Advice needed. Low A *****s. General Idiotness.

[dakyras]

Hello everyone, forum newbie here for some advice!

I have always wanted to be a lawyer. I can't remember wanting to do anything else. However...

Just before my A *****s my parents divorced, we moved house, I became an angry little teenager, fell in with the wrong crowd and didn't really give much interest towards my A *****s. Hardly turned up to any lessons, and barely got the coursework in. This resulted in me receiving a lovely bunch of grades to the tune of BCC. I hadn't even bothered applying to any universities.

It was about the time I got my results that reality sat up and gave me a massive smack in the face. I realised what a moron I had been and decided to turn everything around. I took stock of what I had and how feasible it would be to become a lawyer. Realising how ridiculously hard it would be for me to compete against AAA Oxbridge students, I decided to get a back-up degree with a vocational element just in case everything went the shape of a pomaceous fruit and then go for the GDL. So...

I applied to Oxford Brookes University to do English and Publishing. The printed media and journalism had also interested me somewhat so I felt this was a suitable option. I used the remainder of the year to work, which involved mindless hours in a call centre, and then spent 2 months in Honduras working for an international newspaper.

When I got back I thought "Okay, that journalism malarkey was pretty fun and I can see myself doing this kind of thing. But I still want to be a lawyer." So as soon as I got to university, I knuckled down and was rewarded with a middleish 1st class result in my first semester, and at the end of my first year I averaged around 69%. I've already taken an extra module in business and intend to take modules in Japanese and Mandarin.

This year coming (my second) I intend to volunteer with CAB, and Bail for Immigration Detainees. I'm going to apply for work experience and vacation schemes like there's no tomorrow, and apply for the CSET summer school.

What I want to know is this: will that be enough to give me the slimmest of chances of securing a training contract? I may very well take a year out after my final year to teach English in Japan; will this make law firms look upon me favourably or as some hippy waster of a student?

Thanks for any advice given

[Ganymede]

A-*****s mean nothing, getting a 2:1 on your LLB or above is all that most firms care about. Get that and you're sorted (ish!).

[SCARYMARY]

i don't see what the problem is here? so ure A*****s are not great, if you read some of the threads on here some people have secured training contracts with a 3rd class degree. if you dont believe in yourself you got no chance. I am sorry to sound mean but that is the truth.

Please don't call yourself an idiot because if you dont think highly of yourself no one will.

x

[Chris101]

Depends what kind of firm you're looking at. You'll probably struggle to get into a City firm unless you come away with a first. However with solid grades throughout uni and all that extra-curricular stuff then I think you'll have little difficulty with regional/high street firms.

[sumoking]

That is idociy. The excuses don't cut it. Everyone has problems going on that is just one of those things you have to deal with. It is particularly important in law becuase you have to show a kind of air of invincibility and confidence no matter if your dog just got run over and you're comming down with the cold and your kids just told you they hate you.

Straight to city job is out the window. Be under no illusions. Your CV does not get read when it comes in. It go's to an agency who scans it and uses software to search for key words atributes and qualities.

Straight A's and 2.1's are one of those qualities. They have to they get 1000 applications per place (granted that the people applying are sending the same app to about a hundred firms so the competition is slightly over exagerated)

You need to ace your degree and get good gdl and lpc grades.

The hippy stuff of working as a journalist and helping foreign kids speak english will appeal to recruiters.

You have good potential to break into a medium/ niche firm and then it is easy to move upwards.

Attrition is horrible in law firms and they are always recruiting (cadwalader is lying off tons of people and still recruiting at the same time)

[Del]

sumoking sometimes you are so harsh, circumstances do affect performance and a divorce and moving home is very disruptive to a young person. In my view it's not the falling down that makes someone a 'loser' or 'incompetent' it's the STAYING down.

This person is trying to remedy that which is the right thing to do, yes all A's at A'***** and a 2.1 or a 1st will make it easier to get a job but the reality is great academics do not always make great practitioners. I know a lot of people will disagree with this point which is fine, each to their own; but the reality is not every law firm puts their potential candidates in nice little tick boxes.

[ltandy]

I agree - my firm isn't really too bothered about a *****s and the firm my friend works at is much the same. I only think it is the very big firms that consider a *****s crucially important. My husband is American and thinks it is crazy that they hold results from when you were at sixth form against you as harshly as they do (but I guess they have to narrow people down etc). Anyway it is not always the case. If you have a good degree and good LPC results you will be fine if you target the right firms.

[ltandy]

ps. like scarymary says there are people with worst academics than BCC with training contracts and thirds etc

[Del]

I've got a crap academic record and I've got a TC, why? Because my principal doesn't give a damn where I went to uni, what grades I etc, in fact he doesn't even know what grades I got because he's never asked. He judges on how well you perform and there's no doubt if I do say this myself that I am good at what I do.

A good academic record will make getting interviews and securing jobs a lot easier that's why I try to advocate to law students to really try their best to get the best grades so they're not in a situation where they're struggling to get a job.

I can honestly say that even if I was a straight A student it would make no difference to how I perform now because quite frankly from the moment you become a fee earner that's when the learning starts.

[Del]

I've got a crap academic record and I've got a TC, why? Because my principal doesn't give a damn where I went to uni, what grades I etc, in fact he doesn't even know what grades I got because he's never asked. He judges on how well you perform and there's no doubt if I do say this myself that I am good at what I do.

A good academic record will make getting interviews and securing jobs a lot easier that's why I try to advocate to law students to really try their best to get the best grades so they're not in a situation where they're struggling to get a job.

I can honestly say that even if I was a straight A student it would make no difference to how I perform now and my knowledge of the law because quite frankly from the moment you become a fee earner that's when the learning starts.