'Mature' entrants to law and GDL etc.
Discussion
I've been in an in-house Company Secretary for a variety of companies (plcs, privates, finserv) for the past decade or so and recently certain doors have opened in the role I am in, such that re-qualifying as a solicitor may be a possibility with my employer's blessing and financial support.
I have a non-law 2:1 degree from a 'red-brick' uni (is red-brick still a thing?) and research thus far suggests I will need to do a graduate diploma in law (GDL) followed by an LPC. Given the demands of a very young family and full time job, the GDL will need to be studied part-time, distance learned over two years.
The picture is complicated by the fact the qualification routes are set to change in 2020-ish, such that aspiring entrants to the profession will be able to take a new qualification called the SQE, which would replace the GDL and legal practice course (although there will be an undetermined transitional period for those already on the old route). It seems some are waiting to find out how the SQE pans out, before embarking on a GDL/LPC, but I'm not sure I fancy being a guinea pig to a whole new untested qualification regime and at the moment am thinking I may just, in PH-style, pull the trigger on a GDL with BPP.
To cut to the chase and stop rambling - are there any legal eagles on here who either have converted to law later in life under similar circumstances, or are perhaps in hiring positions and have a view on the merits of the GDL/LPC vs. new SQE, or indeed sage advice for someone such as myself....
ETA: I am very much an in-house person working in a legal department rather than seeking a training contract in a national firm.
I have a non-law 2:1 degree from a 'red-brick' uni (is red-brick still a thing?) and research thus far suggests I will need to do a graduate diploma in law (GDL) followed by an LPC. Given the demands of a very young family and full time job, the GDL will need to be studied part-time, distance learned over two years.
The picture is complicated by the fact the qualification routes are set to change in 2020-ish, such that aspiring entrants to the profession will be able to take a new qualification called the SQE, which would replace the GDL and legal practice course (although there will be an undetermined transitional period for those already on the old route). It seems some are waiting to find out how the SQE pans out, before embarking on a GDL/LPC, but I'm not sure I fancy being a guinea pig to a whole new untested qualification regime and at the moment am thinking I may just, in PH-style, pull the trigger on a GDL with BPP.
To cut to the chase and stop rambling - are there any legal eagles on here who either have converted to law later in life under similar circumstances, or are perhaps in hiring positions and have a view on the merits of the GDL/LPC vs. new SQE, or indeed sage advice for someone such as myself....
ETA: I am very much an in-house person working in a legal department rather than seeking a training contract in a national firm.
I am not a legal eagle but I am a practising barrister. My suggestion is that you do the GDL and LPC and start looking for a training contract in a firm or in house department ASAP, but you must aim for the top end of the legal profession or in house sector, as there is little point qualifying as a lawyer in order to work in a High Street law firm. That you already know, it appears.
I read history at an ancient university and then did the Diploma in Law (as it was then called) at a polytechnic (as they were then called), and then did the Bar Exam at the Inns of Court School of Law. I did my pupillage and was offered a tenancy in what was then a well established, smart and up and coming set of chambers, which went on to become a Magic Circle set. I am still there, thirty one years on, although my gown is stuff not silk.
I did all the training when I was in my twenties, but in my chambers we positively welcome applicants with no law degrees and mature candidates. We have members of chambers who used to be, for example, a journalist, a nightclub bouncer, a civil servant, and an investment banker. We have had pupils who were ex TV directors and ex coppers. Many solicitors' firms and in house legal departments will also welcome those with life and business experience, but you will be competing against super-qualified people in their mid twenties, many of whom will have postgraduate qualifications on top of firsts and good 2.1 degrees from Russell Group universities.
Aim high, but be realistic. Go for it!
I read history at an ancient university and then did the Diploma in Law (as it was then called) at a polytechnic (as they were then called), and then did the Bar Exam at the Inns of Court School of Law. I did my pupillage and was offered a tenancy in what was then a well established, smart and up and coming set of chambers, which went on to become a Magic Circle set. I am still there, thirty one years on, although my gown is stuff not silk.
I did all the training when I was in my twenties, but in my chambers we positively welcome applicants with no law degrees and mature candidates. We have members of chambers who used to be, for example, a journalist, a nightclub bouncer, a civil servant, and an investment banker. We have had pupils who were ex TV directors and ex coppers. Many solicitors' firms and in house legal departments will also welcome those with life and business experience, but you will be competing against super-qualified people in their mid twenties, many of whom will have postgraduate qualifications on top of firsts and good 2.1 degrees from Russell Group universities.
Aim high, but be realistic. Go for it!
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 17th August 14:44
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