I'm starting my pupillage in a commercial set in a few weeks and getting a few suits.

Is the dark grey colour of the suit in the photo ok for the court? It's this suit from Hobbs.

Additionally, is a double-breasted suit like the black one ok for women? I have read that men should not wear double-breasted suits. Does this apply to women as well? This one is this suit from Hobbs.

Looks like Sidley have changed their tc structure. They are now doing 6 x 4 month seats and one of those seats will be a dedicated AI lab seat (working in a dedicated team of AI trained lawyers on active matters).

Thoughts?

Hi all,

For context, I graduated in 2024 from a non rg uni and have been applying to vac schemes/tc's from my second year of university. I have attended several open days, have had work experience in local firms and have paralegal experience.

I got to an assessment centre at an international law firm in my third cycle but was unsuccessful. I will now be going into my 5th cycle due to another unsuccessful cycle, but genuinely don't have it in me anymore, and I feel mentally drained by it.

I would appreciate any advice or guidance thank you.

Graduated this summer with a First from the same uni (average 70). I’ll begin my LLM in a couple weeks. The LLB transcript underneath it is not pretty: 40s in my first year including two modules I needed three attempts at, then a steady climb — 62, 65, 70, three 72s, a 75, and an 88 in my final year. Health issues in that first year that I’ve since dealt with, and I’ve been my mother’s carer throughout.

Background: arrived in the UK at 15 with no English (it’s my third language), placed a year behind my cohort, sat GCSEs in 2016. AS levels only, no A-levels. Came into university through an Access to HE Diploma. Worked 45–50 hours a week throughout the entire degree.
Experience is thin: one month as a paralegal intern at a boutique practice, and a year of unpaid legal and commercial work (once a week) at an early-stage company. Everything else is hospitality and construction.

I know the first year is the problem and that firms with published A-level or module minima screen me out automatically. What I’m trying to work out:

**1.**  For those of you who got into a City or US firm with a messy early transcript — what actually made the difference?  
**2.**  Is a paralegal seat the right move before applying, or should I be applying to this cycle’s schemes and TCs now regardless?  
**3.**  Which firms genuinely don’t screen on A-levels? I know contextual recruitment exists but I’d rather hear from people who’ve been through it.

I speak two other languages fluently which I’m told at least one has some value in shipping-facing practices. Any honest answers welcome, including “you’re aiming too high.”

Thank you in advance

The open day applications at HSF Kramer just opened. I have been researching the firm for a while and hoped to apply for one of the open days . One of the reasons I chose the firm is because on the legal cheek website they don’t have a minimum for A level requirements.

I’ve gone on the website to apply and seen this :

“We typically look for a minimum of AAB at A-level (or equivalent). At university, applicants should be on track to achieve, or have achieved, consistent 2:1s across modules, with an average mark of 63% or above in each year of study (or the international equivalent)”

I did a BTEC and the equivalent to A levels is BBC, also in my first year I had two modules at 2:2, however since then have had high 2:1s and mainly 1sts .

I fee a bit disappointed, but I don’t want to waste my time applying if I’m not eligible. Is it worth sending an email to early careers to verify or simply cut my losses now ??

Do we anticipate NQ opportunities from Sept as August has been a drought 🙃

Hi all. As the title says, just wondering if anyone despite failing one or both parts of the SQE, has still managed to keep their training contract? I am very likely sure I have failed at least one SQE1 exam and needed some advice from someone in a similar position

hey guys

Please can you give me feedback on my cv.

Bit of background I am qualifying in December and I will be moving to London next year so I need a new job over there. I’m looking for NQ family roles or even legal counsel/paralegal roles in house. I’m not really that interested in family anymore so I don’t mind taking a cut if it means I’m gaining experience in another area.

Thank you!!

Hello to the kind people here!

I have seen plenty of people with experience in TC and VS applications helping those who are trying to enter the market. A lot of the advice and opinions shared here have genuinely helped me, so I am hoping you will be kind enough to help me with this as well.

For some context, I am currently an LLM student at a London university and completed my undergraduate law degree in India.

From what I have understood so far, VS and TC applications are broadly assessed on similar criteria across jurisdictions. Since I will be applying in the upcoming cycle, I decided to try one application, RPC's Direct TC application for its Hong Kong office, to get a sense of the rigour of the process and, more importantly, understand where I currently stand.

