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It's not true that only rich kids can get into the profession, and I don't see how being white has anything to do with it, there's no need at all to bring race into it. I've had some work experience with a criminal barrister and they definitely aren't all white and rich.

And where have you got the idea that you have to do 3 years unpaid? All training contracts are paid and pupillages (which only last 1 year) have a guaranteed award for the first 6 and earnings in the second 6.

Why not take the LPC and try to become a crown advocate, or aim to get a job with a private firm which specialises in criminal law (perhaps become a solicitor advocate)? Also the recession does not have the same effect on crime rates as it does on the economy so it's hard to see how the recession will damage the number of jobs in criminal law. Those statistics will be skewed by redundancies in commercial firms.

Did you not look into what becoming a lawyer involved before you started your degree? Because if you did you surely must have known that you would have to pay through the nose for your BVC/LPC, and that becoming a barrister has been ridiculously competitive for a long time. It's true that taking the LPC/BVC is a risk but you should have known that before you started.

Sorry if this post is a bit blunt but I'm in a similar position to you (work in an abbatoir instead of a factory over summer though) and it definitely isn't as bad as you're making out. I can't afford to pay for my fourth year so I'm going to do what countless other people have to do, work and save for a year after uni and then take out a career development loan. If you were really going to struggle you could take the LPC/BVC part time and work while you were studying. I do agree that dining at the inns is a joke though, I literally couldn't afford to do it when I got the chance last year.

Also, have you thought about applying to one of the inns for a scholarship? They give out over £3million a year in scholarships and bursaries so it might be worth a try, especially if you've done well in mooting.

There's no reason that a person with a good degree, decent work experience and the right attitude can't get a job in a criminal law firm or with the CPS, regardless of whether or not they're rich and white.

You're obviously going to get a good degree, showing that you worked through uni looks great on a CV and will compensate for lack of extra curriculars, and it also looks like you've got some brilliant work experience. Stop being so pessimistic.
(discodavey, Sat 4 Apr 2009, 3:53, 2 replies)

^^THIS^^
I've recently considered retraining as a barrister, despite having no legal education at all. It can be done - it's hard, but it can be done.

The first thing you should do is to look to the Inns of Court for funding. It's not massively generous, but it's probably enough. Inner Temple is the most valuable, but the others are not to be sniffed at.

Now - I've decided against applying, because at my age - I'm 32 - I think it's a bit late to be starting from scratch (and I only got my first job less than three years ago, so I'm not exactly loaded). But if you're now in your early 20s, the investment is, in a sense, much smaller.

As it happens, I work with a lot of barristers. It's true that many are stereotypical WASP types - but that's a generational thing. Of those who're my age, sex, race and culture don't seem to be nearly as big a factor (which stands to reason, really: an Inn will want the best people, and best doesn't mean whitest or most middle-class).
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Sat 4 Apr 2009, 12:15, closed)

Meh...
The problem is really that I can't afford to go to any of the events at the inns, or I don't get the chance to because I'm at work. Studying is made more difficult by the fact that I spend all my time working. Why would the inns support me when they've never met me or anything? My grades aren't massively exceptional (2.1 average - but that's considered the minimum - except in criminal law).



I didn't mean for what I said to be so studiously analysed or for it to be a searing indictment of the state of the legal system. I did know how difficult it was going to be before I started uni, but then, because I'd always been top of the class since I was 4, I rather optimistically thought uni would be easy for me too (I have been brought back down to earth with a horrendous bump).

All I wanted was a little bit of catharsis, and the chance to have a little rant in between the revision.

However, thanks for people being nice and stuff. I feel a bit fuzzy inside.
(BelladonnaAnodyne Melissa's gonna wet herself, I swear..., Sat 4 Apr 2009, 13:17, closed)