How come some Solicicitors don't have a BCL

vector

In order to become a Solicitor you do not actually have to have a degree, and if you do have a degree it doesn't have to be a BCL.

However, in practice is there any solicitor who doesn't have a degree and is under the age of 50?

and what are the chances of getting a contract without a BCL?

blindsider

https://www.lawsociety.ie/Documents/education/hbs/How%20to%20become%20a%20Solicitor%202011.pdf

Worth a read - it explains the various routes to qualification.

Not a legal bod myself, but apprenticeships seem very thin on the ground - I suspect you need:

- to have good contacts

- have other expertise e.g. accountancy, and then aim for to specialise in e.g. company Law (just random examples)

...just MHO

hullaballoo

As above, it's not a requirement for entry to the roll of solicitors to have a law degree, there are a number of options available to a post-grad who wants to become a solicitor. There is nothing peculiar about that because for a long time here, there was no option to do a pure law degree - you did an arts degree that included law as a main element. Pure law as a degree is a relatively recent thing. Reason being, law is no more complicated than other arts subjects like politics or social science.

Much like pure politics, pure social science, pure philosophy etc., pure law is just one of many arts-related subjects that it was decided could be a primary degree in and of its(them)self(selves).

For a while, people who did pure law degrees were somehow more highly regarded than those who did Arts with a major in law and minor in something else. Then there was pure law with [insert other jurisdiction's] law. That became the highest standard.

Truth is, if you have the core qualifications and you're prepared to work really really REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY hard, there's no reason why you cannot be an excellent, brilliant and highly respected lawyer in today's world.

busylady

vector wrote: »

In order to become a Solicitor you do not actually have to have a degree, and if you do have a degree it doesn't have to be a BCL.

However, in practice is there any solicitor who doesn't have a degree and is under the age of 50?

and what are the chances of getting a contract without a BCL?

Yes there are solicitors under 50 without a law degree !

Grolschevik

In an informal discussion with a group of students on the professional practice course at Blackhall a few years ago (height of Tiger), they said that a majority in their particular cohort had degrees other than law degrees.

I'd be interested in the stats on how many solicitors don't have any degree at all...

MarkAnthony

The BCL here is a bit of a funny one. In England it tends to connote a post graduate law degree. Here there are various law degrees the BCL being only one of the various types.

Uno my Uno.

I've never met or even heard of a solicitor with no degree at all. Many (myself included) have a degree from another discipline. I would speculate that the option for qualifying without a degree originally facilitated people such as Legal executives or law searchers who entered an office as school leavers and acquired extensive legal experience but did not attend a third level institution. Much the same way as it is possible to qualify as an accountant without a degree by training through an office.

I imagine that this might have been more common in the past however in my experience most legal execs nowadays have more letters after their name than most older solicitors.

vector

This is an interesting thread,

so a person can become a solicitor without a degree, and if they do have a degree it could be in something non law related (e.g. multimedia/spanish/greek and roman history etc etc)

But what are the realistic employment chances of such a person?
fine, if your father is a solicitor and will employ you, but in the market place how do solicitors firms look upon arts graduates vs. BCL graduates... all things being equal?

hullaballoo

vector wrote: »

how do solicitors firms look upon arts graduates vs. BCL graduates... all things being equal?

Very little weight is given to the undergrad degree nowadays. This is particularly the case because there are so many people graduating with high grades, pursuing post-grad courses and that sort of thing. Previously (as in, a few years ago), there was a trend in employers hiring people who had an unrelated undergrad degree, so banks were hiring engineers as lenders etc. That worked so marvellously that the entire country is now bolloxed. There has therefore been a shift away from such a policy. The bare minimum is that you are qualified in the area that you're looking to work. If you're a qualified lawyer, you're a qualified lawyer. The undergrad you did is insignificant other than to show that you applied yourself academically right through your time in college.

So, prospective employers are looking away from academic pursuits and focussing more on other aspects of your CV.

Have you done voluntary work? Were you involved in college societies? What do you do with your time off?

Also, and it's quite annoying this, but your experience is going to be key. You need to be able to show in your CV that you have certain employable characteristics and skill-sets. You can't just say, "I'm brilliant at most things" - you need to show that you've worked at most things and been brilliant at them.

fiachr_a

How many with a law degree don't become solicitors/barristers?

MarkAnthony

fiachr_a wrote: »

How many with a law degree don't become solicitors/barristers?

The majority.