There are a few routes that aspiring lawyers can take to qualification. You might be wondering if there’s a ‘best’ route to choose?
The answer to that question depends on the time you want to take, the money you’re willing to spend, and the breadth of experience you’d like along the way.
Personally, I’m tri-qualified, as (i) a solicitor, (ii) a FCILEx Practitioner (the highest grade within CILEx), and (iii) a Licensed Conveyancer, so I have some experience of the different routes.
CILEx Practitioner or Chartered Legal Executive
The CILEx route is flexible, affordable and it allows you to earn while you learn. You don’t need a degree, or any legal qualifications to get started, so you’re not lumbered with any university debt at any point.
You work in your practice area alongside your studies, so when you become qualified, you have in-depth experience of your chosen discipline.
While you’re in training, you’ll work at a law firm or in-house. You’ll keep a portfolio of cases that you’ve dealt with, which you’ll submit when you apply for admission to CILEx. You need a minimum of 2,300 hours (roughly three years) of qualifying experience.
There are a few exams, but you’ll be able to study for those alongside your work. You can study the learning materials at your own pace and take the exams online when you feel ready.
Licensed Conveyancer
Licensed Conveyancers are qualified lawyers who specialise in property law and conveyancing.
You can become a Licensed Conveyancer by passing the Level 4 Diploma, and the Level 6 Diploma in Conveyancing Law and Practice, which are administered by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC). You also need 1,200 hours of experience in practice.
Again, you don’t need a law degree to qualify as a Licensed Conveyancer. If you have one, you can use it for exemptions, which might fast track your route. But you can begin your journey with GCSEs, and work towards the diplomas.
Trainee route
The trainee route has historically been the ‘traditional’ route to qualifying as a solicitor. But that is changing now that we have other viable options.
You need a law degree, either as an undergraduate, or as a Law Conversion Course. To get a place on the Law Conversion Course, you first need a university degree in any subject.
Then spend one year studying for, and taking the Solicitor Qualifying Exam (SQE). After that, you spend two years at a law firm doing your Training Contract. That means that you usually spend 6 months in a ‘seat’, (meaning an area of practice like litigation, private client, banking etc) and you rotate around four different seats. After the two-year training contract, you’re a qualified solicitor.
This route gives you experience in different areas of law. However, it is a fairly expensive way to become qualified. If you manage to secure a Training Contract before your Law Conversion Course or your SQE, your new employer might sponsor you through the course and pay the fees for you.
There are a few options to ‘convert’ to a solicitor without the need to do a training contract, but this is subject to having the sufficient qualifications, experience and minimum requirements to do so (this is what I did!).
Apprenticeship route
Legal apprenticeships have been around since 2016 and have really grown in popularity with many of the leading law firms now offering this route.
You can either do a Trailblazer Apprenticeship or a Graduate Apprenticeship.
A Trailblazer Apprenticeship allows you to enter the legal world straight after A Levels. You work at a law firm alongside studying part-time for the SQE. It typically takes five to six years to complete the training and qualify as a solicitor.
For the Graduate Apprenticeship, you need an undergraduate degree. Then you work in a law firm for two to three years to gather your qualifying work experience, and you study the SQE part-time alongside your apprenticeship.
Apprenticeships are a cost-effective way to qualify, and you get a broad range of experience. It can be quite daunting entering a law firm at the age of 18, but you will get plenty of support from those around you.
Barristers
Finally, a quick word on barristers. We’ve focused on the routes to becoming a solicitor here, because it’s only solicitors who practise as conveyancers.
Barristers can provide advice on particularly tricky parts of land law, but they don’t do the day-to-day work of transactions.
To qualify as a barrister, you would need to do an undergraduate degree, the Law Conversion Course (if your undergraduate degree was not in law) and the Bar Training Course.
What about Sumhowe Ltd?
At Sumhowe Ltd, we have people that have qualified as conveyancers through various routes. That means that we have decades of experience in this area of law and we’re specialists in conveyancing. We don’t cut corners, and we know what to look out for on your transaction.