There are new law firms opening every day in the UK. Law firms in Europe are expanding their dominance all over the UK and the rest of the world. The UK is an excellent place to become a solicitor because the size of the legal market in Europe is growing at an extremely fast pace. Don’t worry if you haven’t completed a degree in the field of law, you can still become a solicitor. Only approximately 50% of solicitors even have a degree in law.

For any non-law students the requirements are to get a non-law degree and then undertake a law conversion course. These courses come in the form of the Graduate Diploma in Law or the Common Professional Exam. Both are full-time one year courses or can be done part-time over two years at some institutions. They are designed to give non-law students the required legal knowledge to then go on and take the next step of legal study.

The Legal Practice Course is the next step in becoming a solicitor, and is the last course that must be completed in the process. It takes most trainee solicitors only a year to finish the Legal Practice Course if they go full time, and only two years if attended part time. It is a course that is used to make sure trainee solicitors have all of the skills needed to be a solicitor in the UK.

The training contract is the last thing that must be done before qualifying as a solicitor. The training contract is where trainee solicitors gain practical working experience in the legal profession and also includes the Professional Skills Course. The training contract format will depend on the law firm, but larger law firms are often more structured than smaller ones. However, both large and small law firms offer good experience for trainee solicitors and each has their own advantages.

All law firms that accept trainee solicitors must have a training principal that will select useful, sufficient work for trainee solicitors to do. Their other job requirements are answering questions, providing guidance, and supplying feedback of trainees performance. They also have to keep detailed records to prove trainees are meeting all of the necessary requirements of the training contract.

Trainee solicitors usually work in different departments at the same firm during their training contracts in order to get a well-rounded experience. Trainees are required by the Law Society to spend time in at least three different departments throughout the course of their contract.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority are taking steps to change the process to qualify as a UK solicitor. They are planning work based programs that will merge training contracts with study to a greater extent.

In order to be chosen for a training contract, trainee solicitors just have to complete an application at the law firm of their choosing. Other criteria to be met or documents to be included in the application will depend on the individual law firm. It is vitally important that students remain in good scholastic standing in order for their training contract application to be approved at the law firm they choose.

Help for those who are wanting to become a trainee solicitor. To find out more about what it takes to become a solicitor click here: To Become a Solicitor.