Advice on becoming a solicitor in situation i am in

ste_coxy

marywooyeah wrote: »

hey OP I am also 24 and thought my input might be useful to you as I am in my second year of my LLB.
I was in a similar situation as you jobwise when I decided to train as a solicitor and I did the ILEX Level 3 diploma course two evenings a week over 2 years, you could either do this distance learning or find a college that does it. you need to do ILEX level 3 and 6 and work in practice for 5 years to qualify as a legal executive, and at least 2 of these years must be after finishing level 6 although there are currently proposals to reduce the 5yr period to 3.
alternatively you could do the llb route as an above poster mentioned but it is very difficult.
I have a 2yr old and until 2 weeks ago also worked 4 shifts a week alongside my degree and all the housework, I had to leave work because the workload was getting too much. As the poster already mentioned getting work after you qualify is difficult and you have to find a training contract and pay for the legal practice course yourself (currently between 8 and 11k depending on where you do it)
Its a good career, but in your situation I think ILEX would suit you better so you can carry on earning to pay off your debts, but you would have to self fund that.

Thank you for your reply,

so have you completed the ILEX course already? How come you are doing the LLB too then?

I have previously considered this option however, only thing really putting me off was not having experience of working in law. Is it any easier finding work with the ILEX course or are there no guarantees with this?

ste_coxy

kazzah60 wrote: »

The difficulty is that Law courses are difficult to get on and future employers are VERY fussy about qualifications and WILL require good results at both GCSE and A level - they can afford to be choosy and will always pick the A* students - my niece did a law degree at a "good" university and never found any employer willing to take her on - the reason given was poor GCSE results

getting the degree doesn't automatically guarantee a job for the OP and sadly Law is one of those careers that still has a relative amount of snobbery attached to it - I know people will shout me down, but it is true!

the OP could find themselves in 3 years time with a law degree ( and massive debts) and no prospect of a job at the end of it.

Thank you for your advice here, this is one of the things that are putting me off having completed the course then not being able to get work but still having a large amount of debt (probs more so than i do now and that's without any student debts). I was wondering in this situation are there any ways around not being able to find work such as studying further like the ILEX course - i realise this might take longer to get to the overall goal but it would be something I would be willing to do as long as I got there in the end.

ste_coxy

WolfSong2000 wrote: »

Personally I'd be wary about this...I count myself as a fairly intelligent person. I'm currently doing a postgrad at a prestigious UK uni, but I tried a criminal law module during my undergrad (was doing philosophy at Aberdeen Uni at the time, and the scottish education system is more flexible with what subjects you can take alongside your main degree for the first 2 years) and I failed. I failed by one lousy mark, but it was still a fail. The reason cited was that I wasn't able to memorise enough case detail. So it's not just about being smart - you have to be intelligent and possess an excellent memory (mine's lousy. lol).

Also, as others have said, Law is a *very* competitive field and you will be overlooked in favour of better qualified students.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't do a degree - far from it, if you feel that you're academically inclined, then by all means look into your options. If after completing a degree you decide you're still interested in Law, save up and do the conversion course. Legal firms look favourably on people who didn't do law at undergrad level but did a conversion course as such people are seen as more rounded individuals with a great scope of knowledge.

I reckon the OU would be a great place to start. Have a look at what's on offer, make a list of the subjects you reckon you'd enjoy, then follow that up by adding longer term prospects to each subject on the list and see what you're left with.

Thank you for your advice here, again this is something that has been worrying me whether or not I have the acedemic ability to cope with a subject such as Law especially with being out of education for quite a long time. I am lacking in confidence however, I do have the desire to succeed and I do have the motivation to change my life around as I do certainly want to get out of the rut I am in. I am just looking for the best way to go about it. I have requested for a few prospectuses from the OU so I am awaiting to have a read over them. The problem I've got at the moment is that I do not have any time at all with working 14 hour days during the week currently to help support myself so only free time I've got is weekends however, I am aiming to move home come August so my evenings will be free again and so, evening courses/study would be possible again.

ste_coxy

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Yes, your facts are absolutely right.

As a matter of opinion, someone who did not complete 'A' levels might struggle with degree-level work, particularly when the subject is as demanding as Law. It might be a very good idea to take something like an OU foundation-level course as a gentle way in, and as a way to start putting into practice the excellent advice that the OU gives about developing study skills and organising your time to include studying.

Thanks for this, I have requested for an information pack from the OU and I am awaiting to receive this. The only thing putting me off the OU is the studying at home as opposed to an educational setting - the structure and routine, the lectures having a tutor etc - if I knew all of this was irrelevant then I would definitely be more open to it. I think I need to take time and research the OU a bit more because I have only ever heard good things about it.

Voyager2002

ste_coxy wrote: »

Thanks for this, I have requested for an information pack from the OU and I am awaiting to receive this. The only thing putting me off the OU is the studying at home as opposed to an educational setting - the structure and routine, the lectures having a tutor etc - if I knew all of this was irrelevant then I would definitely be more open to it. I think I need to take time and research the OU a bit more because I have only ever heard good things about it.

