“Do law firms really look at people with degrees outside the top universities at all? I ask because I qualified with a first class degree in law last year, but have yet to secure a training contract. I got good grades in my GCSEs but my A-levels weren’t great (for one reason or another) so I had to accept a place at a university with a pretty average reputation. However, once I got there I worked hard, enjoyed the course and got a first.
“However, I’ve been trying to get a training contract at a good law firm since then and still have had no luck – I’m assuming because I don’t have the necessary A-level grades. I thought having a first might be enough for them to make an exception, but I’m guessing the uni I went to is counting against me. Sometimes I think I’d have been better off with a 2:2 from Oxford. But I really want to work for a major firm. It is worth holding out to get a firm I really want to join or should I apply to smaller firms? I really don’t want to do the LPC without funding.”
