Becoming a solicitor is harder than you think, with many entry-level roles requiring law degrees, including degrees in international trade law, commercial law, criminal law and family and business law.

Solicitor or solicitor are two different titles, but they have the same meaning, and it is difficult to get hold of a law degree without doing a first degree, which can cost a lot of money.

However, according to the Law Society’s latest Recruitment Toolkit, there are other routes into the profession – in some cases you don’t even need a law degree.

Three routes

The Law Society has three routes into the legal profession.

Admission

To get an official qualification as a solicitor, you need to take two exams:

•The Admissions Test (Admissions Test for solicitors)

•The Cambridge-SATIS Examination (Cambridge-SATIS Exam for solicitors)

•An Equity training scheme qualification (Admission to the Law Society Training Scheme for Equity Solicitors).

I have previously conducted some research about the Law Society’s Admissions Test, in the context of London, in between my exploration of some new casino sites, the findings of which I reckon definitely apply in this discussion. You will naturally have to go through official academic channels and then onto regulatory channels, making sure to do as well as you can, before you can even start to think about operating your very own firm one day. It’s by no means a short and quick process and unfortunately here there are no shortcuts.

Registering with the Law Society

To register with the Law Society, you need to take three exams:

•A Qualifying Admission Examination (Qualifying Admission to the Law Society’s Solicitors Qualifying Examination)

•The Solicitors Equity Training Scheme (Equity Solicitors Training Scheme)

•The Solicitors Equity Examination (Solicitors’ Equity Examination)

Disadvantages

•For each exam you need to have a certain number of hours completed. In addition to these, you will need to go to the Law Society’s open days to meet as many other candidates as possible.

•You need to find the money to pay for the exams and traineeship.

•You have to be registered with the Law Society to do the exams.

•This doesn’t just include being a solicitor, but any professional looking to work in the law or a qualified accountant.

•You might also need to take some refresher courses if you have never used the law before.

•It may be expensive.

Job satisfaction

A career as a solicitor offers the benefits of variety and flexibility, as well as the potential for a high salary and generous pension benefits. Furthermore, because you have the option of starting your own law practice, you are not necessarily required to look for a job at a law firm or institution.

A person could train as a solicitor and eventually become a partner or a partner. This is why the profession seems to be flourishing at the moment.

There are also some obvious career benefits, such as making a difference in people’s lives. For example, being a solicitor can protect vulnerable people. That said if you’ve got plans of starting a law firm, make sure that you know how to market law firm in order to get new clients.

Besides marketing, you may also need to take care of other operations related to word processing and document preparation; file and document management; and bookkeeping and billing, which are necessary for the smooth functioning of your law firm. If your client files are not kept secure and organized, or your finances are not in order, you could be doomed to fall flat on your face. Therefore, it would make sense to outsource these tasks to a back office support provider in case you do not have an in-house team to attend to these matters.

Keep in mind that all that has been said in the paragraph above, is applicable to those who are planning to embark on their entrepreneurial journey (running a law firm). Those who do not share mutual feelings and wish to rather get employed by a law firm can find a reputed one near them by conducting online research. The Law Society says that reputed law firms are highly trusted, which can be a good environment to work in, particularly if you have young children. So you can definitely join them.

For more information visit the law society’s website.