The legal sector – key questions answered
- What can you earn in different roles?
- Is the sector expected to grow?
- What routes can you take to get in?
- What do people currently working in the legal sector think about their roles?
Watch to find out the answers to these questions, and much more!
Emma-Louise Feeling the look? This is the garb donned by barristers and judges.
Frankie One of the many possibilities that come with pursuing a career in law.
Emma-Louise There are so many moving parts in making it work. Systems that help enforce both civil and criminal law. Civil law deals with private matters between businesses or individuals. For example, a breach of contract, like when someone doesn't keep up with repayments on a loan.
Frankie But criminal law relates to crimes committed that are perceived as threatening, harmful, or a danger to property, health, safety, and moral welfare. This might be, for example, theft or murder, and this is a huge sector from police officers to barristers, solicitors, and legal secretaries, with a projected workforce of over 700,000 by 2025.
Emma-Louise So, let's crunch the numbers. This sector can be broken down into three subsectors: legal activities, justice and judicial, and public order and safety activities. Legal activity roles include barristers and solicitors. They involve legal representation of an individual. Justice and judicial activity roles involve working in courts. That includes judges as well as jobs in the prison and correctional services, and public order and safety activities are the roles that aim to keep us safe. The police force and other safety services like border control and the coastguard.
Frankie And, in my judgement, things are looking good, with projected growth in all these subsectors expected to add a total of nearly 23,000 jobs by 2025.
Emma-Louise As true as those figures for the future are, that pun was a crime, mate. Let's move on.
Frankie A growing sector gives you the option to have a look around to see what suits you best.
Emma-Louise You could consider roles such as legal secretary, police officer, barrister, solicitor, prison service officer, or civil enforcement.
Frankie For police officers,
Emma-Louise people who are authorised by the government to enforce the law through powers such as arrest,
Frankie there's an expected growth of over 1,000 jobs. That's the number of additional jobs anticipated to be available by 2025.
Emma-Louise Solicitors – they advise clients about the law and act on their behalf. As of 2020, solicitors had a median salary of just over £54,000 and there's a healthy projected job growth of just over 5,000 jobs by 2025.
Frankie Barristers – these are the people who represent others in a court of law.
Emma-Louise Interestingly, they're called barristers because they're called to the bar to either prosecute or defend a case in court. The median pay for barristers and judges is just about £56,000 a year. There's an expected job growth of 8% by 2025.
Frankie Legal secretaries – they perform the administration and clerical work at law offices or organisations. They provide lawyers with direct assistance handling important legal documents, with a median wage of nearly £27,000.
Emma-Louise And that's only four of the many roles in this growing law sector. If you have a curious mind and enjoy speaking up and putting together strong arguments, law could be a great option for you, and there are loads of ways to get into this sector.
Frankie A typical journey to becoming a solicitor or barrister includes A-levels or equivalent, an undergraduate degree, and further legal courses, and takes about six to eight years in total. If you choose an undergraduate university course that is not law, you'll need to do a conversion course afterwards, such as the Graduate Diploma in Law. To become a solicitor, you then need to complete a Legal Practice Course. To become a barrister, you'll need to complete the one-year Bar Professional Training Course, followed by a year of practical training known as a pupillage.
Frankie The process takes six to seven years for a solicitor, and seven to eight years for a barrister if studying full time. There's also a solicitor degree apprenticeship route to the role. It usually takes about five years, and you'll need an employer support to take the path. Or, you could do on the job training to work towards a Level 6 Professional Diploma in Higher Law and Practice, then complete further training to become a solicitor or barrister. Yes, it's a long process, but, if it's the right fit for you, those years of study could really pay off.
Frankie In 2020, the median salaries for people in these roles were over £20,000 higher than the UK wide median salary for full-time employees. They are also jobs you can do in multiple locations across the UK.
Emma-Louise And for those who want a more practical experience of handling the law, public order and safety roles may be a good option, such as policing. There are lots of ways to get into policing. You can start in voluntary and community roles, such as special constables, to see if it's something you'd like to pursue full time. Or, if you want to go straight into policing, you can study courses at university or college or choose the apprenticeship route. A Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship, or PCDA, is a three-year work-based programme that leads to a degree in Professional Policing Practice.
Emma-Louise If you prefer to work in a non-emergency response role, you could opt for a Serious and Complex Crime Investigator Degree Apprenticeship.
Frankie Let's hear from a police detective to get some insight into working in this sector: "I joined Norfolk Constabulary as a Special Constable (voluntary) so as to gain insight into policing in 1993. After one year, I joined as a regular officer. This process was a written application followed by an aptitude test and interview with a weekend of group and individual tests."
Emma-Louise Anna is lecturer in Law at University College London. She says: "The legal sector is facing a period of tremendous change. Technology is enabling us to rethink how we deliver legal services, providing those joining the profession with an unprecedented opportunity to make a real difference and help shape the future of the sector." So, a role in the law sector can take many different forms. You can also work in lots of settings such as courts, legal offices, prisons, or even out patrolling the streets.
Frankie If you're thinking about a career in the sector, it's important to think about the skills you have or can build and where you can see them best being applied. Then, get researching! There are lots of pathways and courses for different types of work in this sector, so be sure to investigate all the options if it's something you're interested in. Now, court is adjourned!