Book your place now at The University of Law's National Law Fair on 5 July 2017

The University of Law is holding its annual national law fair on Wednesday 5 July 2017 at its centre in Moorgate, London from 1.00pm to 4.00pm.  The fair is open to all Law students.

This is an excellent opportunity to speak to the law firms and organisations about work placements and training contracts.  

Please book here . There is also a list of firms and organisations attending on this website.

There is some very useful information - Preparing for the Law Fair - which I recommend you read before you attend.  

Don't delay, book today!

What do all those legal terms mean? Read this A-Z guide to find out!

Have you ever wondered what some legal jargon actually means?

Do you know the difference between an ABS and a traditional law firm?

What does ABS actually mean?  For those that don't know, it stands for Alternative Business Structure! They were brought in after the 2007 Legal Services Act.  An ABS is actually a structure which allows non-lawyers to have a financial stake in a law firm. Examples of ABSs include established Law firms such as Irwin Mitchell, Weightmans and Knights 1759.  Riverview Law, based in Bromborough, Wirral and Manchester is also an ABS, as is Co-operative Legal Services (CLS).

The Lex 100 has put together a very useful A-Z guide of legal terms here

It's especially important to know the relevant jargon when preparing for an interview at a law firm, so don't get caught out, do your research beforehand!

What we know so far about the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)

Lawcareers.net has published an interesting article about the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) this week.

This is definitely worth a read for any student thinking of qualifying as a solicitor from 2020 onwards. 

From then there will be four elements to qualifying as a solicitor:

• gaining a degree or equivalent qualification;
• passing the SQE;
• completing two years’ qualifying legal work experience; and
• passing the SRA’s character and suitability test.

Anyone who has already started the process of qualifying as a solicitor by 2020 will be able to continue to do so for a number of years afterwards.

"The Solicitors Qualifying Examination:what we know so far" is available here

Deadlines for 2019 training contracts coming closer!

The deadline for the majority of training contracts for 2019 is still 31 July, but there are some firms who have decided to bring their deadlines forward, mainly to 30 June instead.

Don't be caught out by missing a deadline.  Some of the well-known firms with deadlines of 30 June include:

• Eversheds Sutherland ( nationwide)
• Brabners (Liverpool, Manchester, Preston)
• Irwin Mitchell (nationwide)
• Burnetts (Carlisle, Newcastle, Penrith, Cockermouth)
• Shoosmiths (nationwide)

For the full list Lawcareers.net is probably the best resource. It is worth remembering that these deadlines do, on the whole, apply only to the larger commercial Law firms.

Use the list to identify firms you wish to apply for, note the closing date, so you leave yourself enough time to put together a strong application.

My piece of advice on this is, that it is better to do fewer applications but do each one well, than to try to do as many as possible before the deadline.

There are resources available to help you with your applications on CareerHub as well as on Lawcareers.net

Fieldfisher, a European law firm with a particular focus on technology, finance & financial services and energy &natural resources, will be hosting an early assessment centre on 15 July for training contracts starting in 2019 in London.

Applicants need to have applied and also completed the required psychometric tests before 2 July in order to be eligible to attend the assessment centre on 15 July, if selected.

More information on Fieldfisher can be found here