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Legal career/solicitor advice

  • 11-08-2017 9:25pm
    #1
    Holmsie_95
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19 ✭


    I have a level 8 degree in journalism and Spanish but I want to pursue a legal career. I am already 23, I hate journalism and my only income is a part time job in a grocery shop, but I would be willing to take out a loan to complete solicitor training. My reason for choosing this career path is because I took a few law modules in university and loved them and did very well in them.
    Should I:
    (a) do a one-year level 6 course in legal studies, do the FE-1 exams and get a job as a paralegal/legal assistant for a few years. After a few years when I've saved some money and I'm certain this is the career I'd like to take, I can start my solicitor traineeship.

    (b) study for the FE-1 exams straight away without getting a legal qualification and then try to get a solicitor traineeship (or paralegal/legal secretary etc if I can't)

    Basically what I'm asking is:
    1) Should I get some sort of legal qualification before sitting the FE-1s (I know that all you need is a level 8 degree in any discipline but would it make the exams more do-able and make it easier to get employment in the long run if I had a level 6 or 7 in legal studies) or is it next to impossible to get a solicitor traineeship with just the FE-1s and an unrelated degree under my belt???
    3) Is it difficult or unlikely to get a paralegal/legal secretary/legal assistant/legal executive job etc etc nowadays with no relevant legal experience or degree (BUT with some or all FE-1s passed)

    Any help/advice/comments would be greatly appreciated as I am in a bit of a crisis at the moment.


Comments

  • #2
    Samuel T. Cogley
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,684 ✭✭✭✭Samuel T. Cogley


    Studying law isn't hard, okay it is but the actual concepts aren't complicated. What's difficult is storing it all in RAM to print it out in the exams. If you can self motivate I'd just do the FE-1s or do a prep course then the FE-1s. They take a while to complete so maybe do some legal work in the mean time to see if it's the right thing for you.


  • #3
    Holmsie_95
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19 ✭Holmsie_95


    Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »
    Studying law isn't hard, okay it is but the actual concepts aren't complicated. What's difficult is storing it all in RAM to print it out in the exams. If you can self motivate I'd just do the FE-1s or do a prep course then the FE-1s. They take a while to complete so maybe do some legal work in the mean time to see if it's the right thing for you.


    Thanks for your reply. Is it difficult to get legal experience or perhaps paralegal/legal assistance experience while completing the FE-1s? I'd do unpaid work for a few months or a year if I could get somewhere near a relative that I could stay with as to avoid crippling rent costs (my aunts and uncles would be very good for that kind of thing provided the stay would be short-term)

    Mod deletion. Pls don't discuss individual colleges


  • #4
    stall
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20 ✭stall


    Holmsie_95 wrote: »
    I have a level 8 degree in journalism and Spanish but I want to pursue a legal career. I am already 23, I hate journalism and my only income is a part time job in a grocery shop, but I would be willing to take out a loan to complete solicitor training. My reason for choosing this career path is because I took a few law modules in university and loved them and did very well in them.
    Should I:
    (a) do a one-year level 6 course in legal studies, do the FE-1 exams and get a job as a paralegal/legal assistant for a few years. After a few years when I've saved some money and I'm certain this is the career I'd like to take, I can start my solicitor traineeship.

    (b) study for the FE-1 exams straight away without getting a legal qualification and then try to get a solicitor traineeship (or paralegal/legal secretary etc if I can't)

    Basically what I'm asking is:
    1) Should I get some sort of legal qualification before sitting the FE-1s (I know that all you need is a level 8 degree in any discipline but would it make the exams more do-able and make it easier to get employment in the long run if I had a level 6 or 7 in legal studies) or is it next to impossible to get a solicitor traineeship with just the FE-1s and an unrelated degree under my belt???
    3) Is it difficult or unlikely to get a paralegal/legal secretary/legal assistant/legal executive job etc etc nowadays with no relevant legal experience or degree (BUT with some or all FE-1s passed)

    Any help/advice/comments would be greatly appreciated as I am in a bit of a crisis at the moment.


    Hi,
    My undergrad is in Arts degree so I went and did a Fe1 prep course and did the exams straight away without any legal degree as such.I studied hard for them but passed them all within two sittings, so it is possible.Personally I wouldn't bother with a conversion course,I'd put the money towards an Fe1 prep course instead which will probably cost 2/3k to do anyway.
    I found that in-office experience was the thing most employers were looking for, and so I'd recommend trying to get some if you can - check the law society website for intern/ legal secretary vacancies. I passed the Fe1s and was fortunate to get a training contract straight away, but it is in a smaller county so is very different to looking for one in Dublin, although if you decide to go down this path you can apply to most of the Dublin firms around October, even before you have your Fe1 exams done. Also the big firms look for people from all areas of life and often take people with no background in law.
    The last thing I'd say is that the path to get qualified is expensive and long. Fe1s cost €800 to sit and that's before you attend a prep course/conversion course/buy books. Then, once exams are passed if your training Solicitor is not paying your PPC1 fees it will cost you around €8k for PPC1 and €5k for PPC2 and during both courses you'll have to support yourself while living in Dublin. Then in terms of time, Fe1s are likely to take 12 months and then 3 years from when you start PPC1 you'll finally be qualified.