I approached this entirely based on what I have learned from a few Reddit posts and forums such as TCLA. I fully appreciate that my understanding may be incomplete or even wrong on certain aspects, which is precisely why I wanted to put this out here.

I have attached my answers to the application questions below. I would be extremely grateful if anyone with experience in TC/VS applications could have a look and give me some honest feedback on:

- Where I currently stand in terms of the quality of my answers

- What I may be getting wrong or overlooking

- How I could improve my approach before the upcoming application cycle

- Whether there are any particular weaknesses in my answers that I should work on

I am genuinely trying to understand the process and improve, so any candid feedback, even if critical, would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to read through this and share their perspective.

Pretty simple stuff - thanks to a lot of you on my previous post I have quite a bit more legal experience, but as always the ideal goal was to get a TC from either a regional or small national firm for the next cycle. My only concern is the aforementioned fact that a 2:2 from a non-RG uni is less than ideal to put it lightly, notwithstanding “mitigating circumstances”. Any tips on general Do’s and Don’ts for the upcoming cycle starting tomorrow, and if it would even be worth applying given my grades?

Does anyone have stats on level of shutdowns/recycle?

Just wandering if anyone had any good recommendations specifically towards commercial law. I’m currently reading the third edition of The Devils Advocate by Ian Morley QC & thoroughly enjoying it.

Hi there, I am considering retraining and pursuing a new career as a barrister.

My first question, to which I think I know the answer, is whether it is remotely possible to do a full-time GDL (at Birkbeck) while also working full-time. My financial circumstances mean that I don't have the option to quit my job while I study.

I understand it would be very difficult to do the GDL and work full-time but wanted to know if anyone has managed it, and if so, how hard it was. I suspect most will tell me I should only consider it part-time but I welcome perspectives of those who have been through it.

My second, related question. One of the reasons I am tempted to condense the course into one year is because of my age. I am currently 33. If I spend two years on a GDL, then one year doing a bar training course, so I would be 36 by the time I started pupillage.

Of course I know pupillages are insanely competitive and by no means guaranteed. And I know that it's harder for older entrants to secure pupillage, which is reflected in the Bar Standard's Board's reports.

Its own data (https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/static/36eb6661-50de-4a3b-8b7fbb73885a40c7/Pupillage-Gateway-2024-25.pdf) shows the pupillage offer rate is around 9% for ages 25 to 34, then dropping to roughly 2% for 35 to 44.

If I take two years to complete the GDL, I would be 35 by the time I first apply for pupillage, so I would sit in the 2% band. If I do the GDL in one year, I would at least be applying when I was a year younger which might make some sort of difference. (The statistics are possibly misleading though, i.e. it could be that the 2% success rate also applied to anyone over the age of 30 and the data just doesn't capture that).

So my second question is really whether pursuing this career path is worthwhile, given how low success rates are for older career switchers. I am finding it difficult to see past these statistics, and they have made me reconsider whether this is a good idea. Is there really next to no hope of securing pupillage?

I have a good academic record, a First Class Honours in English Lit and History from Edinburgh University, a Master's Degree with Merit in Journalism, and have worked as a journalist and in adjacent fields since then.

But I am also under no illusions that that makes me a particularly standout candidate in such an insanely competitive field of applicants.

All advice much appreciated. Thank you.

Hi everyone! Title is pretty self explanatory but essentially I’ve got a technical assessment scheduled this week for paralegal role.

I’ve never done one before so don’t know what to expect! Grateful for any and all advice :)

I have just graduated with an undergraduate degree in history and wanted to do a masters law conversion. The university I want to attend offers these two courses- I’m not sure which one I am supposed to choose as online a pgdip apparently doesn’t class as a full masters and maybe doesn’t give you the qualification but it is cheaper and faster? I would like to work in family or human rights law, and I’m considering the path to becoming a barrister. These are the two courses below, or do I do another thing entirely?

https://www.qub.ac.uk/campaign/ahss/pgt/domestic/lawpathways/

Hi everyone, I’m trying to decide which SQE1 books are worth buying physically and would really appreciate some opinions from people who have used either/both.

