Could any lawyers/other professionals offer any advice on how best to find next step forward in getting my career going?

[galliton]

Hi, i have name changed as this could be outing and I have put on AIBU for traffic, but also because I wonder if my hopes are reasonable.

I am in my 40s and due to chronic health issues I was never able to start my legal career. I have a 2:1 law degree from what was then a top 5 law school, a Masters in Human Rights law (I missed a distinction but achieved that grade in the exam and for my dissertation) and was graded outstanding in the Bar course. I have gained some experience over the years in quite a few human rights institutions, especially in Europe, and as an intern in this area in two universities, but my health was not sufficiently stable for me to do more or to keep things up on an ongoing basis and so I was unable to seek a career at that point knowing that my health flares made me potentially unreliable

Originally, I wanted to be a barrister, but i realised that the setup would be too physically demanding for me. I was never naive on the matter, but reading a recent thread on here from some lawyers was especially eye opening at just how bad it is with long hours and great stamina clearly needed. I am trying to find something that I could do which would bring in a modest salary. Fortunately, I don't have a mortgage, but I need enough just to provide some standard of living just for myself. I think my best set up would be something that I could do mainly from home with (post-Covid) the odd meeting attendance in person. I used to love conferences and networking and so would love to be able to do that and I feel if it was every so often, as opposed to a daily expectation, that I could do that with my health. I appreciate that my qualifications are now probably stale, but I would be so grateful for any suggestions to help me get on the road to something, even just baby steps, as I don't know where to start. Does anyone know of anything which would be something that I could at least start with? I would most certainly consider something outside law potentially. I am afraid also that a future employer would be put off from so much time out and such a late start. Thanks so much.

Is your Bar qualification still valid? I can’t remember how long it lasts if you haven’t done pupillage. There are different areas of law you could look to specialise in that may require less onerous or unsociable hours. For example, if you looked at pupillage in a PI set of chambers you might find that the work is more drafting advices and pleadings which you could fit more into a standard working day, rather than last minute trials to prep.

Alternatively, what about lecturing?

I’m a Solicitor not barrister. Local authority or charity would be more accommodating of your disability. I’ve recently changed area of law after 21 years with difficultly but can be done.
I can’t see you getting a pupillage after 20 years they are so competitive plus like you say physical demands of bar although self employed aspect picking and choosing when to work would suit.
Working for somewhere like legal Ombudsman or SRA?
I’d sign up for law society gazette jobs and apply for anything that appeals - not just qualified jobs on there.
Private Message me if you like.

I am sure that I would need to do some sort of year refresher as my Bar qualification would be stale, however, I am under no illusion that I would be able to get Chambers now. I am realistic and was simply looking what might be possible in the legal field or potentially, somewhere where I could use similar skills.i hoped that the fact that I was only looking for a modest salary would also help. The start does not need to be the end career, I recognise that we often have to start free or for little, but I have so lost my way and just want to do what I can to get back on track.

I should add that I would be happy to do further study, training etc if that would help.

You could look at places like practical law? I have a former colleague who works there.

Or yes I work in local government and it is very accomodating of disabilities etc. But you would probably have to have some experience in a relevant area to get in.

The government legal service could be another option as your human rights background could be relevant there.

Civil service? Im an ex lawyer, now a civil servant. There are loads of graduate schemes, the work is interesting and part time work and/or consideration for health issues is totally accepted.

Government Legal Service is great but hard to get into - worth a shot tho.

Perhaps one of the legal directories - Legal 500 or Chambers and Partners.

Or somewhere like LexisNexis, Lawtel or Westlaw.

If you've ruled out life as a barrister, you could try to obtain a paralegal role. That would give you the choice of doing your SQE and period of recognised work experience (or whatever they're calling it these days) if you wanted to qualify as a solicitor.

Citizens advice would be good for some voluntary work experience.

Consider “topping up” your qualifications to become a Notary. The training changed a few years ago and those Notaries trained under the prior system are starting to retire. I predict an upcoming shortage (and have considered doing this myself). Also, you will be able to work for yourself and set your own hours once qualified.

@trinibrit I agree there is likely to be a shortage of Notaries but don't you need to be qualified as a solicitor or barrister first? The OP is neither.

Just been looking on the Notaries Society (I too considered the training years ago as I shared an office with a Notary for a while) and it says once qualified you have to work under the supervision of another Notary for 2 yrs or 3 for conveyancing??
I'm not sure that qualifying as a Notary is easier than becoming a solicitor or barrister, it is an additional qualification not an alternative (as I understand it).

As pps have said legal publishing or resourcing (not sure if that's a term) but I mean Westlaw, Practical Law, LexisNexis etc.

At my firm we have "technical support lawyers" who don't do any case work or client development but spend the days scouring the legal press for new judgments or procedural developments that might be relevant and circulating them with summaries and compiling them into a kind of accessible reference resource on the intranet. A "lawyer" doesn't have to be a qualified solicitor or barrister.

[quote emsyj37]@trinibrit I agree there is likely to be a shortage of Notaries but don't you need to be qualified as a solicitor or barrister first? The OP is neither.[/quote]
My understanding is that an applicant holding suitable academic legal qualifications can apply for notary training without necessarily having qualified as a solicitor/barrister but it has been some time since I looked into it.