Life as a solicitor

Being a solicitor is both rewarding and challenging. While you may be looking at the potential training options to consider, there is much more to consider as you embark on the pathway to becoming a qualified legal professional.

What does a solicitor do?

Solicitors will normally work and specialise in a particular area of law. They will provide expert advice to clients on matters while usually working within a law firm or a legal team in a commercial or other organisation. This is a dynamic role where professionals act on behalf of, and give legal advice to, commercial and private clients.

Some of a solicitor’s typical duties will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Communicating with clients to understand their objectives and explaining how the law applies or the steps that need to be taken to achieve their objectives

• Research on cases and legislation

• Managing all legal aspects of transactions or cases from start to finish

• Drafting legal documents

• Negotiating agreements

• Liaising with other professionals depending on the nature of the legal issue (for example surveyors, doctors, accountants, project managers and barristers)

As a solicitor, you may deal with clients who want legal guidance across a range of matters, or those who require specialist advice in a particular area. If you’re dealing with commercial clients such as companies, you could be expected to work on corporate transactions such as mergers, contracts or takeovers. If you’re dealing with private clients, your tasks could include conveyancing, family issues such as divorce or drafting a will, or personal injury claims.

How to become a solicitor

The way of becoming a solicitor is changing. There are currently two ways to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales. The route you can take depends on where you are in your current legal studies.

If you have started or completed either a qualifying law degree or conversion course before 31 December 2021*

For many years, the pathway to qualifying as a solicitor for law graduates was to study and pass the Legal Practice Course (LPC), complete a short Professional Skills Course (PSC) which is usually paid for by the firm/organisation you are training with) and then complete a two-year ‘Period of Recognised Training’ with an employer, more commonly referred to as a ‘Training Contract’.  This route is being abolished in 2032, but it is likely that legal training providers will begin to phase out their LPC courses from the mid-2020s.

In addition, under the LPC pathway, non-law graduates were required to study a law conversion course before studying the LPC. However, the LPC route will be closed to non-law graduates after 31 December 2021 if they have not started their law conversion course by then.

Alternatively, law graduates can now also qualify via the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) training route. It is the biggest change in solicitors’ training for nearly 30 years as it will eventually replace the LPC pathway.

If you haven’t started your legal training before 31 December 2021

If you start your journey to qualification after 31 December 2021 (which in most cases means you don’t start your law degree or conversion course until 2022or later), the SQE route will be the only route available to qualify as a solicitor. SQE candidates are required to pass two sets of assessments (SQE 1 and SQE 2) and complete two years’ of Qualifying Work Experience (‘QWE’) to become qualified, the latter of which is replacing the traditional Training Contract.

The SQE route is also open to unqualified legal professionals with experience of legal practice, as well as law and non-law graduates.

SQE and LPC courses

Training for both the LPC and the SQE can be done on either a full or part-time basis, with online and face-to-face study options available. If you’re considering your legal training pathway, we’d highly recommend speaking to a careers adviser or your preferred legal training providers directly to see which route might be more suitable for you.

How many hours do solicitors work?

While most employees in the UK are contracted to work between 35-40 hours a week, working for 50+ hours a week for a legal professional is not rare during busy periods or when working for international and/or demanding clients.

With remote working and the progression of flexible working, many legal professionals can work from home or in a way that suits them if demands of the job are met.   

Where does a solicitor work?

Once qualified, there are several possibilities open to you. For newly qualified solicitors, the main options are likely to be a choice between working at a law firm or at an organisation with an in-house legal department.

The majority of new trainees will end up at a law firm. While working at a law firm requires knowledge of the areas you’ll specialise in, there is likely to an additional focus on your overall contribution to the firm, such as client relationship management, business development and the number of your ‘billable hours’ to clients. While the latter helps to monitor what you do, it also gives the firm an indication of the time and money spent on cases, and, ultimately, how profitable the work you are doing actually is. However, with more dynamic ways of working and clients wanting to know costs upfront, some firms offer fixed-fee or other arrangements which, for some, will negate the pressure of hitting financial targets.     

If you choose to work ‘in-house’ for a company or other organisation, you’ll usually focus on the needs of your employer. This could include reviewing and implementing policies around compliance and regulatory demands.

Is it hard to get a job as a solicitor?

While having a good academic record is often a prerequisite and, having some legal work experience is desirable, knowing how best to approach applications and interviews will give you a much better chance of securing a training contract or QWE. Non-work experience is just as important, especially an ability to discuss what you have learned and the transferable skills you have acquired, as are your extra-curricular activities. Employers are looking for a diverse set of ‘rounded’ candidates rather a particular ‘type’ of trainee.  In addition, firms and recruiters will also consider the quality and depth of your training and breadth of your knowledge of the law and practice before considering you for an interview.

How much does a solicitor earn?

The salaries which some new and experienced solicitors earn can be very enticing. There are several sources that feature this information with varying ranges, including thelawyer.com, Law Society and The Lawyer Portal whose figures are mentioned here as a benchmark.

While salary will depend based on the firm and employer, for trainee solicitors, the Law Society recommends a minimum of £22k in London and £19k for other areas. However, if you manage to secure a trainee place at a prestigious Magic Circle firm or other leading organisation, such as a number of those where BPP have exclusive links, you could earn in excess of £50k a year.

Based on figures from The Lawyer Portal, an average trainee solicitor wage is between £35,000 and £48,000 in London and £18,000-£35,000 beyond the capital. As not every future solicitor will work at a big firm, these starting salaries could also include organisations, such as high street practice or smaller boutique firms that offer different types of practice.

We also calculated average salaries based on a 2021 report from thelawyer.com of the UK’s largest law firms’ trainee and newly qualified solicitor salaries. The average salary for trainees was £33k a year, with newly qualified solicitors earning around £50k pa.

Legal careers advice to get started

If you’re looking pursue a successful career as a solicitor, we recommend getting advice from a dedicated legal careers service or, if you have any, friends/family that work in practice. Many of our students don’t have such connections, so all the more reason to connect with our team at BPP and attend our events before applying to BPP. With a number of options available for both work and training, defining a plan to help you get started and reviewing your training options is a useful place to begin.

Visit our law courses page to see where you could potentially start your legal career.    

*Applies to students who have accepted an offer to study a conversion course by 31 August 2021, or by 21 September 2021 for those studying a qualifying law degree for courses starting before 31 December 2021. For more information on transitional arrangements, visit the SRA website.