help - career change to Barrister

stringy

I'm looking for advice or thoughts.

I'm 26, and have good marketing job (€55k), my own place, car, good hours, nice place to work. I have an honours degree in Marketing & Languages and a member of MMII. I'm very well regarded in the organisation and so career is going well. However do I want it?!! I'm in the process of deciding to do a Masters, maybe MBA.

Now the problem is, I've always thought about becoming a barrister. My uncle is SC and I've always liked the idea of it. I enjoyed the law modules in college and thought about doing law after school, after college and now again 5 years later.

I'm seriously thinking about the 2 yr diploma in Kings Inns to hopefully lead to the Bar qualification. I know I would get good work as a devil through my uncles friends and colleagues. However am I crazy to give up a good career?

I think the diploma is 4 evenings per week, how much of a strain is this? Are the modules difficult?

Since leaving uni I've learned that my written skills have vastly improved and I'm an excellent presenter, I also have a great ability to remember details and facts. I think these would be good abilities to have as barrister - am I correct?

I'm aware of the large numbers qualifying at the moment so the market for work is becoming quite flooded, so this is a little off putting.

Any advice would be great. Should I go for it?

skelliser

the traditional route i think was an llb then on to kings inn etc but i could be wrong

ive heard that the kings inn exams are really hard plus the money isnt great for a few years until ya build up some reputation etc. but if ya really wanna do it these things shouldnt stop ya.
if its something ya really want to do then go for it. if it doesnt work you can always fall back on your marketing as im sure u have a good few years experience underbelt.

board om

usually you would do an LLB and then go on to do the Kings Inns exams. Griffith College do an excellent LLB in the evenings. it is roughly €5k a year though but it is a very good course. i was actually doing it myself a few years ago but didnt go back for the final year. now as far as i know (i could be wrong) because you already have a degree i think you can automatically go straight to the Kings Inn exams, but tbh if you want to be a successful barrister you would really need the LLB. there is no point in doing it half assed. you could do the LLB in the evenings and continue your career as is. then after the 3 years you do the kings Inn 2 year diploma. the thing is when you go to do kings inn and you are first working in a firm, you get paid fcuk all. again i could be wrong but i dont think they have to pay you at all as it is a sort of apprentice. but as i said i could be wrong on that.

i was in the same position as yourslef when i went to fo the LLB, i was on a good career path in a complety different area and earning a very generous salary. so my plan was to do the LLB in the evenings and save enough through out the 3 years so that when i got to kings inn i would have enough saved that i didnt have to worry about not being paid. it just didnt work out like that for me though. thats not to say you couldnt do it. i just had a few obstacles that got in the way, but hopefully some day i might go back and finish it.

my advice would be to check out Griffith College for starters.

good luck with it.

shantor

definetly synergies between marketing & being a barrister, the presentation skills would stand to you

Esteem

Hi Stringy

I would think very long and hard about seeking a career as a barrister, considering that you are currently on a good salary. There is a huge amount of graduates from the Kings Inns and they are all competing for work. See the below article:

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/tribunal-babies-dreams-of-big-earnings-end-in-penury-1339607.html

In saying that, if your uncle in a SC you have an advantage. He would have alot of contacts in terms of both barristers and solicitors and would no doubt be able to tee you up with some work. I would suggest having a chat with him to see how he can help you on this front.

If you do decide to go down the barrister route, I would do the Kings Inns Diploma Course rather than the LLB. No point spending an extra year studying when you already have a Degree to your name. Granted its not a law degree, but non law graduates that have moved to law tend to be more highly sought after as they have more to offer. The Kings Inns course and the subsequent Degree Entrance exams will cover the majority of the LLB modules.

Best of luck with whatever route you decide to take!!

lordhawhaw

what will it cost you??

Here is my budget


fees 12k
rent, heat, electricity,suit 10k
food and drink , books 7k
wig and gown and prof insurance and law library membership 4k
money to service loan 7k

2 years diploma 9 k @4500 per year

Total so far education 49k plus loss of income= 45 x 2 years

Grand total cha ching: 140k

plus no work, in library : priceless

But its fun and thats what I like tell the bank

Esteem

Stringy,

One final thing worth mentioning is that the Kings Inns now do a 2 year part time degree. You could therefore spend the next four years achieving your Kings Inn Diploma and Degree and earn a good salary while doing so.

Pythia

They are doing the part time degree again? They only got rid of it a few years ago.

