<br />
<br />
Your introduction to a<br />
career in law<br />
<br />
If you’re a non-law student who is<br />
thinking about law as a career, then<br />
Launchpad to Law is your starting point!<br />
This guide has been designed<br />
specificall<br />
Contents<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Managing editor<br />
Sinead Dineen<br />
sdineen@lawcareers.net<br />
Editor<br />
Isla Grant<br />
Assistant editor<br />
Adam Smith<br />
Sub-editor<br />
Carolyn Boyle<br />
Production designers<br />
Russell Anderson, John Meikle<br />
Production a<br />
Launchpad to Law<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
What do lawyers do?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It’s hard to imagine a world without lawyers.<br />
For one thing, the TV schedules would be a lot<br />
emptier – but beyond that, society itself<br />
would grind to a<br />
What do lawyers do?<br />
<br />
<br />
The diversity of commercial work in<br />
particular can seem bewildering. The good<br />
news is that most solicitors (especially at<br />
larger firms) specialise in a specific area of<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 1" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=1"> </a>
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 2" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=2"> Your introduction to a career in law If you’re a</a> non-law student who is thinking about law as a career, then Launchpad to Law is your starting point! This guide has been designed specificall
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 3" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=3"> Contents Managing editor Sinead Dineen sdineen</a>@lawcareers.net Editor Isla Grant Assistant editor Adam Smith Sub-editor Carolyn Boyle Production designers Russell Anderson, John Meikle Production a
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 4" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=4"> Launchpad to Law What do lawyers do? I</a>t’s hard to imagine a world without lawyers. For one thing, the TV schedules would be a lot emptier – but beyond that, society itself would grind to a
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 5" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=5"> What do lawyers do? The diversity of c</a>ommercial work in particular can seem bewildering. The good news is that most solicitors (especially at larger firms) specialise in a specific area of
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 6" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=6"> Training contract 5 In a </a>law firm Earnings £15-40k Legal Practice Course 4 At law school Costs £6.5 – 11
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 7" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=7"> The Launchpad timeline 1. University – fi</a>rst to penultimate year Surprise, surprise! These years do actually count. It’s so important to get good grades here to show a hard- working attitude.
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 8" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=8"> Launchpad to Law The courses you need </a>GDL: swap shop! OK, so you’ve realised you’d like to be a lawyer, but your undergrad degree is in wave technology. No problem! All you need to do is c
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 9" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=9"> The courses you need LPC: keeping it real Next,</a> you have to learn how to put all that into practice. That’s why they invented the Legal Practice Course (LPC). As Giles Proctor says: “The L
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 10" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=10"> Launchpad to Law Where to study Where </a>to study The following institutions offer the Graduate Diploma in Law. Those in bold also offer the Legal Practice Course. University of Birmingham B
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 11" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=11"> Finances Finances First, the bad news:</a> becoming a lawyer is one of the most expensive career paths you can take. In fact, it’s a yellow brick road paved with gold forked out by you.
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 12" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=12"> </a>
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 13" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=13"> Apply yourself Apply yourself So what’</a>s the secret to securing rewarding work with an equally rewarding salary? You have to persuade firms that you’re worth it – which means marketing your
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 14" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=14"> </a>
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 15" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=15"> Degree subject profiles Degree subject profi</a>les If you’re still waiting for proof that firms are serious about undergraduates who aren’t studying law, you need look no further
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 16" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=16"> Crown Prosecution Service Archaeology My entry in</a>to law was almost accidental and stemmed from events beyond my control, but in retrospect I can see that archaeology provided a good foundation. Combi
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 17" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=17"> Archaeology Name: Christopher Taylo</a>r Firm: Crown Prosecution Service Degree: Archaeology University: University of Leicester Archaeology – key skills • Ability to unearth evidence •
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 18" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=18"> Wragge & Co LLP Biochemistry My first ambition wa</a>s to be a scientist and I went to university to study biochemistry. At the time, genetically modified (GM) organisms were big in the news. I found the
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 19" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=19"> Biochemistry of knowledge assists greatly in a le</a>gal career. Although new laws take time to come into force, judge-made law is always changing and new judgments are delivered daily. Keeping up to dat
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 20" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=20"> Pinsent Masons Business administration and French</a> I chose to study business with French as I loved the language, but wanted to complement it with something more vocational that would open up a range
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 21" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=21"> Business administration and French in my current </a>seat in property, where I manage a large number of files and face crucial time limits for registering charges at Companies House, filing stamp duty la
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 22" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=22"> Hammonds LLP Classics and ancient languages My fi</a>rst encounter with the legal profession was in the summer after GCSEs, when I undertook a two-week spell of work experience shadowing a barrister in L
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 23" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=23"> Name: Lucy Robbins Firm: Hammonds LLP Degree: Cla</a>ssics and ancient languages University: University of Oxford Classics and ancient languages – key skills • Appreciating the ancient roots of o
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 24" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=24"> Weil, Gotshal & Manges Economics These days, you </a>are expected to know what you want to study at degree level right after taking your GCSEs. Rather than choosing a specialised course, I decided to kee
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 25" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=25"> “Understanding both specific models and the gener</a>al economic backdrop helps to put the work that you are doing into perspective” www.LawCareers.Net Economics gained fro