Yes, the things that concern you bother some people but not others. So I suggest that you find out what works for you: either try doing just one OU course (perhaps Foundation stage or level 1) or see if you can do something like 'A' levels at a college near you. Either way, you will learn something about yourself and how you study effectively, and any good results you achieve would help you to get into university.

As a mature student (over 21) you are eligible for a university place without 'A' levels, but a bit of studying now would probably help you to feel more confident about everything.

There are other careers with law as well as being a solicitor (or barrister). ILEX is the qualification for legal executives, who are a sort of assistant to a solicitor but in some cases can eventually become solicitors, and in any case the work overlaps. And look at things like being a Company Secretary (nothing to do with typing, but responsible for ensuring that a company stays within the law), as well as a host of things in the police service, local government, and elsewhere.

marywooyeah

ste_coxy wrote: »

Thank you for your reply,

so have you completed the ILEX course already? How come you are doing the LLB too then?

I have previously considered this option however, only thing really putting me off was not having experience of working in law. Is it any easier finding work with the ILEX course or are there no guarantees with this?

Hi I did ILEX level 3, I didnt go on to do level 6 to qualify as a legal executive.
When I finished my level 3 it was june09 and law firms were making redundancies left right and centre. I'd always wanted to go to uni so decided too otherwise by the time I'd done level 6 I would then have to start the 5yr qualifying period, and I decided 9 years was too much!
After I finish my degree because I already have ILEX level 3 I can do a 1yr distance learning fast track course, then work in practice for 2 yrs. This exempts me from having to do a training contract which are like gold dust to get, and once I do my LPC (which I am saving up for now out of my student loan) I will qualify as a solicitor. Thats why I decided to do the LLB.
When I did my first ILEX year I was pregnant and gave birth 18 days before the exams, and still got 2 marks off a distinction in one of the exams. If you really really want it you will get there, feel free to PM me if you would like x

ste_coxy

marywooyeah wrote: »

Hi I did ILEX level 3, I didnt go on to do level 6 to qualify as a legal executive.
When I finished my level 3 it was june09 and law firms were making redundancies left right and centre. I'd always wanted to go to uni so decided too otherwise by the time I'd done level 6 I would then have to start the 5yr qualifying period, and I decided 9 years was too much!
After I finish my degree because I already have ILEX level 3 I can do a 1yr distance learning fast track course, then work in practice for 2 yrs. This exempts me from having to do a training contract which are like gold dust to get, and once I do my LPC (which I am saving up for now out of my student loan) I will qualify as a solicitor. Thats why I decided to do the LLB.
When I did my first ILEX year I was pregnant and gave birth 18 days before the exams, and still got 2 marks off a distinction in one of the exams. If you really really want it you will get there, feel free to PM me if you would like x

That is really encouraging to hear of your experience. Thank you very much for this.

GEEGEE8

Are you sure it's Law you want to do? Have you looked around at all different types of careers and considered them all?

I went back to college aged 26 part time, and now I'm at Uni full time doing Quantity Surveying. Even a couple of years before all this I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, and by starting college it opened up a lot of options that I didn't know existed

Best of luck.

Voyager2002

marywooyeah wrote: »

Hi I did ILEX level 3, I didnt go on to do level 6 to qualify as a legal executive.
When I finished my level 3 it was june09 and law firms were making redundancies left right and centre. I'd always wanted to go to uni so decided too otherwise by the time I'd done level 6 I would then have to start the 5yr qualifying period, and I decided 9 years was too much!
After I finish my degree because I already have ILEX level 3 I can do a 1yr distance learning fast track course, then work in practice for 2 yrs. This exempts me from having to do a training contract which are like gold dust to get, and once I do my LPC (which I am saving up for now out of my student loan) I will qualify as a solicitor. Thats why I decided to do the LLB.
When I did my first ILEX year I was pregnant and gave birth 18 days before the exams, and still got 2 marks off a distinction in one of the exams. If you really really want it you will get there, feel free to PM me if you would like x

This is very interesting. So there is a way to qualify as a solicitor without being a Trainee Solicitor? You refer to working "in practice" for two years: would that be some kind of training, or simply a job in a solicitor's office? Is it likely to be easy to to get a job that qualifies as this?

ste_coxy

GEEGEE8 wrote: »

Are you sure it's Law you want to do? Have you looked around at all different types of careers and considered them all?

I went back to college aged 26 part time, and now I'm at Uni full time doing Quantity Surveying. Even a couple of years before all this I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, and by starting college it opened up a lot of options that I didn't know existed

Best of luck.

I do think it is something I am very much interested in and would like to do. I think I am going to request to see/speak to a careers adviser from next step (government funded careers service) and get some tips.

What was it that you went back to college to do? This is my intention come September.