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Message: <blockquote data-quote="desaesis" data-source="post: 216898" data-attributes="member: 26121">There are some people who are not academically-oriented but have amazing practical skills. I don't know enough about you to make a comment on whether you should pursue law or not, but if academia does not come naturally to you, then you might find the commercial legal environment quite stifling because it's very detail-oriented, requires a fair bit of complex in-depth knowledge (later on) about a lot of different financial/economic issues, and demands that you present yourself in writing and speaking in a polished way. The people who tend to do well in academia do well in these things, and tend to apply for top firms. It does not mean that you are an incapable person. If external circumstances affected your ability to perform as predicted, then by all means mention them in applications. Absolutely apply to Open Days, they're great because firms do workshops, Q&As, presentations about what commercial lawyers do and it's something you can write about in an application. If I were you, I would join Aspiring Solicitors, go to Law Fairs (online and in-person) to understand and talk to different lawyers. I probably wouldn't target top City firms – they all tend to say they take into consideration extenuating circumstances when reviewing grades but I'm pretty sure it's a corporate white lie. However, there are lot of other great firms that do non-commercial work. I wouldn't worry too much about not having enough experience. Took me 4 years to get a vac scheme at a Silver Circle (and US, but that's by the by) firm and most of my cohort barely did any real work, so I was the odd one out. They did some things in societies, sports clubs, travelling, and volunteering, but firms tend to only care that you satisfy their marking criteria. If you have enough experiences to tick all the boxes (and from reading the forums & attending enough firm application workshops you'll infer what they are), answer the motivation questions in a compelling way, then you'll be fine.If you're asking yourself whether you should have a legal career, you should ask why you are drawn to law in the first place. Does your attraction match the reality of what legal work is actually like? You say you did not do well in your degree, are you talking about not getting a 2:1? There are a bunch of grad schemes which accept 2:2, including the civil service. Have you considered apprenticeships? It's tough, it requires a fair bit of sitting down, and the economy is **** at the moment, but for normal people like us there is rarely a straightforward path and we tend to do best when we follow our gut.</blockquote>

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