The Law - Key Skills

Careers in Law can be very different depending on the type you practice and the size of the firm you join. Solicitors tend to be the first port of call for legal matters whether personal or corporate and they liaise with clients to try and resolve their problems or provide a legal framework for something they want to achieve.

Barristers are called in by solicitors for their expertise in a particular area of the law or to argue a case in court. That said, the distinction between the two is narrowing slightly due to the increasing scope for solicitors to conduct their own litigation.

Like many of the professions, law offers a great deal of flexibility in terms of where you practice so you don’t have to be in the centre of a large city to have a successful career. You can practice in large firms servicing business, within the businesses themselves as an in-house lawyer or at a high street practice overseeing the matters of private individuals.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the type of firm and specialty of law you practice will have a huge impact on what your daily life is like. A private equity solicitor in a magic circle firm is going to be spending a lot more time in the office than a high street solicitor. Commercial barristers were one of the biggest shocks to us. We hadn’t quite grasped just how individual the job is and the huge hours it demands. A 6 day working week appears very standard.

Law is well known as a lucrative industry and many firms seem to have coped with the credit crunch well. As a guide, if you’re a solicitor in a top 50 city firm then on your first rotation expect a salary in the £35-40,000 range. Newly qualified's will be in the sixties and three year post qualified can be anywhere from £80-110K. Salaries in the smaller high-street firms are quite a bit lower. Barristers are self-employed so their income can vary hugely but the industry stars could give David Beckham a run for his money.

Find out what key skills you need for Law

Key Skills for Graduate Jobs in Law video.

I think you have to have attention to detail. If you’re not the sort of person who has an attention for detail it’s probably not the right career because you will probably drive yourself and everyone else around you mad. Definitely have good analytical skills, be good at analysing. We are often dealing with massive amounts of documentation and other information all of which we have to assimilate, analyse and pick out from the bits that matter and that are relevant and support the legal arguments that we are putting forward. So the ability to assimilate information, to analyse it and to do it in a way that that is designed to achieve a particular objective is the kind of mental approach that we are looking for and that suits some people and doesn’t suit others. I think also enthusiasm certainly as a trainee. You've got to be enthusiastic. Eagerness and willingness to learn. The nature of the work at times can get repetitive and you will be asked to do things that you won’t necessarily be the most enthusiastic about doing, but if you do show that willingness and you’re helping somebody out on something they will show their appreciation and when they do and you’re recognised for the work that you’ve done and it’s very much appreciated, so if you take a long term view of things that’s quite important. You need to enjoy lateral thinking, problem solving, being able to apply the information that you have to hand to a specific situation and adapt that and to be able to give clear advice, to be able to communicate well, which is a skill that can be acquired and honed but you have to have a willingness to do that. Its essential – time is money, more so now than ever before and clients don’t want to be bamboozled by gobbledy-gook. They want clear and effective communication. When they ask a question they want a direct answer. As a barrister practicing criminal law you are working with people all the time so it’s extremely important that you do get on with everybody, whether it be a crown court or a high court judge, to your criminal damage burglar, whoever, you need to be able to relate to everybody, the clerks, the solicitors, the judges, the clients and the jury of course, I mean that’s is extremely important because you need to come across well to the jury. They’re the people who are going to decide in a criminal case in a crown court whether somebody is guilty or not and you’re really selling an idea to them, you’re selling and idea as to whether somebody is guilty or not and it’s your presentation skills and your ability to put yourself across well that is very important.