Legal Services (including patents)
Law is a popular profession for University of Warwick graduates both Law graduates and graduates of other disciplines. Most people think of either solicitor or barrister when they think of careers in the law however there are other roles including:
- patent examiner, patent attorney or trade mark attorney
- paralegal
- legal executive
- licensed conveyancer
- barristers’ clerk
As well as analytical and research skills you will need good communication and self-presentation skills, be able to work with clients and have personal integrity and commercial awareness. You can develop many of these skills through activities that you engage in at university. Gaining law related experience can help you decide if this career area is right for you, which roles to target and can help you demonstrate your commitment to, and motivation for, the law.
Video playlist: Legal CVs
Video playlist: Legal Interviews & Assessment Centres
Video playlist: Routes into law
- Prospects Sector briefings
- Prospects Legal job profiles
- Law Careers Net ‘Starting Out’
- All About Law – Law careers explained for law students and non-law students with timelines
- Chambers Student Guide, Solicitor or Barrister
- TargetJobs Law: Solicitors and Barristers
- How to become a Family Lawyer
- Lawyer2B Careers Guide
- The Corporate Law Academy – wide range of information and advice on applying for corporate law/firms. Note some services are charged including application review and mock interviews (freely available from Student Careers) and TCLA Premium which offers more in-depth firm insights in addition to those freely available via the website.
- How to become a Sports Lawyer
- Chambers - alternative careers in the law
- How to become a criminal solicitor
- IP Careers guide to the Chartered Patent Attorneys Profession
Other information available:
The mix of skills required will always depend on the specific job however the following skills tend to be important in the legal sector:
- Commercial awareness
- Communication
- Attention to detail
- Time management and organisation
- Academic ability
- Resilience and self-confidence
- Research and analysis
Other significant skills recruiters look for include teamwork, problem solving, and creativity. For further information on skills valued by the sector and how to develop them: Prospects ‘7 skills for a successful law career’
Securing a law firm vacation scheme and/or a mini-pupillage at a chambers is a great way to gain an insight into a career as a solicitor or a barrister. However competition for places is fierce and there are lots of other ways to gain experience outside of these formal schemes. In addition gaining other experience will help you to stand out in applications for vacation schemes and mini-pupillages.
Use the link below to explore how to gain legal experience: Prospects – Law work experience
Consider whether you are interested in a specific role (solicitor or barrister), it might be too early to make that decision and you may ideally be looking for experience across both roles. Also consider whether there are any areas of the law that particularly interest you. This will help you target firms/chambers. Were you impressed by specific firms/chambers that you spoke to at the Law Fair or at a Law firm presentation on Campus? Use some of the websites listed below to research firms and the opportunities available.
myAdvantage – the University vacancy database with details of employers who are targeting University of Warwick students
Law Careers Net:
Chambers Student Guide:
Target Jobs Law:
Prospects:
InsideSherpa has collaborated with a wide range of graduate recruiters to produce virtual internships including Law firms – so if you haven’t managed to secure a vacation scheme it may still be possible to gain the experience you need.
Current collaborations with Law firms include:
- Linklaters - Commercial Law
- White & Case - The Future of Law is Global
- Latham & Watkins - Mergers & Acquistions
- Latham & Watkins - White Collar Defense & Investigations
- Baker McKenzie - Begin your World Class Career
- Pinsent Masons - Virtual Work Experience Programme
- Leo Cussen Centre for Law - Human Rights Virtual Internship
Not all small firms will be in a position to offer work experience but many will consider it following a speculative approach using a targeted covering letter and CV. Whilst small firms may not offered the structured experience of larger firms with vacation schemes they do offer the opportunity to experience the delivery of legal services to individuals and small businesses. To find small firms use the following sites to research firms by location and practice area:
Find a Solicitor – free online service run by the Law Society for information on organisations/people providing legal services in England and Wales
Find a Solicitor in Scotland – contact details of law firms in Scotland
Local directories like Yellow Pages and Thomson will also have listings for law firms.
Law firms typically recruit more than two years in advance for training contracts so for law students this means making applications for training contracts during your penultimate year often at the same time as you are trying to secure vacation schemes. Graduates from other disciplines typically apply during their final year. Entrants to training contracts at law firms and pupillage at chambers will usually have gained a wide variety of law related work experience such as open days, vacation schemes, mini pupillages and other legal experience to demonstrate commitment, insight and motivation. For those heading down the solicitor route if you don’t secure a training contract during your penultimate (law students) or final year (other disciplines) you can continue to apply it just means that there will be a gap between finishing university and starting the next stage of your training as a solicitor. You could look at it as a great opportunity to gain more law related experience or maybe you might decide this field isn’t for you and choose to use the skills gained through your law/other degree in another sector. The great thing is the majority of graduate job roles advertised are for graduates of any discipline. For those heading for a career at the Bar the application timetable for pupillage runs from approximately January to May each year with adverts live in December of the year before. Applications are made between January and February with offers made in May (based on the 2017-2018 application cycle). Competition for pupillage is even fiercer than for training contracts. Those determined to pursue a career at the Bar may choose to gain further law related experience before reapplying for pupillage. Well researched and targeted applications are most likely to succeed which provide evidence of the skills and attributes sought by employers and show motivation towards their practice areas and clients. In addition to referring to the information sources below students are encourage to make use of the information and support provided by Student Careers & Skills and to approach their dedicated careers consultant for help with producing quality applications.
