Question for all solicitor/legal mums - would you recommend your career?

[jivegirl]

Hoping I can pick your brains, ladies!

I am 32 years old, mum to an 18 month old with next baby due in June. I have a degree in English literature and found myself stuck in a very unchallenging and uninspiring junior manager public sector job. I am currently part time and am resolute that the rest of my career lies elsewhere!

I am seriously considering a career change to law - studying part time or in the evening - but would be very interested to hear whether you think I've left it too late. I wouldn't want to work in the city, I am not considering being the next top barrister (I am quite attracted by alternative legal work such as working in courts or as a barristers clerk for example) - but I do need to hear some realistic opinions as to whether the legal job market would welcome me or whether I would struggle to secure employment. I am not adverse to studying very hard and working at a low salary as a means to an end, but I simply couldn't afford to get myself into significant debt with no realistic prospect of being able to pay it off.

It also seems to me that there are no 'middle ground' courses for me to see whether I could cope academically with the demands of studying law - it's either the ILEX route (which I am very familiar with - my partner is 2 years in) or it's the very costly, full-on CPE/GDL.

My boyfriends father is a partner in a local law firm, and his family have excellent contacts in the legal world here, so I am assuming (perhaps naively) that finding myself a training contract would not be an impossible task.

My current full time salary is currently just over £28k. (I live in the North East of England). If I could be confident of securing part-time work in law I would do this just to experience a different sector, but I am sceptical that an employer would take on a part-time 'career changer' at a comparable salary.

Thank you in advance to anyone who is kind enough to reply - I really would welcome any comments.

Kind regards,

Claire.

Hi Jivegirl

Coincidentally I have a degree in English Literature too!

I don't think that finding a training contract would be impossible at all. Apart from working your own contacts in the private sector you could think about a training contract with the CPS or local authority or civil service as well (thinking about your public sector background).

Difficult to say about salaries though.

Good luck

Hi Claire

I graduated in summer after having spent 5 years studying part-time for my law degree. I am in Scotland by the way so my degree is in Scots Law. I loved every minute of it and was very interesting. Whilst doing that I got a job within the legal sector and also worked towards my Criminal Paralegal qualificaton. When I was employed by a firm they regularly took on older trainees as they felt the experience was just as important as qualifications.

Tbh I dont really know about salaries where you are but here a first year trainee can expect to get around 16k and in second year about 19k. After that, it really depends on which area you want to specialise in and where you work.

I can only advise you to go for it as it is such a brilliant degree to have - not only for becoming a lawyer but for other career paths too.

Good Luck!! x

I think you are right to be concerned about getting part time work when you are starting out on a new career. I am sure if you work hard you would find work but you might find there's a period of longer hours / working full-time before you can secure something more flexible.

It's also hard with dcs so young - however much of a hard worker you are there are only so many hours in the day and you are likely to be pretty shattered when baby comes.

I enjoy being a solicitor but I don't think I could contemplate starting out with such young kids (mine are 2 and 4).

Good luck.

Why not go to the nearest law school for the ILEX/ CPE and ask their views? I am sure they would be very helpful.

I have a friend who has just retrained to join the Government Legal Service. I think there are more jobs in London than around the country but it might be worth a look?

www.gls.gov.uk/about/outside-london.htm

The secret is never do those courses without finding a firm who will pay (which is what has happened with my daughter, luckily) therefore you get your fees paid £10,600 plus an annual allowance say £7k for the 2 years. If you can't find a firm who will do that that then it's a question of funding it yourself but arguably no one should take the risk on those courses unless they've been hired by a firm already who is paying and they will work for when qualified.

I think law is a good career for women because it's a versatile qualification, you can practise as a solicitor anywhere in the country and in all sorts of different areas. Having said that, you will have to work hard (sounds as if you know that already), working for difficult and demanding clients can be very stressful and training contracts are currently quite hard to get.

I'm an ex City lawyer - I worked long hours for very good pay for a few years, but I wouldn't choose to go back to the City (although it's fine in your 20s with no kids). I'm currently a SAHM but in a few years I will probably want to go back to something more local - which may be hard, but it shouldn't be impossible.

If you have the right attitude and a good enough CV you will eventually find a training contract. My cousin did the 2 year course with no sponsorship - a big financial risk to take - and spent a year after finishing law school working in a bar, but he now has a brilliant job which he loves.

I think, as with any career, it is possible to work in law part-time (I'm currently a solicitor working 2 days a week, and can work from home when necessary, for example!) but I'm not sure it would be easy or even possible to do this from the start. Possible the CPS might be more flexible, I don't know.

I agree with Xenia re the Law School fees, they are fairly hefty if you don't have a firm funding you. It's standard for most larger firms to do so, on the proviso that you commit to the 2-yr training contract with them afterwards. Competition can be fierce though but I suspect you know that!

The firm I am currently with offer the facility for graduates to complete the LPC part-time whilst doing their training contract. So instead of doing 1 year at Law School then 2 years at the firm as a trainee, you spend 2.5 or 3 years as a trainee with some time out spread over that period to also do the LPC. Bonus is you're getting trainee experience and salary immediately. Not sure how this works for non-law graduates tbh as it wasn't the route I took, but it might be worth thinking about and seeing if any of your local firms do something similar?

I have to say being a solicitor works very well for me atm (ds is 4 and dd 1.5). I did my training contract in London and put in the long City hours back then. I know some people thrive on this but it wasn't for me, and I moved over to the south west on qualification and was lucky enough to get on with the new firm well enough that they took me back on my current flexible terms after my first lot of maternity leave.