OP, I would try the legal forum, you'll get some good answers there.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=633

phanton

55 grand at 26 is fair going - i'd stay where you are

Milk & Honey

Pythia wrote: »

OP, I would try the legal forum, you'll get some good answers there.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=633

The legal forum seems to have Walter Mitty types who purport to belong to the profession and post nonsense or else there are law students who are indulging in flights of fancy and speculation. The o/p has an uncle in the profession. The best thing surely would be to go and talk to his uncle or someone recommended by his uncle.

ash xxx

A friend of mine is in exactly the same situation, so I'll tell you what I told him Go for it, if you have a genuine interest and have thought it through fully, which it seems you have, I would say you have nothing to loose. And yeah, the money will be **** for a few years, but you'll be rolling in it after that.

stringy

thanks for the comments anyway. Going to do the diploma and see how I feel after that. hopefully work will pay some or all of the fees. Ash, good advice, your friend is lucky to have someone so positive

GeorgeOrwell

I've just found this thread, and wondered how the OP was getting on.

I'm thinking of doing something similar to him/her part-time Kings Inn diploma, and then maybe the degree and be a barrister.

crazycat3224

As a law graduate let me tell you that it is tough. My route is not easy at all.

When I did my leaving cert I had no money for the registration fees and then spent a year working in a law firm on reception. Got great experience but did not want to spend my life answering phones so went and did an Arts degree in UCD all the while spending the summers working as a legal secretary on contract with various firm throughout Dublin. I then did an LLB and worked full time whilst studying full time at night (exhausting experience).

Upon graduating I have found work as a secretary but this is so mind numbling boring I am contemplating looking for a training contract in London (did the extra subjects in college for England and Wales thank god). My skills are not being made proper use of at all. I don't even seem to be able to ask questions so as to understand why we are doing certain things. Frustrating after all that to still, essentially, be doing the same job at this point that I was doing at 18.

One thing that I will say about the legal profession in Ireland is that it is shocking archaic and the bar needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into this century.The whole things is a boys network and is far more about who you know than what you know. So much depends on what private school you went to and who you met there. Many partners are where they are today through an accident of birth. That and law firms are shocking badly managed even the big ones charging massive fees with large management teams. Many partners seem to view the law firm as their own personal fiefdom and don't seem to want any input as to efficiencies from any other member of staff. Honestly, I had a solicitor tell me that I was doing the simplest of filing tasks wrong!!!

i would think long and hard about going into the legal profession. My aim at this point is to use it to qualify, gain some experience and then move into another area, in house ideally. The bar is very competitive with huge barriers to entry, not an easy place for one with no legal connections. You can do the diploma in law and then the BL part-time in the Kings Inns but in total it will take you 4 years and then you will have to devil for 2 years and not earn a red cent and if you are very lucky after that you might get some work thrown your way and after an estimated 7-10 years you might break even. This is an expensive business to get into, the costs of qualification are enormous.

crazycat3224

As a law graduate let me tell you that it is tough. My route is not easy at all.

When I did my leaving cert I had no money for the registration fees and then spent a year working in a law firm on reception. Got great experience but did not want to spend my life answering phones so went and did an Arts degree in UCD all the while spending the summers working as a legal secretary on contract with various firm throughout Dublin. I then did an LLB and worked full time whilst studying full time at night (exhausting experience).

Upon graduating I have found work as a secretary but this is so mind numbling boring I am contemplating looking for a training contract in London (did the extra subjects in college for England and Wales thank god). My skills are not being made proper use of at all. I don't even seem to be able to ask questions so as to understand why we are doing certain things. Frustrating after all that to still, essentially, be doing the same job at this point that I was doing at 18.

One thing that I will say about the legal profession in Ireland is that it is shocking archaic and the bar needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into this century.The whole things is a boys network and is far more about who you know than what you know. So much depends on what private school you went to and who you met there. Many partners are where they are today through an accident of birth. That and law firms are shocking badly managed even the big ones charging massive fees with large management teams. Many partners seem to view the law firm as their own personal fiefdom and don't seem to want any input as to efficiencies from any other member of staff. Honestly, I had a solicitor tell me that I was doing the simplest of filing tasks wrong!!!

i would think long and hard about going into the legal profession. My aim at this point is to use it to qualify, gain some experience and then move into another area, in house ideally. The bar is very competitive with huge barriers to entry, not an easy place for one with no legal connections. You can do the diploma in law and then the BL part-time in the Kings Inns but in total it will take you 4 years and then you will have to devil for 2 years and not earn a red cent and if you are very lucky after that you might get some work thrown your way and after an estimated 7-10 years you might break even. This is an expensive business to get into, the costs of qualification are enormous.