Hi all,
Long-time lurker. I'd really appreciate some candid advice.
I'm a 29 year old diplomat looking to transition into law with a long-term ambition to work in international arbitration.
I have 7 years experience in the public sector including 1 year in the Government Legal Department (non legal role), 6 years at the Foreign Office, with a few months in Rwanda and 18 months in Somalia as a political officer as the highlights. I currently work in a sanctions role.
I'm aware of all of the potential difficulties as a career changer but I actually have concerns over my transcript. I got a 2.1 from UCL in History and Politics (67) but got a couple of sub 2:1 modules in first and second year (2 in each). These were largely econ modules. 1st year was due to me being a lazy dumb student and second year was genuine extenuating circumstances for my final couple exams. The final year was all solid first except a couple 2.1. I'm looking to apply this cycle, targeting mainly firms with end of Dec/Jan deadlines. Got dinged by Clifford Chance (already).
I'd be keen to get a sense from the community here on whether I have a chance at a TC with these academics. I imagine some firms will be particularly hesitant, Magic Circle, US firms? I do have (in my opinion) interesting work experience though which I'd hope would go some way to counter balance.
Separately, I'm aware that I might not get a TC this cycle, but at my big age I don't want to be wasting time. As such, I was debating applying for a Jan 26 part time PGDL alongside my full time work. This would put me on the same timeline as the Sep 28 TC start dates i'm targeting (and I could stomach the costs) but I am unclear if firms will be recruiting for a Sep 28 start date beyond this cycle (i.e. - would my plan to not waste time fail).
Thanks in advance.
Long-time lurker. I'd really appreciate some candid advice.
I'm a 29 year old diplomat looking to transition into law with a long-term ambition to work in international arbitration.
I have 7 years experience in the public sector including 1 year in the Government Legal Department (non legal role), 6 years at the Foreign Office, with a few months in Rwanda and 18 months in Somalia as a political officer as the highlights. I currently work in a sanctions role.
I'm aware of all of the potential difficulties as a career changer but I actually have concerns over my transcript. I got a 2.1 from UCL in History and Politics (67) but got a couple of sub 2:1 modules in first and second year (2 in each). These were largely econ modules. 1st year was due to me being a lazy dumb student and second year was genuine extenuating circumstances for my final couple exams. The final year was all solid first except a couple 2.1. I'm looking to apply this cycle, targeting mainly firms with end of Dec/Jan deadlines. Got dinged by Clifford Chance (already).
I'd be keen to get a sense from the community here on whether I have a chance at a TC with these academics. I imagine some firms will be particularly hesitant, Magic Circle, US firms? I do have (in my opinion) interesting work experience though which I'd hope would go some way to counter balance.
Separately, I'm aware that I might not get a TC this cycle, but at my big age I don't want to be wasting time. As such, I was debating applying for a Jan 26 part time PGDL alongside my full time work. This would put me on the same timeline as the Sep 28 TC start dates i'm targeting (and I could stomach the costs) but I am unclear if firms will be recruiting for a Sep 28 start date beyond this cycle (i.e. - would my plan to not waste time fail).
Thanks in advance.
