Table of Contents

Part 1: A Career as a Solicitor; Why become a solicitor?; The view from the top; Part 2: First Steps; What does a solicitor do? A day in the life of ..; The route to qualification: the recruitment timetable; Part 3: Training; Law Society requirements; Do I need a law degree?; The law degree; The Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL); The Legal Practice Course (LPC); The training contract; Qualification and beyond; Part 4: Gaining Experience and Boosting your CV; Pro Bono work; Legal Experience; Non-Legal Experience; Part 5: Areas of Practice; Private practice; In house lawyers; Other employers; Practice areas; Part 6: Securing a Training Contract; What are firms looking for?; What is commercial awareness and how do you demonstrate it?; Targeting your applications; A first class CV; Application Forms; Vacation Schemes: a foot in the door; Preparing for interviews and assessment centres; Psychometric tests; If at first you don t succeed .; Part 7: The Future; The Legal Services Act 2007; The next generation of lawy