Chambers Student: Law firms making successful applications
Chambers Student: The Bar – pupillage applications and interviews
Target Jobs Law: Applications and CVs
Target Jobs Law: Scholarship funding from Inns of Courts for the BPTC
Prospects: Applying for Jobs
Get your application right and the chances are you’ll get invited to attend an interview and/or assessment centre. Large firms have a multi stage application process and you need to successfully navigate each stage before proceeding to the next one. Many (but not all) use psychometric assessments after the application form and you can use the link below to identify examples and practice taking similar tests. Large firms will often use video interviews before inviting you to a face to face interview and/or assessment centre. Smaller and many midsize firms use a more straight forward approach and are likely to invite you to a face to face interview straight away which may include other elements often found at an assessment centre e.g. formal presentation, case study or group exercise.
Use the following links to access information on preparing for psychometric tests, interviews and assessment centres.
Student Careers & Skills – advice on approaching psychometric tests and succeeding at interviews and assessment centres
Chambers Student – Pupillage interviews, what to expect
TargetJobs – Preparing for training contract and vacation scheme interview questions
TargetJobs – How to ace your pupillage interview
Preparing for Legal Interviews handout
Top Tips from students and law firms
Inns of Court Scholarship Interviews – sample questions handout
Watson Glaser - practice tests
Interview Feedback – feedback from Warwick students attending law firm interviews and assessment centres (Word documents)
Applicants may be asked questions at interview about how the law is changing and challenges for the profession. ‘Tomorrow’s Lawyers: an Introduction to Your Future’ by Susskind, Richard E (OUP 2013) predicts changes in the world of law and provides a guide to what future legal practice will look like and offers practical guidance to those who intend to build careers in law. The book is available from the University Library
See also: BBC Law in Action
Additional resource links
AllAboutLaw – careers information
Chambers Student – overview of profession & opportunities
Law Careers Advice Network – site covers contracts, pupillages, courses & finance
Law Careers Net – overview of profession, opportunities & facilities to personalise research & action
Lawyer2B – careers information
Lex100 – information on all major law firms in UK
InsideBuzz – register to access ‘An Inside Look at Law Firms’ Guide
The Bar Council – careers page
Middle Temple – The Pupillage Podcast
Wikijob – information on application and assessment procedures, typical interview questions
Trainee Solicitor Surgery – careers advice on how to get a training contract (free ebook offer)
The Lawyer Portal – guides and events for aspiring lawyers
Glassdoor – for jobs, reviews of companies and interview information
Law Careers Net Diversity Access Schemes – list of diversity projects and access schemes
Aspiring Solicitors – organisation committed to increasing diversity, provides information and support for students including skills development and networking
The AS Foundation - provides financial support to students who are the first generation to go to university, or from low income backgrounds and are interested in pursuing a career as a solicitor. Support covers financial barriers to studying and work experience related costs.
Society of Black Lawyers E-mail: national-office@sbl-hq.freeserve.co.uk
Pathways Plus programme – Sutton Trust programme which supports students to build their experience and professional network
Rare Recruitment – diversity recruitment specialist. Vantage is a free online portal that connects students with top law firms and allows firms to target specific students based on different criteria and offer them opportunities.
Chambers Student - careers information and vacancy details for training contracts and pupillages
LawCareers.Net - careers information and vacancy details for training contracts and pupillages
Target Jobs Law – careers information and vacancy details for training contracts and pupillages
Pupillage gateway – information on the Bar Council and pupillage
Recruitment & Employment Confederation – information on choosing the right recruitment agency
Agency Central – online search facility to find recruitment agencies
The Lawyer – legal vacancies including agency vacancies
Totally Legal - legal vacancies including agency vacancies
Law Gazette Jobs - legal jobs for solicitors
BCL Legal – legal recruitment agency for all types of legal jobs
Simply Law – job site
The Governance Institute – a career as a Company Secretary – work experience and insight days
Working and studying in the USA
The Balance Careers – Practising Law in the US with a foreign Law degree
International Student – guide on studying Law in the USA (and in other countries)
New York Bar Qualification – private training provider
Law Crossing – a US based legal employment website
Chambers USA – information on law firms in the USA
Law Society Directory of Solicitors
Legal Action Group – Legal Aid practitioners group
Find a Solicitor – The Law Society of Scotland
Law conversion (CPE/GDL) and LPC course – LawCareers.Net and Chambers Student and Prospects
CPE, Diploma in Law & LPC courses- course lists and application procedure
Bar Council – education and training site
BARSAS – application service for the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)
Junior Lawyers Division – affiliated with the Law Society, represents training and recently qualified solicitors
Association of Personal Injury lawyers
Bar Council – comprehensive guide to the bar and how to train as a barrister
British Institute of Comparative and International Law
British Insurance Law Association
British Maritime Law Association
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys
Fulbright Commission – information resources for those wanting to practise law in the United States
Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators
Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys –including a section on careers
International Association of Entertainment Lawyers
iProBono – links organisations with students and lawyers interested in pro bono work
Solicitors Regulation Authority -regulatory body for solicitors and law firms
The International and European Law Society at the University of Warwick
Human Rights Careers website with a wide range of career related information on HR including free online courses, entry level jobs, paid internships