Overview of What to Do and When Month by Month
Our law timetable provides you with the steps you need to take in order to successfully practice as a solicitor in England & Wales; whether you are a law students, qualified overseas lawyer or have never studied law before.
Choose a month to find out what you should be doing and when:
2008/09 application period will be posted on our site at the end of July 2008
Download a copy of the timetable here.
| October |
 Applications for Legal Practice Course starting 2008 open (first round).
Online application forms for full-time 2008-09 Legal Practice Courses will be available from 1st October 2007: www.lawcabs.ac.uk
Applications for places on part-time Legal Practice Courses must be made direct to the providing Institutions and are subject to alternative deadlines.
 The Training Contract and Pupillage Handbook (right) and the Chambers and Partners Student Guide are published. These are usually available free from your college (UK based colleges only) or available to buy online.
Start researching firms now and formulate an action plan for your 2009/10 training contract search - be prepared even of you have only just started your law course.
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Study Law in the UK
Researching Firms
Why UK Law Firms Need You
Work Permits
Recommended Reading
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| July |
Although firms can have deadlines for applications throughout the year most application deadlines for training contracts commencing 09/10 start from this month onwards.
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Application Forms
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Download a copy of this timetable here.
When to Apply for Training Contracts
 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.
Download a copy of the timetable here.
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When to Apply for Law Courses
Closing dates and deadlines vary depending on the type of law course you wish to study but in general most applications must be made a year prior to starting your course in the UK.
For more information about the types of courses on offer in the UK and the application procedures click here
Download a copy of the timetable here.
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