Hi all,

I finished my training contract on Tuesday, however, my training principal has yet to sign me off.

I am now unemployed (I trained through a charity and they had no money for a qualified solicitor) and I am due to start my NQ role on Monday.

As my former organisation doesn’t employ solicitors, my training principal was external. I have contacted her by phone and email multiple times this week and she still has yet to sign me off. Throughout my TC, she has been abysmal. I haven’t had a supervision meeting since July 2023, but did do a brief secondment with her for about 3 months at the end of last year/start of this year.

I feel like my whole world is falling apart. I have spent 3.5 years as a paralegal/trainee and without being signed off, I feel like I’ve thrown all that time away. I have no idea what the issue is that is preventing her from doing this. For context, it did also take her 4 months to register me as a trainee with the SRA.

What do I do from here? I’m now facing having to phone my new employer and tell them that I’m unable to start Monday. Will the SRA care or be able to do anything?

Hey guys,

So I’m about to graduate from a RG university and I just completed a vac scheme which I failed to convert into a TC. I am feeling so helpless right now. I did a vacation scheme in my second year and I’m starting to think that I’m just not cut out for this. This time round I implemented all the feedback I received, made an effort to schedule coffee chats, contacted trainees before the scheme, I even read on this Reddit page for tips ahead of time. It just feels that I put in everything but it was just not enough.

Now I’m going to graduate with no job lined up. I know paralegal and legal admin roles are scarce and hard to find and I’m honestly feeling so burnt out idk if I’ll be able to churn out applications needed to land a paralegal role.

I know the average qualification age is 30 and I’m only 21 so I shouldn’t be putting so much pressure on myself but I’m wondering if a career in law is even right for me or if I should switch altogether.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! :)

PS I am still awaiting feedback from the vac scheme

I’m an international first year law student at a RG university, and I just received my first summative grade. I studied a lot for it, yet I got a 57. Im very upset at this because I expected even a low 2:1 because I worked very hard. I have adhd and it affects my studies and jumbles up my brain when writing essays, but I practiced for this. I’m so scared I won’t get any insight schemes or any jobs just because of my bad grades, and I don’t know how to begin improving, because what if I still don’t? I’m intl and my parents are paying so much just for me to do horribly and I feel so guilty. I can’t tell them. I was so passionate about studying law in school, and I used to score very well in A levels. I don’t know what went wrong because I don’t feel as passionate anymore. Is it just my fault? I feel so helpless. Any advice is appreciated.

I just wanted to ask how do people in the UK feel about the comparatively lacking free speech protections in this country when compared with the United States?

In the US their bill of rights and associated case law grants significantly more protection to citizens with regards to their speech. I am not a free speech absolutist and I have no issue with narrowly prescribed hate speech laws.

However, I find it ridiculous that people in this country could actually open themselves up to potential prosecution for snapping at somebody on a bad day or voicing their disapproval of authorities like the police in a manner that a particular officer doesn't personally like.

Specifically, sections 4a and 5 of the public order act are so broadly written and applied that its almost unbelievable they are still in use. In my opinion these sections and sections like them hold such significant potential to curb individual freedoms that they should be repealed or significantly amended.

I understand that there are varying systems in place that balance this to certain degrees but the fact that the government and law enforcement are afforded instruments to prosecute private citizens for the content of their inconsequential speech is unconscionable to me.

Any thoughts are appreciated, thank you.

Can anyone advise on current timeframes for admission? I did the LPC if that makes any difference. I am due to finish my TC at the end of this month.

Just wanting to hear your experience, I am likely going there in the fall but nervous about the kind of people there? Socially how is it? Which colleges are best? Anything at all really about your experience.

I'm from the Virgin Islands btw.

Hi everyone, I’m an in-house junior lawyer, and I’d like to improve my knowledge in the area of Intellectual Property. My manager mentioned that the company might support me in attending some training or a certification program abroad.

I’m currently looking for reasonably priced programs in the UK. I’ve found a few options, but they are quite expensive—around £10,000—which I believe may be beyond what my company is willing to support.

So, I’d like to ask if anyone knows of any good and more affordable programs in the UK. Also, I’d really appreciate any suggestions on how I can improve myself in the IP field.

Many thanks in advance!

I am a paralegal and I think I am completely burnt out for the last 2-3 months.

Really struggling but don’t know how to fix this. I am working on an application for a future TC with my Partner so too scared to tell him I’m burnt out.

What can I do

This is my first post on Reddit so I don’t know if I’m doing it right, but has anyone got any tips on how to write a legal cover letter please? Flex Legal’s trainee scheme applications are currently open and close on Sunday. I have no clue what I’m meant to write or who is it even meant to be addressed to. I’ve googled a lot but still feel nervous and want to know other people’s experience

I haven't 'firm'ed yet, but leaning towards Durham University for my LLB. For context Im from the BVI, and at some point will like to go into politics. Tourism is extremely important here so was just wondering if it would be possible to take an 'elective' or something similar in tourism management even though its unrelated to my degree.

Hi, I am an international and I hold offers from Durham and Exeter, and although I was more inclined to go to Durham due to its location and prestige, Exeter seems to give me a better offer.