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 26" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=26"> Bristows Engineering I first considered convertin</a>g to law in my penultimate year at Imperial. While I enjoyed studying information technology (IT) and electronics, I had come to regard it as an inter
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 27" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=27"> “A large part of software design involves identif</a>ying which standard structures to use and tailoring them to solve the particular problems you face. A similar approach is often taken when drafting co
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 28" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=28"> Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP English I was first att</a>racted to the legal profession during my second year at university when I realised (with some gentle coercion from my parents!) that it was time to st
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 29" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=29"> English We were acting for a school for children </a>with disabilities which was being sued for allegedly failing to provide adequate care. I had to formulate the questions that would extract the correct
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 30" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=30"> Reed Smith Geography Applying to university, I ke</a>pt an open mind about my future. I had an inkling that the legal profession might be for me, as I completed a mini-pupillage with a barristers’ chambe
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 31" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=31"> Geography “It was the skills that I developed</a> as a geography student that made me a strong candidate, while my specific subject knowledge complemented my application and helped me to stand out”
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 32" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=32"> Baker & McKenzie LLP History There is an obvious </a>affinity between history and law, but this is not to say that historians must be familiar with the legal systems of old to be effective solicitors tod
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 33" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=33"> History Iran, North Korea and Belarus. As with my</a> history degree, the diversity has been one of the best aspects of training. A history student who is considering a career as a solicitor nee
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 34" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=34"> Norton Rose LLP Maths In my teens I contemplated </a>becoming a lawyer, but I always knew that whatever subject I studied at university, I could do a one-year conversion course in order to pursue a legal
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 35" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=35"> While the knowledge that I gained from m</a>y maths degree has not been of direct use in the workplace, doing mathematics was far from a waste of time. Studying mathematics at university involve
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 36" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=36"> Simmons & Simmons Physics When it came to decidin</a>g on a degree subject, the choice was relatively easy for me. I wanted to study a rigorous and cerebral subject, and I had particularly enjoyed physic
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 37" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=37"> Physics “Numbers and formulae are not the scar</a>y subjects that they are for some lawyers, which certainly helps when I’m dealing with hedge fund or private equity clients and their demands for comp
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 38" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=38"> Slaughter and May Politics Despite suspecting tha</a>t one day I’d be a trainee solicitor in the City, sitting down with a cup of coffee and writing about how political science has provided me with a bri
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 39" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=39"> Politics another summer in Sydney to spend time o</a>n secondment to one of Slaughter and May’s ‘best friend’ firms, Allens Arthur Robinson. Not bad really. The main piece of advice I’d give to
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 40" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=40"> CMS Cameron McKenna LLP Psychology Taking a law d</a>egree had always appealed, but I really enjoyed psychology at A-level and was keen to learn more through undergraduate study. Three years later, I was
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 41" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=41"> Psychology pre-empti</a>ng issues that affect a client’s particular industry are paramount. This is where having a non-law degree, and perhaps the experience of having initia
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 42" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=42"> DLA Piper UK LLP Theatre studies I first consider</a>ed a legal career when I took an optional course in the philosophy of law during my second year at university. Here was intellectual debate put into c
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 43" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=43"> Theatre studies the </a>practical LPC, I began to appreciate how well drama and theatre studies had prepared me for working in the law. In particular, the ability to articula
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 44" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=44"> Ashurst LLP Zoology I chose to study zoology at u</a>niversity because I wanted to broaden my understanding of the biology I’d done at A-level but only in respect of animals. I was genuinely interested i
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 45" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=45"> Zoology </a> Name: Rosie Lord Firm: Ashurst LLP Degree: Zoology University: University of Edinburgh Zoology – key skills • Adherence to a strict ethical code •
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 46" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=46"> Launchpad to Law Frequently asked questions </a> You don’t have to go to Delphi to get answers to your training contract dilemmas. LawCareers.Net’s very own Oracle has an admirable record when
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 47" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=47"> Frequently asked questions principles yet. Just</a> answer logically and coherently, and show your passion for legal reasoning. Q. I think I’d prefer to work in a small, local firm. Is that possible?
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 48" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=48"> Launchpad to Law What to do now You’ve</a> read Launchpad to Law, have a handle on the qualifications you need, understand the applications timetable, think you might like to be a lawyer and n
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 49" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=49"> Glossary Glossary Advocacy The a</a>ct of arguing or pleading in favour of something. Arbitration A method of alternative dispute resolution in which the disputing parties
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 50" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=50"> Launchpad to Law Lawcabs The Law Courses C</a>entral Applications Board, providing the online application form – at www.lawcabs.ac.uk – for the GDL and LPC. Law clinic A legal advic
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 51" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=51"> </a>
<a title="LC.N Launchpad 2009.pdf page 52" href="http://www.zmag.dk/showmag.php?mid=wqshpt&pageid=52"> SO MUCH MORE THAN A QUALIFICATION At Kaplan Law</a> School, we aim to provide not only the best legal training but an engaging and enjoyable experience. As well as Nottingham Law School's top rated co
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