Introduction
A legal career in the UK can be a potentially lucrative and exciting career choice for some. There are many different legal careers available in the UK which all have different routes to entry, requirements, salaries and pros and cons which are all worth considering.
The main legal careers in England and Wales which interest most are Solicitors and Barristers.
In Scotland the main legal careers are Solicitors and Advocates.
All of these require years of dedicated study which does not just stop at a law degree! Your degree is followed by an expensive vocational post graduate training course, the exact type of course depends on the career you are working towards. There is then a period of on the job training called a training contract (which takes 2 years) or pupillage (1 year long).
Most legal careers specialise in one or two fields of law, usually where the interests of the law firm or chambers lie and you should look into these before applying for a job. If the firm does not cater to your own interests and the modules you have specialised in during your degree, post graduate course and work experience you may find it more difficult to get a job in the already competitive legal world.
High street firms are more likely to concentrate on a range of family, property, employment and business law. Working hours at such firms tend to be 9-5, unless you are also specialising in criminal law and get a call out from your client.
Magic Circle law firms which are the top five most prestigious law firms in the country specialise in commercial law areas such as commercial property law, taxation, contract law and litigation. Jobs at these firms are exceptionally competitive and involve long working hours but rewarded with high salaries and exciting cases and some of the best clients you could imagine.
In between magic circle and high street firms there are a range of firms such as the silver circle, and regional firms which specialise in particular types of law and have excellent reputations in such areas. The hours and competitiveness of such firms tends to be down to the type of law practised with commercial law being one of the highest paid.
It is worth noting that Scotland has a different legal system to that of England and Wales so those qualified legal professionals from England and Wales may need to take further study if planning on relocating to Scotland and practising in Scotland or vice versa. If you are currently looking into completing a Law degree in Scotland you will need to take further post graduate study before being allowed on to vocational courses in England and Wales, the time and cost of this should be considered before going ahead, especially if you wish to have a career with no geographical restrictions. Lots of available Liverpool Jobs consist of legal professions, as lots of people travel from all over the UK to Liverpool as they know it is easier to get a legal job in Liverpool than anywhere else in the UK.