Career Opportunities
A law degree offers a graduate a wide range of career opportunities including practice as a solicitor or barrister, or direct entry into such sectors as commerce, industry, financial services and government. Prospective employers value a law graduate's intellectual training, particularly the ability to analyse issues. The Department of Law & Criminology at Aberystwyth offers specialist advice and guidance for students interested in the legal profession and, with the University's Careers Service, provides an expert service for all Law students.
The Legal Profession
The legal profession in England and Wales has two distinct branches. The vast majority of professionally qualified lawyers are solicitors. Most solicitors are employed in private firms, undertaking general or specialist legal work, ranging in size from one solicitor high street practices to multi-national City practices. Solicitors are for most people the first contact with the legal profession.
Law graduates who intend to qualify as solicitors must take a further vocational one-year course, the Legal Practice Course. For information about the Legal Practice Course at Aberystwyth please click here.
A barrister in private practice at the Bar is self-employed, working out of a set of Chambers, and may be based in London or in one of the cities or large towns in England and Wales. Barristers specialise in offering legal advice in difficult cases and in preparing, and presenting, cases for trial. Advocacy is an essential aspect of a barrister's training and skill. Many barristers do not practise privately, but work in such areas as business, politics, journalism and universities.
Law graduates who intend to qualify as barristers must join an Inn of Court and, on graduation and having passed the necessary selection tests, take the Bar's one-year vocational course. A period of "pupillage" follows successful completion of the vocational course. A pupil barrister earns practical experience with a well-established barrister. On completion of pupillage, a barrister seeks work in private practice at the Bar or elsewhere. Many overseas students read for the Bar at educational institutions offering the necessary courses before returning "home" to practise.
The Department of Law & Criminology at Aberystwyth has strong links with the Bar, particularly with Gray's Inn where our students can attend dinners and moots at concessionary rates, and our law students can join a society within the department to assist in furthering their links with the Bar. A number of our recent graduates have been selected by Gray's Inn for major scholarships and awards.
Beyond the Legal Profession
Law students looking for careers beyond the legal profession are well-served by the Department of Law & Criminology and the University's Careers Service. Law Graduates with a good degree will find themselves well-placed to pursue a successful career in, for example, the Civil Service, local government, the NHS or the private sector.
These careers may not be as traditional for law graduates as entry into the legal profession but at Aberystwyth we recognise their importance to law graduates.