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What is a Training Contract
The training contract, which includes the Professional Skills Course, is the final stage on the path to qualifying as a solicitor. The training contract is a two-year period of practice-based training started after completion of the Legal Practice Course. The format of the training contract can vary, with larger firms tending to have a more structured programme in place than smaller firms.
Law Society guidelines stipulate that whichever firm you train at you must be allocated a ‘training principal' who will be responsible for providing sufficient, balanced and useful work, to answer your questions and to give guidance and feedback on your performance. The training principal will also keep training records to ensure that your training matches the Law Society's requirements.
It is normal, especially in the larger firms, as part of your training contract for you to spend blocks of six months in different departments (eg, six months in four departments, or twelve months in one department and six months in another two) these are usually called 'seats'. In smaller firms the training will not be so structured, although the Law Society does require that you cover at least three areas of work during your training contract. These areas should encompass both non-contentious and contentious work, and an ‘appreciation and understanding' of litigation.
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How to apply for a Training Contract
 Each firm has its own application procedure but in general you will either be asked to fill in an application form (increasingly these are now done online) or to send a CV and covering letter. Sometimes firms request both - so be prepared!
Passing the GDL or LPC does not guarantee that you will gain a training contract. Even if you have had much experience in your home country finding a training contract can be a long and frustrating task. Just to give you an idea of what lies ahead, in 2002/03 there were
7919 students taking the LPC whilst there were only
5385 registered training contracts.
We have included these statistics not to put you off a career in law but to demonstrate to you just how well you need to market yourself to firms in order to stand out from the crowd. International students are and will continue to be highly prized in the legal recruitment market and LawBritannia exists to help you succeed.
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When to apply
It is never too early to start researching the legal profession or undertaking legal work experience such as vacation placements. Many of the top 100 law firms recruit two years in advance for training contracts. That's is to say that most firms will now be recruiting for training contracts commencing 2010.
This means that you must have completed the GDL (if applicable) and the LPC ready to start your training contract in 2010. This could mean that you have a gap year after completion of your LPC prior to starting, this is not a problem as far as firms are concerned and will allow you time to develop more legal experience, take a LLM or have a well deserved holiday after your study. Some sort of break prior to starting a training contract is very common amongst students.
Some medium sized firms such as
Wansbroughs and
Winckworth Sherwood recruit one year in advance and many of the larger firms often recruit for last minute places. When a firm has underestimated the number of trainees it needs they will often advertise with college careers services, so make sure you make friends with an adviser (who are often also asked to vet applications).
The application round for 2010 will open around November / December 2007 with many closing dates in July / August 2008.
There are a few firms such as Allen & Overy though that have earlier closing dates (January) so check now so that you do not miss any. Also, there are some magic circle firms, most notably Slaughter and May, that have a rolling recruitment process, i.e. no official closing date. It is also important to note that some firms have earlier deadlines for non law students i.e. those students that are taking the GDL.
With these and other firms LawBritannia recommends that you get your application in as early as possible. For summer 2008 closing dates, we recommend that your applications should be in early 2008 and at the latest Easter. Getting your application in early may well get you an early interview with a firm saving you an application form panic when your exams start after easter. It also allows you to monitor your progress with applications giving you plenty of time to make alterations to your CV and application forms should the initial responses from firms be negative.
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How Many Applications?
How many firms you apply to does depend on the results of your careful research. Our experience shows that the number of applications needed varied greatly from person to person. It can be anything from 10-30 applications however if you have targeted your applications well you should make around 10-15 applications.
You will find many firms ask the same questions so it does not necessarily mean a lot of extra work once you have worked out answers to a few application forms.
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