A career in Law

What is a career in Law?

When you hear the word ‘law’, you will probably think about things like the TV series Suits, with intense court room battles and judges wearing ridiculous robes and sentencing people to jail-time.

But the truth is, law is a varied sector that has a huge impact on every part of our life. Think about all the key stages in a person’s life; birth, marriage, buying a house etc. Each stage often requires significant legal support from experts.

There are a number of skills, qualities and values that lawyers need to be able to do their jobs well. When it comes to applying to apprenticeships or graduate opportunities, recruiters will be looking to see whether or not you have certain skillsets. Take a look at the skills and attributes listed below; you might already possess some of these, or they might be things that you want to develop before you embark on your career.

Academics – law employers seek individuals with top grades. You’ll likely need further qualifications and the intense nature of academic theory required to be in law, requires immense academic acumen.

Communication – You need to be skilled at both written and verbal communication. A lot of lengthy legal papers will require an excellent grasp of spelling and grammar. You will also be expected to respond to arguments and requests in a concise manner, and effectively communicate complicated legal concepts to people who might not be experts.

People skills – solicitors and barristers interact with a wide range of people who may be in an emotional state or have major business interests riding on the outcome of a deal or case.

You will need to be friendly, professional and able to talk to individuals from all walks of life.

Ability to digest information – the ability to decipher relevant and highly important points from lengthy sets of information is crucial. Lawyers will often have to read through sheaf of papers as thick as a novel and create short, punchy arguments from this. You’ll need to process facts quickly and competently and understand how the law applies to each point.

Organisational skills – lawyers need to be able to manage their time, whether working at a law firm or self-employed (as barristers are). Long hours and high workloads are part of the job so you’ll need to be as efficient as possible.