I’m going to have access to the ULaw SQE textbooks digitally, so I don’t technically need to buy any physical books. However, I study much better from physical books when I’m highlighting, annotating and revising, so I’d like to have one set in print to use as my main study/revision guide.

At the moment I’m deciding between buying the physical Revise SQE 2027 set and using that as my main revision resource while keeping the ULaw books digitally for more detailed explanations, or buying the physical ULaw set as well.

I’m a ULaw student, so apparently I can get around 50% off the ULaw manuals, which makes the price difference between the full ULaw physical set and Revise SQE much smaller than it normally would be. That’s what’s making me reconsider.

For anyone who has used both: which set would you rather have physically? Do you find Revise SQE better as the main day-to-day guide because it’s more concise and exam-focused, or is ULaw worth having in print because it’s more comprehensive?

I’ll also be travelling abroad during winter holiday term, so portability is somewhat relevant. I’d probably only take one or two books with me rather than the entire set anyway.

I’m especially interested in what worked for people who actually sat SQE1: did you mainly revise from Revise SQE and refer back to ULaw when necessary, or did you use ULaw as your main resource?

Also, if you recommend a mixture, which ULaw subjects do you think are particularly worth having physically?

Thank you!!

I’m starting my TC next week. I have been given my seat allocation and the name of my supervisor. Should I email them to introduce myself or wait until I start at the firm?
I don’t want to be annoying but I want to start on the right foot!
If you’ve been a trainee supervisor, would you care either way?

Asking cuz that’s the firm I wanna join

Legal cheek should list that as a stat

I am a third year law student. I go to a RG university, on track for a first. My main real downfall is I have very little legal work experience outside of my involvement in my university’s legal clinic and a small placement I did in college. I am working on this, applied to volunteer for citizens advice and other local charities.

Im looking for some anecdotes on how to secure a training contract or paralegal role at a regional firm and how difficult it is. Most other students go for the VS to TC offer route but most of the firms I’m interested in working for don’t offer VS, as they seem to be primarily in London. I’m local to the south east and I’m not interested in working in a London firm (I would rather have a better work life balance than the high salary). If you work for a regional firm or your first graduate job was at one id love some insight on my chances of getting a job

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some practical guidance on how to start applying for law firm internships, work experience, vacation schemes, and paralegal roles in the UK.

I will be moving to London soon to pursue my LL.M. at King’s College London with a focus on Technology Law.

I’m trying to understand how the UK application process actually works for someone in my position. I know the traditional route is usually vacation scheme and then a training contract, but I’m also interested in paralegal roles, legal assistant roles, legal-tech roles, or any practical legal work I can do alongside/after my master’s.

A few things I’d really appreciate advice on:

• When do vacation scheme and open day applications usually open?
• Are international LL.M. students realistically considered for vacation schemes or paralegal roles?
• Should I apply directly through firm websites, email graduate recruitment, or try networking first?
• What kinds of roles should I search for apart from “vacation scheme” and “training contract”?
• Do smaller/mid-sized firms take LL.M. students for internships or work experience?
• Is it worth applying before I arrive in London, or should I wait until I am physically there?

Any advice from people who have applied to UK law firms, worked as paralegals, done vacation schemes, or entered the UK legal market as an international student would be really helpful.

Thank you :)

For context, I trained in-house and currently work as an NQ Legal Counsel. Im more of a generalist do a bit of everything including B2B contracts, commercial property and deal with routine legal queries. Im in a small team of 5 lawyers. Bulk of my work used to be commercial property, but since qualifying im supporting other areas. I feel like im good at nothing. No one takes the time to explain the rationale behind certain changes and often it feels like senior lawyers make lots of stylistic changes which can be quite frustrating. Having spoke to recruiters, I’ve had some interest for commercial property roles in private practice, pay is also significantly higher. But my long term goal is to stay in-house. Going back to PP is probably the best option for personal development and learning. I have interviewed and had 1 offer but ultimately turned it down due to commuting issues. Im tempted to go back to PP purely to learn and develop my skills but worry that i might not be able to perform to the standard of a NQ that trained in a law firm and fear job insecurity in case I cant pass probation (probably an irrational fear)

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.