Ways to specialise without degree?

[oddoneoutalways]

Hi,

I am looking to see if there is a way that I can train to be qualified in a specific area of law, without actually doing a law degree.

I have already completed a Level 1, 2 and 3 course (so completed the Advanced Level) training from the national Independent law advice body in the subject area. I also have GCSEs and AS levels (showing my age, I'm 38!) and 3 NVQs which I gained at work some years ago.

I have another year where I can study before I need to even think about working, possibly a bit longer. Honestly though I am just not interested in law in general - it is a specific subject area.

Is there some sort of access course for this? Or would I need to do a law degree and then specialise?

Thanks.

Have you looked at ILEX?

Ooh no, what's that? (Googling brings up plants?)

What about mediation?

Do you mean CILEX? I hadn't heard of that but will check it out thank you!

What’s the subject area? It’s hard to advise without knowing.

It really depends on what you want to specialise in. Some firms now offer legal apprenticeships which is an alternative route to qualification.

SEND Law. I know most law degrees don't go into education really anyway so that doesn't seem the right route to go down.

That’s helpful, thanks. Unfortunately to qualify as a lawyer you can’t just study education law, and tbh it’s quite specialist, so you won’t find many courses covering it.

Do you have a particular goal in mind, such as a particular job you want to do? It would be good to work out whether you need to be a lawyer for the job you are looking for.

This is a tricky one. It depends what you want to do. I wouldn’t say that SEN law is really a subject of its own, more a subset of administrative law.

I’m a civil court lawyer. I’d say one of my children had additional needs and I wanted to challenger something I’d be able to do it by using my skills and finding and interpreting legislation and cases, knowledge of administrative law/judicial review and ability to make court applications. If you don’t want to qualify as a lawyer then I’d maybe suggest working for a specialist charity if there is one?

Thank you, I thought as much. All of the 'SEN lawyers' and solicitors firms that I've found seem to be general lawyers who've then specialised. And being brutally honest I'm not interested in the law in general I've got a compliance background (entirely different industry). I'm well used to locating applicable statute, the linked guidance/regulation and applying it in a real-world context, not to the extent of a qualified lawyer certainly, but enough that I was able to do my three level course which trains you to the point of being competent to Tribunal level, without too much difficulty.

I think I may be best to stick to my volunteering for now, gain lots of experience and then maybe go down the Advocacy route in a year or twos time.

Well all solicitors have a general qualification and then specialise - so if you’re a property lawyer you still had to pass an exam in criminal law and vice versa.

ps: I make fewer typos in my court applications.

Maybe have a look at something like being a data protection specialist- good pay, minimal qualifications, or something like compliance or audit? Degree not required, if you can afford to go for an entry level type role.

Sorry just seen you mentioned compliance 🙈

@oddoneoutalways
You cannot practice law without being fully qualified. It’s like saying you want to be a doctor but you are skipping the medical training to just take out tonsils. There are professional exams and standards. If you have a degree you can do the conversion course (to law) but you will cover the main elements of a law degree but in less depth. I think Education is civil law but it’s highly specialised. It’s what someone gets into after they find it interesting and have become an expert. Quite a few people are experts and change careers into law but there’s no short cut. Standards are standards.