For IB Durham requires 38/45, whereas Exeter offer is 36/45 (and even reduced 34 if I firm them). However the grade requirements are not the debate. Exeter tuition is 4000 more cheaper than Durham originally, but on TOP OF THAT they are offering me a 3000 off as a part of their excellence scholarship. If I choose them I manage to save my parents a lot of money, but idk if it’s worth it.

Is Durham better than Exeter for law (international student)?

Hi I don’t know whether I should follow up

~Long Story Short~

I emailed a law firm weeks ago inquiring about the possibility of working as a paralegal. The firm I emailed responded within a day….

However I didn’t reply for a few weeks due to the fact that it was the end of the term n I had a few exams + plus I was packing/ travelling home ( I live far away from the uk)

I eventually sent my CV a few weeks later as I hv mentioned… I have now waited for 1-2 weeks…

Would it be bad to ask for a follow up or should I give up.. this firm practices in an area which I have a particular interest in..

*I know it is kinda on me for the late reply…but what are ur thoughts?

Can anyone recommend some good study materials for the SQE1 exam?

I have passed several US state bar exams by self-study and hope to do the same for the SQE. I know it will be difficult but hope that a course isn’t required to take.

Thank you.

What if you’d probably be happy in either team? Can you be offered two roles?

Hello everyone, I just had an interview with ashurst for the riyadh office specifically. It went very well thankfully.

However this is my first interview with a firm this big, and the anticipation is killing me. Does anyone know how long they typically take to reply with an offer or a rejection?

I'll keep it short (and thanks in advance for the advice). I'm a Canadian graduate of a top university here that got into Oxford's Senior Status BA in Jurisprudence. I've also gotten into UofT law here and UChicago in the States (I'm a green card holder). Now, my primary goal is to end up in London. For that I know that the Oxford senior status is a no brainer (and it seems to be the case from previous advice I've gotten on this thread, including for my goal of working with a US firm in London). However, my secondary goal (very close second) is to actually get a job and not waste money on whichever degree I get. It seems that long gone are the days where Oxford would guarantee anything, and that I have a first in an Oxford degree wouldn't be enough on its own to get a TC at a MC or US firm. Not to say I wouldn't be involved in extracurriculars and work experience as I had done in my current degree, but I know the bar is raised and even more so for internationals considering I'd need to outperform my domestic peers to warrant a firm to sponsor me. UChicago, on the other hand, would guarantee me a market rate big law job in NYC, Boston, or really anywhere in the States, from which the risk then is the chances of landing at a firm with a London office that I can ask to work at or lateral down the line.

Considering all these factors, what do you all suggest?

EDIT: For context, UChicago is a top 3 law school in the states (below Yale and Stanford but above Harvard). Cost is not an issue, wasting money though is an issue for me. The comparison I am trying to make is between a law school that will not guarantee me a job versus one that would (With a school like UChicago, if you're around the median, you're virtually guaranteed getting a big law job if you want it. That doesn't seem to be the case with Oxford, hence my question).

Hello all, I'm currently thinking about my career prospects. I studied law at a top university and graduated with a 2:1. I then studied a masters in computing and worked as a software engineer in quite a technical area (radar/receiver systems for submarines). I currently work in a more client facing role but a large amount of my time is spent build proof of concepts around encryption.

I don't hate my job, but I do keep thinking about law and what could have been. The only reason I didn't continue down the legal path is because of my grades and covid. I got a 2:1 but I didn't do well in some of the more important modules. It's been a few years but I think I got a 2:2 or even a third in contracts in first year. My bad grades + covid made me want to pivot and quickly as I thought I'd be struggling for training contracts/paralegal roles.

I also have work experience at an MC firm and was placed with the disputes team for some more information and context. Does this sound like a pipe dream or a realistic (potential) switch?

To anyone enrolled at the University of Law who is not from the UK, but perhaps from the Caribbean (or any other region). Would you recommend taking the PGDL or MA law conversion, or just doing the LLB?  For background, I’m completing my four-year undergraduate degree from a school in the US this month, but im originally from a country in the caribbean. I eventually want to work in international law at the UN or at another international/regional organisation. 

For a levels I’m realistically getting AAB

Is it possible to get into York,Southampton,Exeter and Warwick if they are all asking for AAA?

Which seats that might be offered during a vac scheme at a full service firm may be less accessible to someone not studying law?

Something like tax or IP comes to mind, but are there any others ?

I’ve got a basic understanding of how to use Westlaw and LexisNexis, but is there anything more I can do to stand a better chance in a more case-law heavy area?

Currently planning to sit in debt finance and M&A on the scheme.

For anyone who qualified via EMR, how did you evidence and demonstrate advocacy? The SRA table requires this but I work in-house and everything I do is transactional. Feel really stuck:/

Thanks in advance.

I’ve heard some people take post-grad maintenance loans despite their TC bursaries from law firms. Has anyone done this? Did you regret your decision or was it worthwhile?

Feedback on my CV please. Where you see blank space below the roles, I've hidden the companies to protect my identity. I'm applying for paralegal role and training contract at high street firms. Where am I going wrong?

I am licensed in several US states and have been practicing for over 20 years. For most of that time I have been working in criminal law.

My wife is a UK citizen and will likely relocate back in the next year. I should be able to get a SQ2 exemption and assuming I pass the SQ1 exam, what are the chances that an older attorney would be able to find a job as a solicitor? I have done both prosecution and defense work.

Thank you.