AIBU to change career and retrain as a solicitor?

[Breathedeeper]

For context I am a single mum with a toddler in my late 30s.

I’ve spent the vast majority of my working life in kitchens and bakeries, but since the birth of my daughter I’ve been having doubts about this profession. 4am starts, or working lates, plus weekends, all on low pay - it’s looking like a crazy idea which suited a younger me but no longer makes sense.

Recently I had a meeting with the solicitor handling my divorce. While law is not something I ever considered as a career, it now seems like a better option for me. I think I would enjoy learning a new profession. I’ve some money squirrelled away which I could use to go back to uni.

I’d really appreciate some advice from lawyers, what are the pros and cons? My other option is to set up my own bakery, perhaps below a flat in which my daughter and I could live. I like this idea but it feels risky, and while I’d have a certain degree of control over when I needed to work, it would still involve long hours. It would feel like something that was my life, rather than a means of supporting my life. Which is not a bad thing, if it worked out.

Being a solicitor strikes me as a steady bet that would give me a regular, decent income, plus paid holidays, and once my daughter starts primary school the hours might work better. I envisage being able to drop her off at school, head into work, then there are after school clubs or her auntie could collect her. There must be a way to do it, how do other people juggle it? Is working from home a possibility in this career?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

There are AI tools which work very well at applying the law to facts and predicting outcomes and in explaining the legal concepts in accessible language. Again reducing the time spent by the lawyer who can focus on teasing out the facts and handle more cases than previously.

Some tests have shown that when pitted against experienced human lawyers, the AI tools have a significantly higher success rate in predicting the outcome of a trial than the human advisers. Make of that what you will!

None of this means that I am personally in favour of substituting machine learning for humans but it’s naive to think that the development of AI is not going to reduce opportunities for newly qualified lawyers over the next 5-10 years. Even one of our Supreme Court judges has admitted he uses chat GPT to help write the first draft of his judgments.

Why do we get so many of these threads?

Becoming a solicitor is very expensive and very difficult - and very long! Even once you qualify you will only get a job if you are very bright (there are some exceptions of course but they get found out eventually and then they get sacked).

You will need to do a law degree and or a normal degree and then a conversion. Technically it's possible to now become a solicitor without a law degree but it's still unusual. Once you've got your degree you will need to do a law conversation course at law school if you didn't do a law degree initially and then you need to do an SQE prep course at law school. And then you need to do SQE1 and pass it and SQE2 and pass that with two years of training on the job. Law school fees are expensive and it is not an undergraduate course and so there is not the same student loan funding. SQE exams fees are also not insignificant and if you fail three times that is it. No more chances and you've literally just wasted all that money. Tens of thousands of pounds.

Trying to get a job in itself in order to complete the on the job training is extremely competitive. You will need to have decent work experience and really show that you know what you are getting into to stand a chance. Unless you have immaculate academics (As and A stars at A Level) you'll be lucky to even get a foot in the door. You also have to go wherever the job is. You cant just say that you live in Devon so you will get a training contract in Devon. You might need to relocate to Middlesborough. And then when you qualify you might have to relocate again.

Once you're qualified you will have at least five years of working every hour god sends. Evening and weekend working is not unusual and don't even think about trying to have a holiday where you don't have to check emails. Once you are a bit more senior you get less supervision and so at that point stress levels rocket since you're expected to know exactly what you're doing. Once you're a partner its even worse since you eat what you kill and you also need to kill enough for the whole pack.. You're also bogged down with office politics and client demands.

I have done this for 25 years and I'm exhausted and looking back thinking I should have spent more time with my kids. DH has worked 16-17 hour days every day this week. I have never once been on holiday where we haven't both had to check work emails multiple times a day.

I'm gonna push back a bit on the "law is not a family friendly career". There are tons of lawyer jobs that are 9-5. They are not as prestigious and not pay as much. But not all law is recruiting clients, long hours etc.

