Studying law

Late to law: studying another degree first is a sensible option

An in-depth knowledge of an arts or science subject is an advantage to young lawyers, experts advise

Studying law. That’s like medicine, isn’t it – you need to decide early that you want to be a lawyer and make sure you do the right subjects at school?

Actually, not quite. Law firms don’t ask that you study law as your first degree, and they don’t mind what A-levels you do. Their only requirement is high grades. Laura Yeates, head of graduate talent at the prestigious law firm Clifford Chance, says the split between their solicitors who do a law degree and those who study something else is about 50:50.

If you don’t choose to study law at university, you will need to do a one-year conversion course – the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), also known as the Common Professional Exam. If you have received a training contract, some law firms will pay your GDL fees and offer a grant to help you afford to study.

The GDL crams the core subjects that you would study during the first 18 months of a law degree course into a year’s full-time study (or two years part-time). It can be intense.

The number of students looking to study law rose to 140,200 in 2017, up from 133,870 in 2016, according to figures from Ucas. But research from the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) shows that almost a third (31%) of law undergraduates regret their degree choice.

The criminal barrister Courtenay Griffiths QC says doing a law degree was the “biggest mistake” he ever made. “Why bore yourself for three years when you can bore yourself for one year and be in the same position?” he said in a law blog.

It can be better to study a subject that you enjoy and know you can excel in. Whatever subject you take, firms and chambers will look for a first or upper-second class degree.

A specialist subject will help you to differentiate yourself from other candidates. Most commonly, says Yeates, students have done history, economics, or international relations, but the Stem subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – have become increasingly desirable.

“We have a very diverse mix – currently a classical musician, a chemist, a zoologist, and an architect. Students should feel confident to talk about the skills they have developed on these courses,” says Yeates.

For barristers, the most recent statistics from their regulator, the Bar Standards Board, shows that of the 864 students called to the bar in 2016, 75% had done a law degree.

Fiona Fitzgerald, chief executive of Radcliffe Chambers, feels the core humanities and science subjects all equip students well for a career at the bar. “Candidates who have a first class or very good upper second class degree in a core humanities or science subject are often found to have a combination of excellent analytical skills, an enquiring mind and a broad perspective which ideally suits them for a career at the chancery bar,” she says.

But there are some advantages to studying a bachelor’s in law, says Alex Cisneros, a tenant at No5 Chambers in London and member of the Young Bar Committee. It allows you to study topics in greater depth and with more context, he says. “It also introduces you to the peripheral things that go alongside getting a training contract or pupillage, like mooting, which you might not otherwise find out about.”

If you want to become a barrister, whether you do a law degree or conversion course, there is only one route to qualifying – the year-long Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) followed by 12 months of pupillage (a period of practical training when you shadow a barrister in the first six months but have your own work and cases in the second six months).

After university and the GDL, the traditional route to becoming a solicitor is to complete the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and then a two-year training contract with a law firm. But a growing number of firms of all sizes enable you to qualify through a solicitor apprenticeship, sidestepping university altogether.