A Career in the Law: Timeline
1st Years:
First and foremost, welcome to Durham and Durham University Law Society. You may be thinking that you have plenty of time to decide and organise what you will be doing after you graduate from Durham in the future – after all, you have only just arrived! You are partly right, it is true that you have plenty of time to think about what you want to do, but it is never too early to start looking to the future and gaining as much information and knowledge as possible – it will give you something to aim for whilst also saving you a lot of time in later years too. Moreover, many of the skills and information that you will need for applications for training contracts or to the Bar will be needed for any work experience applications you make in your first year. We and CAS have lots of law related careers events organised covering lots of different issues and we would encourage you to come along to any that interest you so you can keep one step ahead.
2nd Years:
This year is one of the most important years for you in terms of your future career. From now until the end of winter/start of spring applications for vacation schemes will be open. These are very good experiences and would give you a better chance of receiving an offer of a training contract at a law firm of your choice. There are a number of careers events run by those who will be assessing your application that will help with the issues that arise from applications and we would recommend that you come along to as many as possible. A quick couple of tips: a) take your time when applying – time invested now both researching the law firms, coming to careers events and writing your applications will save lots of time and stress in the future and lead to a greater chance of success. B) Quality not quantity – apply to all the firms that you want to apply too, but too many and you will not be able to spend the time that is needed to write a tailored, quality response to each firm. C) Keep an eye on the news to keep up to date with happenings in the commercial world to aid with you commercial awareness.
From January onwards, you should start hearing back about the success of you vacation scheme applications and whether you are required for interviews, and in the summer, applications for training contracts will be open too. The same quick tips above apply to these too.
The Law Society also has a number of Open days to law firms in Michaelmas and Epiphany term and these are a great chance to get to know more about the firms that you may be applying too. Although all firms have their differences, they also have numerous similarities and so even if you are not thinking of applying to that specific firm, come along as it may give you inspiration for your other applications.
For those of you interested in the bar, mini-pupillage applications will be open this year too. Similar skills are needed for applications for bar-related work as is required with applications for work experience in solicitor’s offices so even though our and CAS’ events may be run by solicitors, their information will be invaluable to you too.
Many of you may still not be sure which route you wish to take. Both routes have their advantages and disadvantages, and so it is worth applying for both bar and solicitor related work experience to get a real feel for the professions and which you would prefer to work in. Do not forget the law fair at the end of November – a valuable source of information and stationery.
3rd Years:
Now is the time to apply for LPC and BVC (soon to be BPTC) and also look to join the Law Society or an Inn of Court. If you have not secured the training contract you desired, then you can apply again this year. Try to work out why you were not successful and look at ways that you can improve your chances of success. The Careers Service has lots of resources regarding various opportunities and alternative careers if you a training contract remains elusive. For those of you pursuing the bar route, then continue applying for mini-pupillages – the more experience you can get the better chance of a pupillage after your BVC. There is sponsorship/scholarship/funding around for further study so it is defiantly worth spending a bit of time looking around to see what can be received that reduces the burden of the BVC which is often self-funded.
Final Year Non-Law Students:For you, you do everything law students must do for their careers, but a year after they would be doing it to take into account the GDL. Thus, if you are in your final year you will be applying for vacation schemes as second year law students would be. So, have a quick look above at the second year law section for more information.