    Now in saying those slightly negative things, it's a great career and although I've not qualified yet I'm in the midst of training and I love the work so if it's what you want to do you should try pursue it!


  • #5
    Holmsie_95
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19 ✭Holmsie_95


    stall wrote: »
    Hi,
    My undergrad is in Arts degree so I went and did a Fe1 prep course and did the exams straight away without any legal degree as such.I studied hard for them but passed them all within two sittings, so it is possible.Personally I wouldn't bother with a conversion course,I'd put the money towards an Fe1 prep course instead which will probably cost 2/3k to do anyway.
    I found that in-office experience was the thing most employers were looking for, and so I'd recommend trying to get some if you can - check the law society website for intern/ legal secretary vacancies. I passed the Fe1s and was fortunate to get a training contract straight away, but it is in a smaller county so is very different to looking for one in Dublin, although if you decide to go down this path you can apply to most of the Dublin firms around October, even before you have your Fe1 exams done. Also the big firms look for people from all areas of life and often take people with no background in law.
    The last thing I'd say is that the path to get qualified is expensive and long. Fe1s cost €800 to sit and that's before you attend a prep course/conversion course/buy books. Then, once exams are passed if your training Solicitor is not paying your PPC1 fees it will cost you around €8k for PPC1 and €5k for PPC2 and during both courses you'll have to support yourself while living in Dublin. Then in terms of time, Fe1s are likely to take 12 months and then 3 years from when you start PPC1 you'll finally be qualified.

    Now in saying those slightly negative things, it's a great career and although I've not qualified yet I'm in the midst of training and I love the work so if it's what you want to do you should try pursue it!


    Thank you very much for your reply. I think I will try get some unpaid experience for a few weeks straight away to get a taste for it and then go down the FE-1/PPC I/PPC II route.

    Do you happen to know if the PPC I and PPC II are partially subsidised by SUSI? I received the full grant during my undergrad because unfortunately there is only one low income from one parent in my household. I wouldn't be opposed to taking out a student loan if I decided that this is definitely the career for me.

    I also heard that if you get a training contract with some of the big companies they pay your fees for you? If so, I wouldn't be opposed to doing a year or so of unpaid legal work in my local small-town solicitor (I live in Laois) and, while doing this and completing the FE-1s for a year or so,....temporarily move back in with the PARENTS....(shudder). This idea would probably be the most cost-effective, but do you think that some low-paid experience in some of the Dublin firms would be better, even if it meant taking out a loan to cover living and car expenses?

    Alternatively, do you think that getting some legal experience and doing the FE-1s and then going straight into a paralegal/legal assistant type of role for a few years in order to save some cash would be a good route? I could then do the PPC I and II maybe three years later and it would avoid having to take out a loan.

    Sorry for the lengthy reply, I'm just trying to get some clarification as to which is the best route to take because I'm finding all sorts of conflicting advice online 😂


  • #6
    stall
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20 ✭stall


    Holmsie_95 wrote: »
    Thank you very much for your reply. I think I will try get some unpaid experience for a few weeks straight away to get a taste for it and then go down the FE-1/PPC I/PPC II route.

    Do you happen to know if the PPC I and PPC II are partially subsidised by SUSI? I received the full grant during my undergrad because unfortunately there is only one low income from one parent in my household. I wouldn't be opposed to taking out a student loan if I decided that this is definitely the career for me.

    I also heard that if you get a training contract with some of the big companies they pay your fees for you? If so, I wouldn't be opposed to doing a year or so of unpaid legal work in my local small-town solicitor (I live in Laois) and, while doing this and completing the FE-1s for a year or so,....temporarily move back in with the PARENTS....(shudder). This idea would probably be the most cost-effective, but do you think that some low-paid experience in some of the Dublin firms would be better, even if it meant taking out a loan to cover living and car expenses?

    Alternatively, do you think that getting some legal experience and doing the FE-1s and then going straight into a paralegal/legal assistant type of role for a few years in order to save some cash would be a good route? I could then do the PPC I and II maybe three years later and it would avoid having to take out a loan.

    Sorry for the lengthy reply, I'm just trying to get some clarification as to which is the best route to take because I'm finding all sorts of conflicting advice online 😂


    Yes as far as I know there is subsidy for SUSI but I'm not sure if it fully covers the fees or only part, I also think that the Law Society offer some type of bursary but I don't know what the criteria are for it.

    Yes the big Dublin firms do pay your PPC1 & 2 fees but they are quite competitive to get into so just be aware of that.

    Personally I wouldn't live in Dublin and work unpaid because Dublin is so expensive to live in (I went to college in Dublin so I know it's crazy at the minute!), there's no reason why gaining experience in a local firm would not suffice. And in a small local firm you would probably get a lot more exposure than in a bigger firm.

    I would think working in a paralegal/ legal secretary position while doing the Fe1's would be your best option because you're gaining experience and also getting through the Fe1's, and once you have the Fe1's passed your so much more attractive to employees! Just remember that the Fe1's are tough enough so I wouldn't recommend working full time in the lead up to them,perhaps taking a holiday week or two right before them to study.


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