Bernard Said:

I am 28 and have decided I'd like to be a Family solicitor, Specialising in fathers rights. How do I do this?

We Answered:

First you need a degree. Preferably a law degree obtained in England. The law degree must be recognised by the Law Society of England and Wales, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and the Bar Council, as being a "Qualifying Law Degree" (QLD) which satisfies the academic stage of qualifying.

If your degree is any other subject, or not a QLD, or is a law degree from outside England or Wales, you will need an extra course to qualify. To be a solicitor you will need to complete a Legal Practice Course after your degree. Several LPC's are offered in universities around the country, as well as the College of Law. And you need a training contract, effectively an apprenticeship with a firm of solicitors.

Competition for training contracts is high, and well over half of law graduates end up in careers other than in legal practice.

You would only be entitled to practice in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different legal systems and different qualification requirements. It is completely possible though to qualify in 2 or more legal jurisdictions, or to qualify within England and Wales as both a solicitor and as a barrister, though not many do. Qualifying as a barrister can be very expensive, expecially because you have to move at least for a time to London, and apprentices earn very little.

Natalie Said:

I am 28 but am I too old to start a law degree as I will be 34 before I am fully qualified?

We Answered:

The problem isn't your age. The problem is the economy.

Choosing a career is one of life's most important decisions.

The legal profession is dramatically changing and is in CRISIS!!! Every year, more and more people graduate from law school, but there are fewer and fewer jobs. Even the largest and most reputable law firms are experiencing unprecedented cutbacks. I don't expect the situation to improve in the coming years.....

Be aware of what you are proposing on getting yourself into. Please do more research first.
Reminder: We are in a World-wide Recession. Consider career paths that have available JOBS.<<<<<

Warning> Jobs in the field of Law are drying up fast!! This is just not a good field to invest time and/or money into. This is a SHRINKING, crumbling, and dying vocational field. Many reasons. We now have computers. So, many people today (mistakenly) think they can do their own legal work, thanks to the Internet. Also, there are a lot of companies out there making very efficient legal software for the field of Law. Today's graduating lawyers tend to be very computer savvy, so they just do the work themselves to save themselves the cost of overhead. Also, the "Public" buys this legal software in order to get legal work done without the cost of an Attorney. Also, we simply already have way too many Legal Professionals - we have an absolute glut!! ("Legal Professionals" includes, but is not limited to: Attorneys/Lawyers, Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Legal Secretaries, Bailiffs, Court Reporters, etc, etc)

Sites like legalzoom.com have taken away work that many small-time attorneys/lawyers would do.

The field of Law has a mystique that actually exceeds reality. The field of Law is an overrated career - mostly by television. There are many myths regarding the field of Law: working as a Lawyer is mentally challenging (Actually, most work as an attorney involves routine paperwork: research, cite checking, drafting documents, and document review. Attorneys need to write down and track every activity they do, all day long [in 6 to 15 minutes increments, depending on the billing system] - a painstaking but necessary task), being an attorney is thrilling, high-powered, and glamorous (remember: television is fiction - the fictional lawyers on TV are ACTORS - the majority of work that an attorney does, does not happen in a courtroom), law students think that because they are good at arguing they will become great attorneys (actually being a great attorney is more in one's ability to mediate between differing sides and bringing them to agreement), as a lawyer I can correct injustices (actually legal decisions are more about reaching compromises than about right vs. wrong), guaranteed financial success (actually when salaries are compared, you also need to account for cost-of living expenses [most large law firms are in large cities - the bigger the city, the more cost-of-living expenses will be], payment of debts accrued while attending law school, and time needed to build a client base. Many large law firms require lawyers to work 60-80 hours per week.).

Cost of law school to be lawyer, approx $150,000+.
Be prepared to take on a LOT of debt, if becoming an attorney is your ultimate goal.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

There are no jobs in this vocational field. My family, coworkers, friends, acqaintances, etc. have been laid off left and right in this vocational field.

Employers (usually law firms) in the field of Law today want employees with degrees from traditional colleges/universities. Those "certificates" you see advertised aren't worth the paper they are printed on - they are generally scams. (I found this out the hard way.) Also, the law school's program needs to be accredited by the American Bar Association - if it isn't, you are just wasting your time/money.

Even if you finish law school, you won't be able to find a job when you are done. Since this vocational field is shrinking, many new attorneys/lawyers are, themselves, having to work "down" as Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Legal Secretaries, Bailiffs, Court Reporters, etc, etc, to simply try to keep some of their bills paid <<this would be your competition. And the competition is fierce!!

Now... the law schools know this, but they won't tell you the truth >that the job market/economy is just SATURATED with way too many Legal Professionals. Instead the schools will feed you a fairytale and will LIE to you. The root of the problem is we have too many law schools. We are in a recession, and the schools are fighting for their own survival - they will tell students anything to get to the students' money. (Which is why they won't tell you the truth about the job market for the field of Law.) And these schools continue to recruit and churn out even more graduates.............Remember: law schools are BUSINESSES - their top concern is making money for themselves.

