How to Become a Lawyer

B arristers and solicitors are the two major legal practices in the UK. A basic difference between these two legal professions is that a Barrister mainly represents the client inside the court room while a solicitor mainly handles the legal work outside it. They both are different branches of the legal profession requiring different trainings. How to become a Solicitor? For becoming a Solicitor in the UK, you need to pursue Bachelor of Law (LLB) at the undergraduate level and after its successful completion, you would be required to study the Legal Practice Course (LPC) which is offered in many law institutions across the UK. The Training Contract (TC) with a law firm is the last step in the path of becoming a solicitor which compulsorily has to be secured after the completion of LPC. But if have pursued a different course other than the law degree, lets say Engineering or Business Administration but want to make a career in Law, you can take a conversion course called Graduate Diploma of Law (GDL) also known Common Profession Exam which is available as full or part time course as well as a distance learning program and is offered at various universities in the UK. How to become a Barrister? In order to become a Barrister, you can either study LLB or if you belong to some different stream then you can take up the conversion course called GDL. The path to becoming a barrister bifurcates after the completion of the LLB or GDL, as you will have to take up the Bar Professional Courses (BPTC). As a trainee barrister, you are compulsorily required to be admitted to an Inn of Court before registering for the BPTC. After the completion of the BPTC, you would need to do a pupilage which is nothing but assisting an experienced barrister who would be assigned to you. After completion of pupilage, you can either opt to practice as an employed barrister or obtain tenancy in barristers’ chamber and practice as a self-employed or independent barrister. [Photo: audierpartners.com]