Any lawyers on here that could give some advice to my dd age 15 ?

[LovelyYellowLabrador]

She is interested in studying law, she says she doesn’t want to be a barrister
Because she doesn’t want to have to reprint people that she can’t stand or have done terrible things …….

So she’s wondering what other areas of law she could go for

She particularly enjoys geography So wonder if environmental law a good area to aim towards ?

Just wondered if you had and general advice or tips for her
She’s on track for 10 GCSEs atm with predictions of all a grades
She’s a real grafter aswell

Just make sure her a-levels are in traditional subjects. A-level law is seen as a joke.

That's harsh - because your requirement means that the vast majority of children from poor backgrounds who don't have barristers in their family or the parents of their friends 'aren't ready to make that decision' right at the point that they need to be making it in terms of college applications/A Level selection.

I think PP was saying that she's not ready to rule out being a barrister because she doesn't understand what a barrister is, not that she can't decide she wants to study law. The advice at this stage is the same in any event whether she wants to be a barrister or a solicitor, in crime or any other area.

@PrimroseTheSmooth

That's harsh - because your requirement means that the vast majority of children from poor backgrounds who don't have barristers in their family or the parents of their friends 'aren't ready to make that decision' right at the point that they need to be making it in terms of college applications/A Level selection.

I think PP was saying that she's not ready to rule out being a barrister because she doesn't understand what a barrister is, not that she can't decide she wants to study law. The advice at this stage is the same in any event whether she wants to be a barrister or a solicitor, in crime or any other area.

Exactly - hence why I provided a link the Bar Council brochure as it would be a shame for a prospective lawyer to rule out the Bar for the sake of a misunderstanding.

If she believes that barristers do nothing but criminal work she doesn't really know enough about law as a career to make a decision. Her school presumably has some careers materials - she should go and have a good look at that.

Land Management. It's at Cambridge but Google it. It's not about farming. But law is a huge field. Family, contract, maritime and much more. Employment law is important these days.

Sorry to be harsh but law is an extremely competitive career and if that is the extent of your daughter's understanding she needs to do a hell of a lot more research before considering a career in law.

For a start she needs to understand the two arms of the profession: solicitors and barristers. She also needs to understand the distinction between criminal and civil law and work out what type of law interests her and why:

Litigation
Corporate
Employment
Residential Property
Commercial Property
Tax
Planning
Environmental law
Family
Wills and probate
Defamation
Intellectual property
Immigration
Competition
Banking
Insolvency
Charity law
White collar crime
Fraud

Maybe make a start here: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074RNGMGH/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1&asin=B074RNGMGH&revisionId=e91830c3&format=1&depth=1

I'm not a lawyer, but I know a lawyer who works for the civil service drafting legislation. Might that be something she'd consider?

Ex-lawyer here.

Only about 10% of litigation is criminal cases. The rest is civil. She needs to understand this.

However, the BIG thing your daughter needs to understand is that most law isn’t about truth or justice, it’s about money.

Land Management. It's at Cambridge but Google it. It's not about farming. But law is a huge field.

This really made me laugh

She can do corporate law or financial regulations. You don't have to qualify either.

I work with our legal department that's made up of qualified barristers, solicitors but mostly people who just studied law at university.

We work on contracts all fairly straightforward and pretty boring, but the more interesting work is being in regulations.

So, for example, what's going on now with the sanctions - they'll be large global companies whose legal teams will be working on overdrive to make sure that the sanctions set by the government are being adhered to via employees of the company. It's a very complex task. You will have hundred of people sending emails or knocking on your door - saying - we work with this company, but they have ties to Russia doing X - can we still do business with them. Some of it can be incredibly grey so it takes a legal mind to really interpret it and teams of them too? Lots of debate and discussion and views put forward as they try to figure out the best way forward.

Same day to day with financial regulations - in the UK we have the FCA - they have regulations that companies need to follow, so any trading company, bank etc must ensure they are met. Lawyers take the regulations and inform the business what it is they need to go. They use their legal brain and put it into layman terms so that everyone from the receptionist to the CEO understand. These laws even govern how people should behave - so you will get lawyers in banks, insurance companies etc making decisions on whether a trader, for example, actually broke a regulation with a trade or his behaviour. Incredibly interesting work. Very collaborative working across business leaders, HR, Ethics, Compliance and legal.