The thing about law is that it's such a different experience where you do it, some law firms and not just big snazzy ones expect you to work long hours and some may not expect it but you just have to do it anyway which is almost worse ! Other places can be 9-5. I would say it's harder when you begin because you're so heavily supervised it's like being back at school. Some areas of law are so tedious and others pretty exciting, but I would say reading documents, attention to detail and a lot of pressure are pretty consistent factors.

As a solicitor I wouldn't necessarily advise it as a career if you're trying not to work unsociable hours. And I work in-house, so am priviledged in that I don't work the crazy hours some city private practice solicitors do, and I never have to concern myself with billable hours or bringing in clients.

But its still a lot of stress at times.

It also takes a long time to qualify and can be expensive. The market for training contracts/newly qualified lawyers is really competitive and honestly, the salaries for trainee solicitors isn't amazing (outside of the city and certain types of law). Being a junior solicitor is tough.

Honestly, in your shoes I'd try out the bakery option. You already have lots of experience in that area, so you know you can do at least half the job (the baking) and have some idea of what to expect on a daily basis. You could perhaps use time to upskill on business to get more confident with the 'running my own business' side of things though.

AI has already taken many solicitor jobs and will certainly take more. Solicitors will still be required but fewer.

The costs of these courses are ruinous with no guarantee you'd qualify.

You'd be 60 by the time you made back waht you spent on the courses.

It's tempting to imagine yourself in someone else's shoes but I wouldn't advise it. I've been qualified over 15 years so I know what I'm talking about.

“Tons”? There are a few but I wouldn’t say tons. And those few are generally poorly paid and more senior.

If you’re looking to earn a decent income and for something that suits working around a young child, you’ll probably find that starting from scratch in law means your kid will be old enough to not need such accommodating by the time you’re done!

Wanting to go into law simply because of interactions with your own lawyer feels a bit wishy washy. Perhaps visit a careers advisor so you can explore what it is about pursuing a career as a solicitor that’s particularly attractive to you, and whether you can pursue anything else with similar skillsets etc. Unless you’re willing to study for years before becoming a trainee. Or do the bakery thing which sounds lovely and like you’re well set up for it.

My initial thought is that the training will take a very long time and the pay for a high street solicitor is not as much as you might think

It is possible. I WFH aside from client visits, but that still requires regular travel and overnights, both in the UK and abroad. This month I’m away about 25% of the time including a weekend.

I did the job for 17 years before getting a fully remote role though! It’s not practicable in the early years in all honesty, and those first few years are an insane grind. Remote firms that I looked at require at least 8 years PQE, and that’s on top of the two years spent training - so ten years before it’s really a viable and easy option, although most firms are hybrid now IME.

AI is never going to take over the role but I have to admit I use it daily to make tasks easier. It basically eliminates the need for a paralegal for simpler tasks.

You’ve got to love what you do, or finishing at 2am and then being back in at 9am will burn you out fast. Working full weekends and going into a trial on the Monday. Evening or breakfast networking from 6am.

I work at a more relaxed pace now and I love it, but ten years ago it was a very different story.

I’m a solicitor and the profession is not family friendly. I’m only able to do my job and have children because I have a strong support network. My boss is also very understanding and helpful, but I will say this is not the norm. Based on other places I’ve worked, and the experiences of friends, the industry really isn’t great if you have a family and are looking for work/life balance.

It’s also a slog. I’ve been at it 15 years (including training) and I only now have a bit of breathing room. The training also isn’t fun and often the job is tedious. It really isn’t a glamorous profession. Upside is the pay can be good, depending on where you work and I do find it intellectually challenging. I honestly wouldn’t suggest it in your position.

I'm a solicitor- do the bakery business OP!

I won't set out the qualification process as others have, plus the SQE process has been introduced after I qualified. It'll be a tough slog whilst you have a small child.

I'm a single parent of 7 and 4 year old, but I have moved out of private practice and into local government. The subject matter is rewarding, but the pay isn't. It does however give me the flexibility I need, but even so, I end up calling in favours for childcare with grandparents when I need to get to court etc.