>>>>>You especially have to bewa

Darrell Said:

Can someone practice law (Solicitor etc) if they have a spent conviction?

We Answered:

It isn't impossible for someone to become a solicitor with a conviction of some sort. It depends what the conviction is for really. However, a conviction for deception will make it incredibly hard. The whole profession is based on the premise of good faith and a conviction for deception goes completely against that, no matter how 'lenient' the punishment was or how long ago it was. I'd recommend that your friend contacts the Law Society (they have to vet solicitors before they qualify into the profession) and discusses his circumstances with them. It can be very expensive to train as a solicitor and it would be awful for him to spend all that money only to find that the Law Society won't admit him.

Joan Said:

I want to change my career and become a solicitor specilising in family law....?

We Answered:

No, it's not too old to start, although by the time you've qualified you'll be pushing 40 and it is a sad fact of life that a lot of mature people who have gone through the business of passing their exams and qualifying on paper then find that they can't get the training contract and the practical experience they need to be fully qualified.

http://www.acareerchange.co.uk/changing-…
http://www.lawcareers.net/Solicitors/Car…

Arlene Said:

Paralegal , legal executive, or solicitor ? confused?

We Answered:

I work in the legal profession in London (I'm a trainee solicitor) and the jobs you are talking about aren't really ones that you can just walk into as part of a career change or go into after 'getting your foot in the door'.

A solicitor is what Americans would refer to as a lawyer. To be a solicitor you will need a degree (either in law or another subject with the law conversion course studied afterwards), then spend a year at law school studying the Legal Practice Course and then spend two years training at a law firm before you qualify. The process is very expensive (trust me!), but when you qualify as a solicitor in London you can look at earning about £50,000 to start off, with the salary increasing as you become more experienced.

To be a paralegal you will need to have completed the qualification route above up to and including the Legal Practice Course. Again, salary depends on experience but it wouldn't be too far off to expect £26,000 a year.

To become a legal executive will be a little easier, but again you can't just walk into it. Most of the legal executives at my firm started off as secretaries and then obtained some form of legal education as they progressed in the job. We are talking a 5-10 year time frame here though!

I'm sorry this wasn't a more inspiring answer, but think of the state this country would be in if we just let people turn up at an office one day and start practising the law!

Susan Said:

What is it REALLY like to be an independant insurance agent?

We Answered:

Going to work for AFLAC or any other insurance company requires a lot of self-discipline and individual goal setting. Every sale you make is hard earned and your income will reflect how many contacts you make. No one is going to help you. You may get some training and and some initial assistance getting started, but it is all up to you in how well you do. If you need someone looking over your shoulder to make sure you get to work on time, to check the quality of your work and to tell you when it's time to eat/ go home, sales is not for you. Make no mistake, there is plenty of physical work involved! You will be cold calling businesses and individuals. Some people will be extremely rude to you even though you are stopping by or calling to help them, but most won't.

On the bright side, you are your own boss! You get to live by your own set of rules. And best of all - residual income! After all your hard work getting new customers, you get a check every month for each policyholder who doesn't cancel their policy. What other business rewards you like that?

Another issue is passing your states insurance exam so you can be liscensed to sell insurance. Some people have a hard time, failing multiple times and others(like me)pass the first time they take the test.

I have personally witnessed people 52+ do extremely well with no experience. I have also seen them fail. If you get out there with the right attitude, work ethic and a true desire to succeed you will be on your way to an excellent retirement!

Dorothy Said:

Is it too late for a career in law?

We Answered:

I bloomin hope it's not too late! I am 30 now and working as a paralegal (I too had an unrelated before that for a few years and hold a BSc degree). I have a young family and hope that I will have the resources and time to do my law degree in say 5 years time. A colleague of mine worried me by suggesting I may have left it to late - but I also now someone who qualified mid-forties.

I think the most difficult part is getting a training contract - particulary as law firms aren't all doing as well as before the financial crisis. I am in Scotland so I think the route in is a little different - LLB (Law degree) followed by diploma then two year training contract - but I think you can also sit the Law Society's exams direct but I am not sure how difficult this is and whether you need support from an employer etc.

I think there is always the life experince / soft skills to set you against the young hungry graduates that my colleague thinks are out there to steal all my hope! ( I don't think she means badly and sadly think she may have a point to a certain extent). If you believe in yourself, get good marks and try your best there is always hope. Also - just a suggestion - you could consider trying to get a paralegal / administrative job and going for the degree etc part-time while you work - may take a bit longer (and I appreciate you will want to get the qualification asap!) but you would have some experience in the legal sector to back you up when going for your post qualification job - which may give you the edge over inexperienced graduates.

Hope this helps ...

Best of luck!