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Solicitor
Hours
37 per week
Starting salary
£16,650 + per year
If you are interested in the law and want a career in legal work, this job could be ideal for you. As a solicitor it would be your job to advise clients about the law, and act on their behalf in legal matters. Your clients could be individuals, groups of people or companies.
To become a solicitor you first need a law degree and then you must complete vocational training.
To be a solicitor you will need strong spoken and written communication skills. You will need to be able to analyse large amounts of information. You will also need confidence and the ability to work under pressure.
WorkDesc
The work
You could work as a solicitor in a range of settings, including:
- private practice - providing legal services such as conveyancing, probate, civil and family law, litigation, personal injury and criminal law
- commercial practice - advising and acting for businesses in areas including contract law, tax, employment law and company sales and mergers
- in-house legal advice for companies, the government or local authorities
- Crown Prosecution Service - examining evidence to decide whether to bring cases to court.
You would often choose to specialise in a particular area of law.
Your duties would vary according to the setting you worked in, but might typically include:
- advising clients about legal matters
- representing clients in court, or instructing barristers or advocates to act for your clients
- drafting letters, contracts and documents
- researching similar cases to guide your current work
- keeping financial records
- attending meetings and negotiations
- preparing papers for court.
HoursDesc
Hours
You would normally work 37 hours a week, but longer hours are common. In some jobs you may be on call at weekends and bank holidays, or need to attend police stations at any time of the day or night.
You would mainly be based in an office, but may occasionally travel to visit clients or attend meetings. If you specialised in criminal law you would spend a lot of your time in court.
IncomeDesc
Income
The minimum salary for trainee solicitors is £18,590 a year in London, and £16,650 in the rest of England and Wales.
Once qualified, salaries can rise to between £25,000 and £70,000 a year, depending on experience and the type of employer. Salaries for partners in large firms or heads of in-house legal departments can reach £100,000 a year or more.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
EntryRequirementsDesc
Entry requirements
To become a solicitor, you must first meet certain academic standards, and then you must complete vocational training.
In England and Wales, you can meet the academic standards in one of the following three ways:
- by gaining a qualifying law degree
- by gaining a degree in any other subject, then taking a postgraduate law conversion course – either the Common Professional Examination (CPE) or Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)
- by qualifying as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX)
Please see the legal executive job profile for more information.
To do a law degree, you will generally need at least five GCSEs (A-C) and two A levels with good grades, or alternatives such as an Access to Higher Education qualification. Some universities may ask you to pass the National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT) before accepting you for a law degree. You should check exact entry requirements with course providers.
You can find lists of qualifying law degrees and postgraduate law conversion courses at the Solicitors' Regulation Authority (SRA) website.
Solicitors' Regulation Authority – Qualifying law degrees 
Solicitors' Regulation Authority – Conversion courses
Once you have met the academic standards you must then pass the Legal Practice Course (LPC). You can study the LPC either for a year full-time or for two years part-time. Some LPC providers are gradually introducing a more flexible two stage option. You will need to check with individual providers.
For details of LPC courses, visit the Law Central Applications Board (full-time courses only) or SRA websites.
Law Central Applications Board
Solicitors' Regulation Authority - Legal Practice Course
See the Training and Development section below for information about vocational training contracts.
Visit the Junior Lawyers section of the Law Society’s website for more information and to read career case studies of successful solicitors.
Law Society – Junior Lawyers
In Northern Ireland, you can meet the academic stage by either:
- gaining an approved law degree, or having a degree in another subject and proving that you have a satisfactory level of legal knowledge
- having substantial experience of relevant legal work.
After this you must complete an apprenticeship of between two and four years with a solicitor. This will include a year’s study at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies in Belfast or the University of Ulster in Londonderry. Contact the Law Society of Northern Ireland for more details.
Law Society of Northern Ireland
TrainingAndDevelopmentDesc
Training and development
In England and Wales, once you have achieved the academic standards and passed the Legal Practice Course, you must complete further vocational training by:
- getting a two year training contract with a firm of solicitors
- passing the Professional Skills Course (PSC) during your training contract.
See the Law Society website for advice about training contracts and the PSC.
Law Society – Trainees
If you are a qualified legal executive you do not usually need to complete a training contract, but you must still pass the Professional Skills Course.
Once you have fully qualified, you must also take a certain amount of further training and development each year throughout your career. The Law Societies run compulsory continuing professional development (CPD) schemes to help members achieve this. See the relevant Law Society website for more information about the vocational stage and continuing professional development in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland.
SkillsAndKnowledgeDesc
Skills and knowledge
To become a solicitor you would need to have:
- strong spoken and written communication skills
- the ability to absorb and analyse large amounts of information
- a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
- the ability to explain legal matters clearly to non-experts
- confidence and a persuasive manner
- the ability to work under pressure and manage several cases at once
- tact and empathy
- respect for confidentiality
- skills with figures, if you deal with property and financial work.