Sorry for waffle - it is possible, but difficult, to do this part-time and it will probably restrict the areas of law you can practice, and limit career prospects long-term. (I know I will never be partner. That's OK, I think I've got it pretty good )

I am a solicitor (sahm for past 5 years), and when I return to work I am looking at either teaching or a junior manager public sector position! I worked in the civil service in London before entering law and it was a much more civilised way of life.
I honestly don't think the majority of private practice solicitor jobs are compatible with young families because you are so client driven. Their needs come first and you often have to work long hours. I don't wish to put down your dream but it's worth thinking about before you commit the time and money.
Some of the solicitors on here such as Xenia are at the extreme high end of the earnings scale so can afford nannies etc which make life much easier but are not representative imo.
I think you would be much more likely to obtain a part time law job in the public sector, and given your experience in this sector, this might be the way forward for you. Why don't you contact a local council and see if they have any shortage areas such as childcare or planning law?
When I return to work, I plan to look at public sector jobs and even retrain from scratch if necessary just so that I can have some sort of balance with family life (plus a pension).
Good luck, you should definitely get a wide range of opinions here which always helps.

I think you can virtually write out barristers' clerk or court official. Barristers clerks start very poorly paid (and you generally have to start from the bottom up - as a trolley dolly!) unless you can demonstrate considerable managerial skills and get a job as a chambers manager/administrator. HMCS is pretty badly paid - civil service rates. CPE/GDL would be the obvious way to go and as others have said you may consider working for the CPS or perhaps in local government if you are hoping for flexible/part time hours and/or sponsorship.

The only thing I would add is that it may be possible to do the CPE & LPC part time somewhere local to you or on a distance learning course. This is hard work but you only have to pay for one year at a time if for some reason you can't complete it so it is less of a financial nightmare. Also shows commitment and organisational ability etc when looking for training contracts.

Hope it works out for you

Here's a link to a similar discussion on a legal talk-board. The contributions are usually very London-biased.

legal week chat

The Lawyer magazine has a section called Lawyer2B which you might also find on line, and that might have interesting pieces for you.

You might need to qualify before you got part-time work. I'm not sure what the Law
Society feels about part-time trainees. Their web-site might tell you.

I do like my job, but it's nothing like the job you're looking for - I'm a partner in the City, and work FT. To me that is part of the appeal of the law: you can work for BigPolluteCo or you can work for Greenpeace.

Hi,
I'm an ex City lawyer now turned LPC lecturer. The law school I teach at (which has a Leeds branch - anywhere near u?) does offer the GDL and LPC in various part time forms (weekends/evenings/day time part time) but it's expensive and pretty tough going. IME "mature" students from part time law school courses do find it MUCH more difficult to get TCs compared to the 22 year olds who've come straight through uni and law school, which is utterly unfair because the "older" ones are almost always a lot more focussed, driven, sensible, practical, commercial etc!
Personally there's no way I could still be in practice as a mum. I love what I do now because the hours are set and part time works very well, but you have to qualify and gain at least 2 years' pqe experience to teach the LPC.

I am a bit worried, I qualified as a solicitor in 2000, only held a practising certif for a year as I had a relapse of my multiple sclerois.

Once i had got over this I got a job at the magistrates court as a clerk for 4 years.

I then got married and moved overseas for 3 years with my husband after I was refused a career break. I have not been practising law for 3 years and am now 8 months pregnant!!

I hope that when I return to the UK in 2009 i will be able to apply for a part time job as a solicitor but am concerned that the gaps in my legal CV may be a problem. Does anyone have any ideas?

I am about to return to my job as a part time conveyancing solicitor after a years maternity leave. This is my second mat leave and when I returned to work initially I was offered 2 part time jobs so there are part time jobs out there. I however found it very hard to manage the balance of being a good solicitor and a good mum so who knows what the future will bring. However, until the economy picks up I have noticed that there are hardly any jobs being advertised for property lawyers.

Evie99 -hello. I have by Law degree and am about to embark on my costly LPC, do you know of any Solicitor's that would want to take me on. It is often being in the loop that helps!
I have a 1.5 and a 4 year old (took a career break to have children) and now am looking to get back into the swing! My law degree is at a 2:1 standard (gutted as I was 2% of a first :-() Nevermind!
Would love to hear from you.
Thank you fellow Netmummer!

Anna x

Jacksmybaby, mazzap, estobi1 and Evie99 -hello. I have by Law degree and am about to embark on my costly LPC, do you know of any Solicitor's that would want to take me on. It is often being in the loop that helps!
I have a 1.5 and a 4 year old (took a career break to have children) and now am looking to get back into the swing! My law degree is at a 2:1 standard (gutted as I was 2% of a first :-() Nevermind!
Would love to hear from you all.
Thank you fellow Netmummers!

Anna x

p.s sorry to post again, some names didn't appear??? xxx

bump

The only thing I would say is that private practice in the north at the moment is going through a massive contraction - check out the Lawyer and Legalweek for detials of all the latest lay offs. Most firms where i am are making redundancies and freezing recruitment and pay. It may be worth thinking of an area of law that is countercyclical (litigation, insolvency) and aiming to get experience / training in that area as it may be a couple of years before the economy bounces back and corporate and property lawyers are in demand again. Have a look at other local authority admin vacancies too e.g procurement, data protection etc - all quasi legal and you could work in the public sector and pick up part time qualifications without bankrupting yourself at law college!