Going back to uni to do GDL

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Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment is an online legal recruitment agency for lawyers. The website has a vacancy database, a candidate database, over 100 pages of detailed information on careers, CVs, interviews, and advice on how to be recruited and interviewed by a good law firm. There is also a section on the recruitment and retention of staff for legal employers. The company donates 10% of its profits every year to charity - hence its name - and over 3,800 solicitors and legal executives have registered with them since 2000.

Each week, Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment will answer one of your randomly selected career questions. To ask a question, email your question to careers@traineesolicitor.co.uk.

Here's this week's question:

"Hi

I am thinking of going back to uni to do a GDL and work towards a career in law. The problem is I have pretty average A ***** results, B,C,D and a 2:1 in business from an ex-poly. ( I think have always been capable, just not really motivated during A *****s.) I really want to be a lawyer but what are my chances of getting a TC? Do I have a realistic shot? Or should I spend my time and money on something else?

Thanks

Dan"

Response

I was very amused to read the whole plethora of answers from various sources on the forum in respect of this very question, as we often get clients coming to see us for careers consultations with similar situations and wanting to know definitively whether they will get a training contract.

I think the first question that Dan has to ask himself is "why do I want to be a lawyer", not whether he will get a training contract. The reason for this is because the response to the first question will usually result in the answer to the second. If there is a genuine reason for wanting to be a lawyer, backed up by sound evidence, Dan will already be halfway there in any event - he will have experience of what exactly a solicitor does in practice (ie he will have work experience in a private practice firm or other environment), he will be aware of what a barrister does and hence why he is looking for a training contract as opposed pupillage, and he will understand what the study of law is all about at GDL *****.

He will also have read our guide to finding a training contract

http://www.ten-percent.co.uk/Advice_for ... ntract.pdf

And will have researched the cost of the GDL and the LPC, and the average starting salary of a trainee solicitor outside the magic circle firms.

Once he has done all of this, then he needs to think about his A *****s and degree.

His A *****s are not bad at all, and should not be a bar to getting a training contract with a provincial or high street firm. It is very likely he would struggle to get interviews at magic circle and firms in central London attracting 5000 applicants per training contract, as unfortunately firms do have to benchmark, and the best way to do this for legal recruitment is to use former academic results.

However a 2.1 at business studies and average A *****s are not a bar to a successful legal careers. If you look at our website and go to the careers centre:

http://www.ten-percent.co.uk/careersadvice.htm

You will see on the right hand side testimony from someone who got a 3rd class degree and very low a ***** results, who is just completing her training contract. Its all in the mind - progressing at law is about getting your foot in the right door at the right time if you are not a conventional AAA, 2.1 redbrick Uni, nice school straight into 300 partner central London practice!

Jonathan Fagan


Jonathan Fagan LLM MREC Cert RP is the Founder and Managing Director, and is a non-practising solicitor with over 7 years experience as a legal recruitment consultant. He has personally advised and prepared CVs for many 100's of solicitors and law graduates, and has assisted lawyers throughout their careers to date.