Career advice required – Law – I have never got off the ground - Long post

matttye

The OP made it quite clear she wants to work in law, and why shouldn't she?

All these posts suggesting other career paths are counter-productive.

pupgrum

matttye wrote: »

The OP made it quite clear she wants to work in law, and why shouldn't she?

All these posts suggesting other career paths are counter-productive.

It's productive to help OP realize she eventually needs to move on. Sulking and being stubborn doesn't work. You can refuse to give up, keep trying all the way until you retire and guess what? You've lost your youth and chance to have a different career path. Anyone who completed an LPC and it's been over 5 years, you have no chance of becoming a lawyer. Studying further qualifications doesnt' make any difference.

Snakey

It might also be useful to note that the responses that have been along the lines of "Woohoo! You go, girl! Don't let the haters bring you down! If you want it badly enough, you'll get there in the end!!" have been notably short on concrete suggestions about how to make it happen.

If it has to be Law or nothing, the only "advice" is to keep doing what she's doing - but that hasn't worked after twelve years, so is it really in the OP's best interests to carry on indefinitely? Think what sort of career she could have built up over the last twelve years if she hadn't been secretly convinced that none of it mattered because any minute now she was going to land the job of her dreams.

Law_girl

Snakey wrote: »

It might also be useful to note that the responses that have been along the lines of "Woohoo! You go, girl! Don't let the haters bring you down! If you want it badly enough, you'll get there in the end!!" have been notably short on concrete suggestions about how to make it happen.

If it has to be Law or nothing, the only "advice" is to keep doing what she's doing - but that hasn't worked after twelve years, so is it really in the OP's best interests to carry on indefinitely? Think what sort of career she could have built up over the last twelve years if she hadn't been secretly convinced that none of it mattered because any minute now she was going to land the job of her dreams.

I have not just sat around wistfully wishing on a star to be a lawyer for the past 12 years. I have been a ‘business development manager’ for a couple of years at an international company which closed UK operations during the recession. I have been an administrator for three years (current). Three of the twelve years have gone towards postgraduate qualifications (LPC x2! + business law diploma). Together with that there have been periods with healthcare issues, childcare issues and visas.

There have been periods of unemployment where I have applied for everything. The only thing I did not apply for really was care work, as I had once hurt my back doing it. When we moved to Watford that period without full time work was 18 months. All I could get for money was cleaning and packing boxes in a factory (I don’t put that on my C.V.). For data entry jobs e.g. I would not put any postgrad qualifications but they would say ‘overqualified’. If I left more off my C.V. they would ask about the massive gaps. I treated job hunting as a 9-3 job but despite my efforts did not progress. I can count on one hand the number of interviews I was called for.

I welcome all the suggestions and ideally would like to be able to use my law degrees in the work I do, even if it is not qualifying as a solicitor.

BucksLady

I have a couple of friends with law degrees who have gone on to work with companies such as Ipsos Mori etc. They have all enjoyed the work and progressed to positions which are very well paid

Here's a link for you https://www.ipsos-mori.com/aboutus/careers/vacancies.aspx

burnoutbabe

I became a chartered accountant, but I specialised in Corporate Tax when doing my training contract and afterwards.

there is a lot of law involved in that side of accounting.

SeduLOUs

What about HR as a potential avenue? Lots of legal issues (and disputes) in there...

FBaby

Your problem is that your ambitions don't match your experience so far. Your CV is showing that you don't stay at a job long, that despite having taken on a role of management, you then went back to an admin job, you've done a bit of everything, and without the story behind it that explains the reasons, it just show someone who is indecisive, who can't settle in any post, who doesn't really know what she wants to do and who didn't cope with a managerial job.

What you need to do is show some awareness of your position in your cover letter. Without sounding like you are coming up with excuses after excuses as to why your past work experience is what it is, it will help to explain the challenges you have faced and that what might appear as a weaknesses on your CV are actually examples of your determination to face adversity.

In other words, you need to show some strengths of character if you really want to reach a goal that as it stands will demand a lot of strong will and very hard work.

Nicki

As a lawyer myself, I'm sorry to say that I think that ship has sailed for you. I took a lengthy career break after I had been qualified and practising law for 12 years and then did the "return to practice" course which had about 30 women on it all of whom had qualified and been practising law for a period of time before taking career breaks of considerably less than 12 years. Very few went on to successfully get back into the profession. I just don't think any employer in the legal sector would consider taking on anyone as a paralegal or trainee solicitor whose degree was 12 years ago and who has only worked for a few months as a paralegal in the intervening period. The law has changed so much over the last 12 years that most of what you learned in 2003, even if you do still remember it, will now be obsolete. Even court procedure has changed a lot since then.

I would tend to agree with others who are suggesting that you try other professional careers, but recognise that even there with a 12 year old degree and a work history of mostly non graduate level jobs that this will not be easy.

matttye

Such a defeatist attitude on this forum... poor show.

You can do whatever you set your mind to.