dd 16 - law

[BodenOrBodum]

Dd wants to do Law at university. She is very academic and predicted excellent GCSEs. I know next to nothing about the law profession but would like to help improve her chances to get a place at a good university. She is a passionate reader, loves politics and history and has a strong sense of social justice. While very academic and high achieving she is going through a quite insecure phase and lacks confidence in herself.

I am aware there is the LNAt test, which she might need to take. When should she start practicing for this, and how does she best prepare for this? Is there an app, books? When does she sign up for the LNAt and how?

Are there any courses to prepare prospective applicants to improve chances of getting a place on a reputable law course as there are for medicine and other subjects? Doing an internships seems impossible, she tried and was turned down in year 10. She will be looking for a part-time job in the summer after her GCSEs, are there any type of jobs altho would be looks at favourably?

I have seen ads for summer schools most of which cost £££ - are there any more affordable type of law summer school courses and are the any good'? We do not qualify for any widening participation type of schemes.

Pathways to law when she’s in Y12 if she eligible is one to look out for

That looks good but is for students from underrepresented backgrounds, which does not apply to us.

There’s a free Open University course called Starting with Law which might be helpful.

Thank you Neeko, dd will look at the course.

Bumping for more ideas.

Is she in a private school?

No she is not in private school, she goes to our local grammar school.

The challenge with Law isn't getting the degree. It's finding a placement after. And all knowledge work like this is likely to be significantly disrupted by AI. I'd suggest she consider this and if she's still keen then find work with a law firm while studying. Experience will matter.

The school should be able to help her. My dd was interested in law but we decided against it as it is so competitive (top unis want top top grades & are all very oversubscribed) & she wasn’t ‘that’ sure about the subject so decided to do a broad degree & consider converting to a law degree as a graduate. She was fortunate that she got some work experience in y12 through a family friend.. can you call any favours in?! What kind of law is your dd interested in- criminal or other?

Thanks @morningtrain can I ask what your dd chose to study in the end? We know a few lawyers but I tend to feel uncomfortable to ask favours like this.

Go to your local crown court & sit in the unlucky gallery.

I wouldn't waste money looking for activities which can only be accessed if you pay for them or specific work experience. It's hard enough to get a work experience placement as an undergraduate, let alone as a 16 or 17 year old.

@BodenOrBodum she is interested in commercial/ property law so she’s doing geography. The law firm she interned at said they prefer grads with a broad degree too.. very few of the cohort of grads there had a straight law degree.

I would not recommend law any more; it will be decimated in the next few years by AI.

I know this is definitely a worry.

Probably asking an impossible question but what degrees are less vulnerable?

I don't know much about AI, what degrees could lead into this?

Oh, what happened there withe all the deletes? I didn't see anything wrong with the posts warning about impact of AI.

@BodenOrBodum It’s unlikely barristers will be replaced by AI.

Social justice isn’t an area of law - criminal law doesn’t pay. DD is a family barrister and that’s much better if you are good! Most young barristers have to be flexible and she can hone her interests at university. She will know what floats her boat there.

Just to let you know what dd did: MFL degree. Best subject! Also did history and politics A levels. Then converted to law and then barristers course. We did ask a favour of a family friend who is a solicitor. He did employment law but kindly gave her 2 weeks in their family law office. After which dd was determined to be a barrister, not a solicitor!

She volunteered for CAB and a women abuse charity. She got around 10 mini pupillages (whilst at university) with barrister sets and did everything she could to be a credible pupilage candidate. It’s a case of getting a decent cv.

As DD didn’t do law at uninersity I cannot really advise but the bar likes Oxbridge grads. Failing that LNAT universities. They might recruit uni blind but still pick students from the top universities!

She could look at leading solicitors for an area of work she likes but some might not recruit anyone specifically to train as a solicitor as they recruit to more junior levels and then pick from existing staff. There are publications like Legal 500 that give info on the ranked solicitors and chambers in different areas of work.

A grammar school will know about LNAT, but my dd didn’t do it. Ask the school. Do they have alumni who could help? The main thing is acing A levels - best choices are 2 of MFL, English, History or Maths. Then look at any academic A level she will get an A in for the third. Politics is good for example but many others are suitable. Try and do some public speaking - school play? Gives confidence. Hope all goes well.

@BodenOrBodum
My two-penneth. For context, DS has Law offers for Sep start and is applying to Solicitor Apprenticeships.