MoreInformationDesc
More information
Law Society
113 Chancery Lane
London
WC2A 1PL
Tel: 0870 606 2555
www.lawsociety.org.uk
Law Society of Northern Ireland
Law Society House
40 Linenhall Street
Belfast
BT2 8BA
Tel: 028 9023 1614
www.lawsoc-ni.org
National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT)
www.lnat.ac.uk
Law Careers
www.lawcareers.net
All About Law - The Law Careers Website
www.allaboutlaw.co.uk
OpportunitiesDesc
Opportunities
Around three quarters of solicitors work in private practice firms, ranging from small high street firms to large international law companies. Other employers include central and local government, the courts service, the Crown Prosecution Service, law centres, businesses and charities.
Jobs may be advertised in the local, national and legal press, and by specialist legal recruitment agencies.
With experience, in private practice you could eventually become a partner in a firm of solicitors, or as a commercial solicitor you could manage an in-house legal department. Alternatively, you could choose to take further training to become a barrister.
You may find the following useful for vacancies and general reading (links open new window):
Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.
We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.
LMIData
Related industry information
Industry summary
The prosecution service is part of the justice sector, which is represented by Skills for Justice Sector Skills Council. It includes: forensic science; police and law enforcement; courts and tribunals; custodial care; community justice; plus fire and rescue services. The sector works to create and maintain a safe, just and stable society. Its purpose is to reduce crime and re‐offending, promote confidence in the criminal justice system, protect people and contribute to the reduction and fear of crime, and support the administration of justice. The sector employs around 600,000 employees in the UK across a range of organisations operating with different remits.
The prosecution service operates in:
- Crown Prosecution Service (England and Wales)
- Crown Office of the Procurator Fiscal (Scotland)
- Public Prosecution Service (Northern Ireland)
- Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office (remit extends across the UK)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the Government Department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. As the principal prosecuting authority in England and Wales, it is responsible for: advising the police on cases for possible prosecution; reviewing cases submitted by the police; where the decision is to prosecute, determining the charge (in all but minor cases); preparing cases for court; and the presenting cases at court.
Key facts:
- In total there are 11,258 people working in prosecution services across the UK, of which:
- over 8,730 are employed by the Crown Prosecution Service, including around 2,800 lawyers
- 323 are employed in Revenue and Customs Prosecution Service
- Just over 1.3 million cases are heard in Magistrates’ courts and another 115,000 in Crown Court.
- The Crown Prosecution Service consists of 39 offices in England headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor.
- 67% of the Crown Prosecution Service is female and 12% are from a minority ethnic background.
- Women across the justice sector as a whole tend to be concentrated in support roles.
Jobs in the industry range from: Legal trainees, Prosecutors, Caseworkers, Administrators, Crown Advocates, Witness Care Officer, Associate Prosecutor.
National and regional data
The East Midlands has 5 CPS Area Offices, which employ 590 full‐time equivalent staff. The five area offices are: Derbyshire; Leicestershire; Lincolnshire; Northamptonshire; and Nottinghamshire.
The East of England has 6 area offices that employ 610 full‐time equivalent staff. The offices are: Bedfordshire; Cambridgeshire; Essex; Hertfordshire; Norfolk; and Suffolk.
London has 2 Area Offices, which together employ approximately 2,160 full‐time equivalent staff, making it the largest CPS region. Additionally, the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office employs 323 staff, which is split between London and Manchester.
The North East has 3 Area Offices, which employ 460 full‐time equivalent staff. The three offices are: Cleveland; Durham; and Northumbria.
The North West has 5 Area Offices that employ 1,240 full‐time equivalent staff. The five offices are: Cheshire; Cumbria; Greater Manchester; Lancashire; and Merseyside. Additionally, the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office employs 323 staff, which is split between London and Manchester. The North West is the second largest region behind London.
The South East has 5 Area Offices that employ 890 full‐time equivalent staff. The five offices are: Hampshire; Kent; Surrey; Sussex; and Thames Valley.
The South West has 5 Area Offices that employ 530 full‐time equivalent staff. The five forces are: Avon and Somerset; Devon and Cornwall; Dorset; Gloucestershire; and Wiltshire.
The West Midlands has 4 Area Offices that employ 870 full‐time equivalent staff. The four offices are: Staffordshire; Warwickshire; West Midlands; and West Mercia.
Yorkshire and Humberside has 4 Area Offices that employ 910 full‐time equivalent staff, the third largest region in England. The four Area Offices are: Humberside; North Yorkshire; South Yorkshire; and West Yorkshire.
The Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPSNI) was formally launched in 2005. The service is regionally based and employs 562 staff, of which 165 are lawyers. There is an expected replacement demand of 25% due to retirements by 2014. The following skill shortages have been identified: provision of experience for prosecutors; management skills for lawyers; potential impact of devolution; and management skills development.
In Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) provide independent public prosecution and deaths investigation service. It is a department of the Scottish Government and is headed by the Lord Advocate. The Procurator Fiscal Service is divided into 11 areas, with an Area Procurator Fiscal for each. There is a network of 48 Procurator Fiscal offices, one for each Sheriff Court district. It employs 1,520 staff of which 30% are legal staff. The following skill shortages have been identified: increased partnership working; leadership and management; and keeping up with legislative change.
In Wales, the Crown Prosecution Service employs over 470 full‐time equivalent staff over four Areas Offices, including: Dyfed Powys; North Wales; Gwent; and South Wales.
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