Step 1
Get your degree
A qualifying law degree is a first step on the road to becoming a solicitor. It will exempt you from the common professional examination (CPE), provided it covers all seven foundations of legal knowledge – obligations I (contract) and II (tort), criminal law, equity and law of trusts, law of the European Union, property law and public law. Once completed, and within seven years of graduation, you can then apply for the legal practice course (LPC).
Academic results are important and, with a few exceptions, a 2:1 is pretty much a minimum requirement (see law firm table, page 34) – whether you have a law degree or not.
Firms may not be as Oxbridge-dominated as they once were, but most of the larger ones are still more impressed by ‘red brick’ graduates. GCSE and A-level results are taken into account as well as degree performance, but if you have a good non-academic reason for choosing a new university over an old one, this may be taken into account.