Firstly, need to work out if DC wants to be a Solicitor or Barrister, as in the longer term they are different routes.

Wouldn't worry about LNAT until this time next year (assuming Y11 now). DS didn't want to do it. You'd apply in the summer of Y12.
It is only required by a handful of elite Unis.

A-level choices is interesting. Would say pick the ones that they would do the best at, i.e. converting a 8/9 (if that is what DC is looking at) into an A/AStar.
But, agree with the History, English side. Good to have subjects with some research, essays, looking at sources and having to note both sides of an argument/discussion.

Elite Unis are over-subscribed (for competitive courses regardless), and Law jobs are over-subscribed. AI will change the role in some ways, but there will always be a need for human input.
For context, DS did work experience at a place and the majority of the team were graduates (some decent Unis) but all Paralegals with aspirations of getting a Training Contract. There is a reason why the average age to qualify as a Solicitor is 29/30 (career changers aside).

Re top Unis - we got FOI for the likes of Durham, Bristol and Warwick. DS had AStar,A,A predictions and that is standard offer. There is a 10-20% chance of getting an offer with that setup, i.e. predictions are the same as the std offer.

But, there is a whole host of Unis with AAA std offer (and DS got those within two weeks of applying, e.g. Exeter, Leeds, so still decent places). Yes, they may not be truly elite, but I think there is less and less emphasis on the Uni nowadays. True, some firms will still want Oxbridge/Durham, etc, but most won't be bothered too much. Most important is a 1st or 2:1.

For Social Justice, have a look at the new (for '26) Loughborough course - very much that slant. There are risks being a new course.

If DC is def interested in Law as a career, then Solicitor Apprenticeships are an option. Message me for more.

Dd is year 13 now. She has offers from Warwick, York and Lancaster. She’s waiting to hear from Durham and she’s just had an interview at Oxford for Law with Law Studies in Europe. Arbitio used to be the go to for LNAT prep but it went down this year.

Dd used the Leslie Ho LNAT book and did the practice LNAT tests on the official website.

She achieved 7 grade 9s and 3 grade 8s at GCSE from a normal state comp and is predicted 4 A stars at A Level. She achieved an A star EPQ in an area related to law in year 12.

Super curriculars are important - she’s read widely and kept up to date with legal cases and issues. She visited the supreme court and watched a case at the Royal Court of Justice. She completed a mini pupillage at a chambers specialising in medical negligence. They usually only take uni students but she applied anyway and got on. She’s also done some work experience at a large firm of solicitors.

@stubiff Now the solicitor qualification route is via employees, firms look at dc and take a wider range into paralegal jobs. Whether that means opportunities from elite and other universities is identical is another matter. It’s a long haul on lowish wages to get the golden ticket. The firms that don’t use this process are vastly over subscribed. It’s definitely easier to become a barrister if you have the confidence!

Around 8 universities use LNAT. So look up which ones but the very good ones just below that level are competitive too. She might need to consider where she wants to work. Manchester is a big supplier of lawyers in Manchester. Oxbridge is not. People see their careers in different ways and there’s always the employed bar and the civil service or local government. Given there’s around 6,000 training positions overall for solicitors and around 500 for barristers, students far outweigh vacancies. It can take years to get anywhere. When dc have qualified, earnings vary a huge amount too. Finding out as much as possible and going to law events can help guide dc but if you are a baby criminal barrister, don’t expect to earn your keep.

@Fatsnowflake

Super curriculars are important - yes, when they are relevant. Can almost guarantee that 4 AStars was (more than) enough, on it's own, to get the Lancaster offer (DS got one within days with only one AStar), and poss even at York.
Obv, if DC has aspirations of the elite ones, then it comes into play. The offer rate at Warwick/Durham for 3 AStars is only 50/60%.

@OhDear111 Think it's the over-supply more than the route. Friend is a partner and they only give TC to their paralegals, and they need a degree to get the PL role. Gives the firm a free hit for a year or two to wheedle out the dross before giving TCs!
That's why I hope my DS gets an apprenticeship (yes, they are heard to get!), as you're in from the start and will qualify fairly early.

@stubiff Yes paralegals are barristers and law grads waiting to get their big break! It’s definitely over supply but the London highly paid roles recruit direct to their own bespoke qualifying courses. They pay very well of course.