Hi All,
I have a BSc Biomedical Science (graduated 2016) and MSc Neuroscience (graduated 2018) and currently work in Research & Development in the public sector as a Senior Contracts Associate which involves drafting, reviewing and negotiating research contracts with universities, charities, other collaborating institutions and liaising with/escalating research contracts to our in-house counsel where appropriate.
The next step above my current role is to Contracts Manager and then you hit a glass ceiling of if you want to go any further, you obviously require a legal qualification. I've pondered a great deal about where to go from this role and I think it's best that I pursue a career as a solicitor. The formal legal training and qualification I believe will open a lot of doors for me and I believe I have the capacity and appropriate skills to excel in a role as a solicitor.
My question is this, does it make sense for me to apply directly to training contracts as a non-law graduate with minimal legal exposure. I know they say in the TC entry requirements that they take non-law graduates but is that just something they say in theory but realistically when competing against bright, fresh-out-of-uni law grads a non-law grad is just not going to fare well? I've seen that a potential option for someone like me might be going via the paralegal route and then from there that firm may support me in enrolling onto their training contract - I've seen Macfarlane offer this. I guess this is all fairly new to me and I'm just looking for some guidance. I wouldn't want to start applying prematurely to firms without knowing what route might suit me best.
Also for context and to complicate things slightly, I'm currently pregnant with my second child due in October so I initially started off thinking how I could spend this next maternity leave to improve myself i.e. take the Postgraduate Diploma in Law? I've seen some paralegal roles wanting legal background like the PGDL so perhaps during this maternity leave I could make a start on PGDL and then once complete try and secure a paralegal role and then from there pursue a training contract?
Thank you for taking the time to read and advise me.
I have a BSc Biomedical Science (graduated 2016) and MSc Neuroscience (graduated 2018) and currently work in Research & Development in the public sector as a Senior Contracts Associate which involves drafting, reviewing and negotiating research contracts with universities, charities, other collaborating institutions and liaising with/escalating research contracts to our in-house counsel where appropriate.
The next step above my current role is to Contracts Manager and then you hit a glass ceiling of if you want to go any further, you obviously require a legal qualification. I've pondered a great deal about where to go from this role and I think it's best that I pursue a career as a solicitor. The formal legal training and qualification I believe will open a lot of doors for me and I believe I have the capacity and appropriate skills to excel in a role as a solicitor.
My question is this, does it make sense for me to apply directly to training contracts as a non-law graduate with minimal legal exposure. I know they say in the TC entry requirements that they take non-law graduates but is that just something they say in theory but realistically when competing against bright, fresh-out-of-uni law grads a non-law grad is just not going to fare well? I've seen that a potential option for someone like me might be going via the paralegal route and then from there that firm may support me in enrolling onto their training contract - I've seen Macfarlane offer this. I guess this is all fairly new to me and I'm just looking for some guidance. I wouldn't want to start applying prematurely to firms without knowing what route might suit me best.
Also for context and to complicate things slightly, I'm currently pregnant with my second child due in October so I initially started off thinking how I could spend this next maternity leave to improve myself i.e. take the Postgraduate Diploma in Law? I've seen some paralegal roles wanting legal background like the PGDL so perhaps during this maternity leave I could make a start on PGDL and then once complete try and secure a paralegal role and then from there pursue a training contract?
Thank you for taking the time to read and advise me.
