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Solicitor
Solicitors provide people with legal advice and assistance. They work directly with their clients and are usually the first point of contact for anyone looking for legal advice.
Also known as:
- Lawyer
Work activities
Most solicitors work in private practice, in partnership with other solicitors. Others work for central or local government, the Crown Prosecution Service (The Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service in Scotland), or a commercial or industrial company. Private practice solicitors can specialise in a specific area of the law, although sole practitioners and small firms tend to deal with all aspects of the law. Medium and larger sized firms of solicitors may specialise in areas such as conveyancing, crime, family law, probate and business law. Solicitors may be involved in civil litigation. This means advising and representing people who are in dispute with another person. For example, disputes can occur over who is responsible for causing an injury at work, unfair dismissal from a job, or the custody of children.
Solicitors help their clients plan how to deal with a dispute, advising them if the matter could be settled out of court, or of the chances of being successful if the case does go to court. Solicitors also advise clients on criminal law cases, for example, involving theft or assault. If legal proceedings begin, solicitors may attend the “Lower Courts” (Magistrates Courts (Sheriff Court in Scotland) and County Courts) to represent the client. In more serious cases, which must be heard in the “Higher Courts” (for example, Crown Courts), solicitors usually seek the services of a barrister/lawyer (“advocate” in Scotland). The solicitor “briefs” the lawyer, which means giving the lawyer information and instructions about the case. The lawyer then appears in court to present the case and cross-examine witnesses.
With training, solicitors can be permitted rights of audience (the right to argue a case in court) in the Higher Courts; more and more solicitors are gaining rights of audience. Solicitors who deal with probate work are responsible for drawing up wills and advising clients on how best to provide for relatives. They calculate the amount of money that people named in a will are entitled to receive and may trace named relatives who have left the country. Solicitors who specialise in conveyancing work carry out in-depth checks (called “searches”) on all the factors that may affect a property buyer in the future. These factors include rights of way, ownership of adjoining fences and walls, and planning proposals for new roads, houses or other construction projects nearby. The solicitor investigates any original agreements (or covenants) that may still be legally valid. Finally, they draw up the contract. Those solicitors who deal with business law advise clients on issues such as taxes, employment law, export law and company mergers. Solicitors’ firms sometimes specialise in areas such as patents and copyrights, shipping, banking, computer law, or European law.
Personal qualities and skills
To do this job well, you’ll need:
- An in-depth knowledge of law.
- Excellent communication skills, written and oral.
- To be able to understand complex information.
- The ability to use concise, plain English to explain things to clients.
- Good organisational skills to plan and prioritise cases, which you may have to take on at short notice.
- The ability to work well under pressure.
- Strong listening skills and to know how to ask the right questions to find out more about a client’s situation.
- Numeracy skills - the ability to understand financial statements and interpret accounts.
- Commercial awareness.
- The confidence to argue cases persuasively.
- IT skills.
For those solicitors specialising in European law, good knowledge of a foreign language is essential. The most useful languages would be French, Spanish or German.
Pay and opportunities
Salaries for solicitors vary widely. Solicitors start on around £25,000, rising to up to £100,000 for the most senior positions.
Many solicitors work long hours when they are completing a particular case or project. Occasional weekend work and late-night work may be involved for those specialising in legal aid or criminal law.
Demand for solicitors is steady. The scope of work available to qualified solicitors is very large and specialist areas are growing and changing all the time.
Many solicitors choose to enter private practice. These include large city firms advising major businesses and government, to small, independent high street solicitors with a few partners or, perhaps, sole practitioners. Other opportunities are with the Crown Prosecution Service, central and local government departments, the Magistrates’ Court Service, the armed forces, and in commerce and industry. Opportunities for solicitors occur with employers in towns and cities throughout the UK.
Opportunities occur for solicitors to practice independently, or in a legal practice partnership with other solicitors.
Where are vacancies advertised?
Vacancies are advertised on all the major job boards, and on the Government’s Find a Job and Find an Apprenticeship services.
Entry routes and training
The usual route to becoming a solicitor is to complete a qualifying law degree. You must ensure that your degree course covers the following Foundations of Legal Knowledge:
- Criminal Law.
- Equity and Law of Trusts.
- Obligations including Law of Contract, Restitution and Tort.
- Public Law including Constitutional and Administrative Law and Human Rights.
- Property Law.
Graduates in subjects other than law must take either a one-year full-time (two years part-time) course leading to the Common Professional Examination (CPE) or the postgraduate Diploma in Law (PgDL). Foundation degrees, HNCs and HNDs in law and related subjects are available at various universities and colleges of higher education throughout the UK; progression is usually possible to a full law degree.
After completing your law degree, or CPE or Diploma in Law, you must undertake the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), which has recently replaced the old Legal Practice Course. This is the professional training for solicitors. The SQE is made up of two years of qualifying work experience as well as the SQE1 and SQE2 exams. Training is with a firm of solicitors or another approved organisation (such as the Crown Prosecution Service or a local authority). After you have completed the SQE, you are free to apply for a post as a solicitor.
An alternative to the traditional university route followed by training is to undertake a solicitor apprenticeship. This level 7 degree apprenticeship combines the study, training and work experience you need to qualify as a solicitor into a single programme.
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: This career is an exception to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that you must supply information to an employer about any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings, if they ask you to. This is different from other careers, where you only have to reveal information on unspent convictions if you are asked to.
Qualifications
To enter a degree course in law, you usually need:
- Three A-levels.
- GCSEs at grades 9-4 in your A-level subjects.
- A further two to three GCSEs at grades 9-4, including English and maths.
Other qualifications are often acceptable as alternatives to A levels, for example:
- Edexcel (BTEC) level 3 National qualifications.
- International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.
Because of very strong competition for places on all legal courses, successful applicants usually have high A-level grades - you should check prospectuses carefully for specific requirements.
To begin a degree apprenticeship, you will need at least two A-levels plus GCSEs in English and maths. Some employers may specify higher entry requirements, including particular A-level subjects they expect you to have studied.
Adult opportunities
Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.
An alternative, non-graduate, route to becoming a solicitor is to first qualify as a legal executive. To do this, you must have passed the membership qualifications of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) and have at least five years’ qualifying legal experience (including at least two years after passing all the examinations).
