The legal profession is an exciting one with opportunities for advancement and personal development. While some individuals know they want to follow the legal route from an early age, many follow other paths first, entering the sector later in life or after study. How, though, can you transfer into this new, rewarding career? Let’s explore.
Understanding your transferable skills
No matter your background, professional or academic, you are likely to have a host of transferable skills that you can use within the legal career. Some of the best lawyers draw on their life experiences and awareness of a broad range of professions at all entry levels, and use this in their practice. From handling paperwork to dealing with challenging clients and working to tight deadlines, there are many ways having a background outside of law gives you an advantage, rather than a disadvantage. Perhaps you have worked in a retail environment. An ability to serve customers, retain professionalism and maintain standards for your workplace (like knowing how to communicate and understanding returns processes) are all highly useful skills that will transfer to working with clients.
Routes into law
There are many routes into law, but for those coming from a non-legal background, we highly recommend the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL). For many students, getting a solid academic grounding in law is a great way to bridge the gap and build confidence in legal knowledge. The College’s GDL is offered as either a full-time or part-time course and will provide you with foundation law training to put you on a level playing field with UK law graduates. You will study the seven foundation areas of law and gain a recognised qualification, ready to move on to prepare for the SQE or explore a legal career. You will be supported throughout the programme by experienced supervisors who have been solicitors and can share their expertise with you through supervisions and workshops. Many GDL students will carry out this course alongside working in early stage legal roles, such as administrative or paralegal roles. They then go on to complete our SQE prep courses or LLM in Legal Practice while working to build up their skill base.
Application advice for the GDL course
When it comes to applying for a GDL course, your focus should be looking at your transferable skills, applying them to life as a lawyer, and showing your interest in the sector. We don't expect a deep breadth of legal experience, but instead an ability to express how this next step can connect to your work experiences so far, and why you want to take this path. Do your research, learn about the sector as much as you can, and show us you are invested in your future. We are passionate about widening access to the legal sector and encourage applicants with non-traditional routes to law at every step.
Application advice when applying to firms
Many GDL students work in early-stage legal roles such as paralegals or admin based roles whilst studying. This helps build experience and strengthens future legal career prospects. The key thing to remember when applying for entry levels roles is to sell your transferrable skills as well as expressing your keen interest. Engage with the legal sector by reading, attending events, or networking. Demonstrating curiosity and investment in your future helps your application stand out and shows you’re serious about the career change.
When it comes to interviews, give yourself plenty of practice beforehand and really try and get quick recall of your experiences so far, and how they could apply to the role you're considering. Some people plan out a bulleted list of their key skills and practice thinking how this could apply to various situations in the legal sphere that they could come across in the role. Above all, though, show enthusiasm, an ability to learn, and a willingness to be taught!
Looking for more guidance on your legal journey?
Explore our resources to help aspiring solicitors secure their training contracts and prepare for the SQE.