Recruitment

There are a variety of routes into the profession and further information on this can be obtained from the case sheet available in the section of downloadable documents. The TSG membership is drawn from PGDL/LPC students, trainees on a training contract and paralegals who are law graduates or PGDL/LPC graduates. The information on this section of the website is aimed at individuals who have reached or are approaching the stage of applying for a training contract and those who are about to become Newly qualified solicitors.

Training Contracts

Commercial Law Firms - Commercial firms usually recruit two years in advance, meaning that if you are doing a law degree, you should be applying at the beginning of your third year and at the same time you are considering registering at an LPC Institution. If you have done a non-law degree and plan to convert into law then you should apply at the beginning of your final year and at the same time as you apply for the PGDL.

These time limits however are not set in stone and a few of the very large commercial firms often do not reach their quota of trainees two years in advance. Thus it is possible to obtain a training contract whilst completing the LPC at a commercial firm. Postings of these training contracts are sent by the firms to careers services at institutions providing PGDL and LPC.

A useful source of information on commercial firms and the variety of sectors of law that they practice is the Training Contract Handbook which is produced by Globe Publishing in association with the TSG. The book is available at law schools and university careers services and contains comprehensive listings of law firms that offer training contracts. It also contains useful advice written by trainees. The book is highly recommended and is referred to by many prospective solicitors as the bible. Globe Publishing also maintains the following site which is well worth a look: www.lawcareers.net ( The TSG has no control however over the content on this site and for specific advice on a confidential basis please ring the TSG help line. )

The training contract handbook is published once a year the next edition coming out in November.

High Street/Private Client firms - Training contracts at high street/private client firms become available on a more ad-hoc basis. The TSG advise students to contact individual firms directly. Brief details of each firm can be obtained on the Law Society's web-site. The lLaw Society Gazette which comes out every Thursday also regularly has training contracts advertised at high street firms which are on the whole for an immediate start. The Gazette also often advertises local training contracts in local authorities and in-house opportunities.

Newly Qualified Solicitors(NQ) - Positions for NQ's are generally available via recruitment consultants. It is best to shop around and then choose 1-3 recruitment consultants to deal with. It is preferable if you can choose only one as this will lessen the burden on you to monitor their efforts on your behalf. The Consultants will help you with your CV and interview technique as well as providing you with information on a firm once you get an interview. They will also be able to provide you with information on the market and where your applications would be best targeted (that is not to say that such advice should be religiously followed).Take care as some recruitment consultants will send out your CV to various firms without informing you before hand. This can be a potential minefield if you are registered with more than one agency and both send your CV to the same firm. It is advisable to check which way each recruitment consultant works before signing up and keep a list of all firms approached on your behalf whether speculatively or for posted vacancies. Direct applications are also useful and may be used to supplement the efforts of a recruitment consultant on your behalf. Information may also be obtained through various websites such as roll on Friday and a particularly useful site is www.totallylegal.com