I want to become a Solicitor. Can it happen?

Oldernotwiser

Nicki wrote: »

:mad::mad::mad:

The very first thing I said in my first post on this thread was that the OU was an excellent way of getting a degree and qualifying for many many professions.

If it is elitist to advise someone that an OU degree will make it hard to enter ONE profession, of which I have personal and direct knowledge, and to give advice of a way which will enable the OP to achieve his dreams then I hold my hands up. But if I am wrong about how an OU degree is regarded in the profession, and OP takes my advice and goes the ILEX route, he will still qualify as a solicitor if he passes his exams and in roughly the same timescale, and be able to practise. If you are wrong, and he takes your advice, he will devote a minimum of 3 years study, plus financial outlay, and will end up with a degree but not qualified to practise. I guess its his choice on whose advice to take, but I am not going to debate this point with you any further as it is clear you have no knowledge of the job sector we are discussing and are just going to continue to advance your prejudices about the OU.

I would completely agree with you about the advantages of the ILEX route; it was your comments about "top ranked" universities that I took issue with.

shegirl

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I would've hated studying through the OU myself but I've seen it change so many people's lives for the better that, professionally, I can only praise it.

Unfortunately, much study at bricks and mortar universities nowadays can be described as you have (few sanctions and deadlines, study not aimed at the academic). If it's a while since you were an undergraduate, you could well be very shocked.

It has been a while lol started monday officially though and after OU it's a breath of fresh air...spent hours going through journals and books already I;m such a nerd I love it:rotfl: If late you can get no higher than 40%,they expect you to be using at least 10 sources per assignment for decent marks in the first year,deadlines I think are a little further apart than I remember but it's with 2 assignments at a time minimum of 2000 words on every one,whereas with OU it was one at a time,working up to 1500 in level 2:eek: and no research.Incidently,both are part time,distance and even if worked over the same period of years the workload through brick uni distance learning is much higher than that of OU.Not sure what other unis are like now and mine isn't the best by far (only Portsmouth LOL) but it is in the top 20 for the subject and I needed distance.

I definately agree that OU can change peoples lives for the good,I guess it all depends on what you want to get out of your degree,but definately learning in whatever form is good for your wellbeing and instills confidence among other things -that can never be knocked.

skintandscared_2

All I will say is that I've worked for law firms since trainees were Articled Clerks (a LONG time ago!) and applicants without a top degree/head girl or boy/rowing club/debating society/published articles/gold Duke of Edinburgh/gap year spent saving orphans lives on their CV will not even get an interview for a training contract. The legal profession is still MASSIVELY snobbish. Very "them" and "us". I probably see the extreme, working for a firm in the City, and I agree that there is absolutely nothing wrong with an OU degree, but I would be astounded it it would be enough to put the OP above the competition for a training contract.

Nicki

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I would completely agree with you about the advantages of the ILEX route; it was your comments about "top ranked" universities that I took issue with.

Right. Because there is clearly no hierarchy in universities. A graduate from Keele, who has entry level qualifications of say 2Bs and a C is of exactly the same calibre as one from Oxford, who required 3A*s

In the real world, recruiters into highly competitive professions are aware of which universities have a good reputation for the type of degree they are looking for, and will only interview candidates from those universities. If you think otherwise you are just naive. How would you describe this other than higher and lower ranking of universities?

shegirl

Nicki wrote: »

:mad::mad::mad:

The very first thing I said in my first post on this thread was that the OU was an excellent way of getting a degree and qualifying for many many professions.

If it is elitist to advise someone that an OU degree will make it hard to enter ONE profession, of which I have personal and direct knowledge, and to give advice of a way which will enable the OP to achieve his dreams then I hold my hands up. But if I am wrong about how an OU degree is regarded in the profession, and OP takes my advice and goes the ILEX route, he will still qualify as a solicitor if he passes his exams and in roughly the same timescale, and be able to practise. If you are wrong, and he takes your advice, he will devote a minimum of 3 years study, plus financial outlay, and will end up with a degree but not qualified to practise. I guess its his choice on whose advice to take, but I am not going to debate this point with you any further as it is clear you have no knowledge of the job sector we are discussing and are just going to continue to advance your prejudices about the OU.

I agree with the advice of the ILEX route too.Infact,I've known a few law graduates who ended up doing ILEX due to not being able to get training contracts!It's by far the easiest way in.

theblessedone

Thank you all for your informative posts

But with ILEX, the costs are quite breathtaking, I don't want to seem like I want for nothing, but are there any availible grants/student loans I am eligible for? I have never done any college course whatsoever since leaving school, and I'm 21 (22 in 2 months) so I would have thought I am entitled to something to help me along the way.

I could never stump up £7,000 off my own back!

And the same question for the OU if I wanted to go down that route, are there any benefits I am entitled to to relieve the cost of the course.

The_Moog_2

bobajob_1966 wrote: »

A legal executive is not a solicitor!

No, but once you have qualified as a legal executive you can take the LPC course and then undertaking the two year training period to qualify as a solicitor.

The_Moog_2

theblessedone wrote: »

Thank you all for your informative posts

But with ILEX, the costs are quite breathtaking, I don't want to seem like I want for nothing, but are there any availible grants/student loans I am eligible for? I have never done any college course whatsoever since leaving school, and I'm 21 (22 in 2 months) so I would have thought I am entitled to something to help me along the way.

I could never stump up £7,000 off my own back!

And the same question for the OU if I wanted to go down that route, are there any benefits I am entitled to to relieve the cost of the course.

If you could get a foot in the door of a law firm, maybe as a paralegal, they may stump up the cost of the course. Paralegals don't earn great wages mind, and often work long hours.

My last firm paid for all 4 years of mine, plus my annual ILEX membership and all of my exams - and I earned more as a legal secretary than the paralegals there.

Oldernotwiser

shegirl wrote: »

.Not sure what other unis are like now and mine isn't the best by far (only Portsmouth LOL) but it is in the top 20 for the subject and I needed distance.
.

That's interesting because it was Portsmouth that I went back to 10 years ago to do a second undergraduate degree and where I was appalled by the standards. I did languages and Pompey has good OFSTED reports for MFL but I thought that the standards were appalling!

theblessedone

The_Moog wrote: »

If you could get a foot in the door of a law firm, maybe as a paralegal, they may stump up the cost of the course. Paralegals don't earn great wages mind, and often work long hours.

My last firm paid for all 4 years of mine, plus my annual ILEX membership and all of my exams - and I earned more as a legal secretary than the paralegals there.

When you say you earned more as a legal secretary, is that just another name for a legal executive?