completed a vac scheme in late March/ early April and accepted my training contract offer shortly after. This consisted of returning signed contract via docusign.

It has now been about 6 weeks and I haven’t heard anything further.

I haven’t reached out yet as I know they are probably just busy with direct TC applications, and trainees rotating etc. But the longer it gets the more paranoid I am that they’ve somehow missed my contract return or something haha.

I’ll email grad recruitment this week, but was just wondering if this is typical? How long until you usually get some kind of update on onboarding for the GDL or SQE etc.

Thanks!

I have just graduated with a degree in law and I am starting a paralegal role in the firm's regional office. Next application cycle, I intend on applying internally for the same firm I am paralegalling for. I made it to an AC in the last cycle, however I am wondering whether when I apply in the upcoming cycle whether I should apply in the office I am paralegalling in or whether I would have an equal chance applying to another regional office (or even the London office). Many thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I’m looking into the equivalent means route to qualify as a solicitor and wanted to hear from anyone who has actually gone through it.

For context, I have completed the LPC LLM, have a First Class LLB, and I have legal work experience. I’m considering whether applying through equivalent means could be a realistic route for me.

I’d really appreciate hearing about:
How difficult the application process was
What kind of evidence you had to provide
Whether work samples were required or if supervisor references were enough
How detailed the application had to be
How long the SRA took to make a decision
Whether previous employers were willing to help with references or evidence
Anything you wish you knew before applying

I’m especially interested in whether people found it straightforward or whether it was a lot more work than expected.

Thanks in advance — any honest experiences or tips would be really helpful.

I went to a middling university in 1998s, with heady dreams about working in the City. It was strange because it was around this time universities started to increase their entry requirements. If I had applied 2 years earlier, I would have gotten into a solid red brick uni with my grades: Kings were taking students with BBC in the mid 90s by 98 they wanted ABB, which I failed to get. It was the same with many other subjects at uni.

I, like many students at my uni, left without a TC, and I wasted a few years trying to find a TC, before giving up. I realise now that I was aiming too high, trying large commerial firms, but maybe I could have gotten a TC with a smaller high street firm.

I am now in my mid 40s, a pleb in a large company, doing finance / admin, which I hate. I make around £72k, with a 10% employer pension contribution.

What would I have been earning if I had given law a decent crack and ended up in a 15-30 person law firm in outter London? Assuming after 20 years, I managed to make partner?

HS student here, Starting my last year of high school with the looming task of picking where to go to university. What degrees over here would help me to pursue practicing law in the UK?