I think - do the law degree and then she'll find a natural affinity to what it is she enjoys the most. If she doesn't want to be a solicitor or barrister - law is still so important for roles like Ethics, HR and Compliance.

Most lawyers have never step foot in a courtroom! There's thousands who just go straight into business. And businesses need environmental lawyers. So many regulations out there that need understanding and then translating so that the people on the ground know what they can and can't do!

Sorry for all the typos!

A close friend of mine was a criminal barrister. He worked for the CPS so he was the prosecution rather than the defence. Of course that meant he didn't earn huge money but he felt it was more important that people who had committed crimes should be prosecuted. He's done a lot work on terrorism.

Most criminal work is pretty low paid too

@GoingBacktoSchool123

Sorry to be harsh but law is an extremely competitive career and if that is the extent of your daughter's understanding she needs to do a hell of a lot more research before considering a career in law.

For a start she needs to understand the two arms of the profession: solicitors and barristers. She also needs to understand the distinction between criminal and civil law and work out what type of law interests her and why:

Litigation
Corporate
Employment
Residential Property
Commercial Property
Tax
Planning
Environmental law
Family
Wills and probate
Defamation
Intellectual property
Immigration
Competition
Banking
Insolvency
Charity law
White collar crime
Fraud

Maybe make a start here: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074RNGMGH/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?revisionId=e91830c3&depth=1&_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1&format=1&asin=B074RNGMGH&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Add on to that Personal Injury, professional negligence, public law, Community Care, Education, Mental Health, Police and prison law, medical negligence, Trusts, Deputyship, Human Rights ...

Thanks so so much for all the brilliant advice
Sincerely

Any particular tips on what a levels she should choose ?

English usually good, but no real requirements. I did English biology and geography.

Worth checking some uni prospectuses in case they specific any preferences

Most criminal advocates don’t earn huge amounts of money. For those working on legal aid cases the job is more a kin to a calling/social work as it requires real passion to stick it out as the money isn’t great.

A levels- any academic subjects. Grades count more than subject choices so she should pick what she enjoys and is good at. At least one essay subject is probably a good idea.

If she wants something to read, I would recommend The Rule of Law by Lord Bingham. A very clear introduction to some important legal concepts- if she finds it interesting, it’s a sign she might enjoy law.

She should Pick what she’s good at and enjoys, and ensure it’s in the academic band, English, history, government and politics, geography etc. she should avoid softer subjects and avoid law.

I recruit trainees for a large international law firm. Very happy for you to PM me.

I studied law & politics jt hons degree in the mid 90s. I wanted to go into journalism and the degree was an excellent choice, both areas of study prepared me well for my career in journalism and comms.
My advice would be to study law as part of a degree if she's interested in the subject but not because she wants to be a lawyer-she can always decide that later. My experience is that a law degree/jt hons tends to be well regarded by employers and is a good springboard to lots of different career routes.

She definitely shouldn't do A level law (it's seen as a "soft" subject). I would also advise that she do a degree in her favourite subject, and then do the GDL (1-year law conversion course). Of course that means another year studying and not earning, and if that isn't ideal then of course doing a law degree would be best.

Always helpful to have some sporting, musical or other achievements on her CV. Vacation schemes in law firms during summer holidays at uni. If she's clever and a hard worker (which it sounds like she is), she could try for Oxbridge and aim for a training contract at a Magic Circle or US firm. Junior solicitors at top firms are earning crazy money at the moment - much more than junior barristers.

PS - If she goes to a state school I would happily give her some advice if she'd like to get in touch. I read law at Oxbridge and now work in a top law firm in the City.

A few posters seem to be critical of the fact that she doesn't know much about the legal world but, frankly, how are children who go to state school and don't have family or family friends who are lawyers meant to know anything about it?

I went to a state school, studied a non law subject at Oxbridge and now a solicitor at an international law firm.

Grades are the most important thing initially so she needs the best A levels possible in proper subjects, and then at least a 2.1 from a RG uni. It doesn’t have to be in law and since she’s more likely to do well in a subject she’s passionate about then I generally steer people away from doing law at uni. You have the rest of your life to focus on that so she should do what she loves (provided it’s a fairly traditional, respected subject. Geography would be ok though not that common among trainees I’ve seen).

There’s plenty of time once at uni to get work experience etc, so she just needs to knuckle down and study hard for now. The more she can keep her options open at this age the better.