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calling all you lawyers - a bit of a reverse thread

3 replies

hatter · 19/05/2004 15:54

Am I mad to even consider training to be a lawyer at the ripe old age of 33? I currently work in a fascinating job in policy in an international NGO. The more I do this job the more legalistic it becomes ? ie the more I look to the law as a source of policy. Infact I always look to law. I think I have an eye for detail (which is a nice way of saying I?m a nit-picker) and I think I have the right mind-set, for want of a better word, to read laws and get to the bottom of them. And, more to the point, I really enjoy doing it. The alternative would be to do an LLM in a specialised area of law (ie the one I deal with everyday), but I?m not sure where that would take me, except back to my existing job. I have a Ba and an Mphil so I know it would be a hard slog ? but how hard? How many hours a week would I need to put in to qualify? I know it?s a base question, but with kids that?s fairly fundamental. And once qualified would my other qualifications and experience count for anything or would it take me as long to get off the bottom rung as it would a 23-year old? Or ? worse ? would I launguish at the bottom while all the 23-year olds overtook me by putting in 60 or 70 hour weeks?

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hatter · 19/05/2004 16:02

btw the ba and mphil are unrelated to law

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Freckle · 19/05/2004 16:27

Depends on what sort of lawyer you want to be. I originally trained as a linguist, but, having returned from a number of years abroad, found that my language skills were only in demand if I was prepared to work in London (I wasn't). So I had to rethink my career. I was lucky enough to find a job with a firm of solicitors and they paid for me to train as a Legal Executive. I was 28/29 when I started. I qualified and became a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives specialising in civil litigation. If you are looking to train as a solicitor or barrister, it's probably harder in that you will have to fund your training yourself, probably. The benefit of Legal Exec. training is that you are working at the same time and therefore able to support yourself.

Apart from certain rights of audience in court, the role of a Legal Exec. is very similar to that of a solicitor these days.

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binkie · 19/05/2004 18:48

Been thinking about this. Are you actually thinking about a career change, or following up a naturally developing intellectual interest?

If the idea is career change, then it really does depend on what sort of law. I only know big-firm corporate law, but I think that mightn't work for you - it not only takes time to get established (and that time is indeed a slog, with very few dispensations given, including not for domestic circumstances - training contract hours are fulltime+), but also in my experience it's rare to work beyond 55ish, so you'd be putting in a lot of effort for what might be a shortish career. Anyway I expect with your NGO and Mphil you're far too interesting a person to aim for that. Maybe a better area might be something like Parliamentary draftsmanship, if you like statutes (you strange person)?

On the other hand, if you find yourself intellectually drawn to it but aren't necessarily thinking of changing jobs then YES you should train - but you shouldn't do the quick & dirty conversion course, you should do an OU or part-time "proper" degree.

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