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Law career essentials

Substantial numbers of law graduates enter the legal profession either immediately after professional training or a few years later.  Not all law graduates go on to become lawyers however; it is a degree that provides a broad range of skills and knowledge that are appealing to a wide variety of employers.

To get ahead in law whilst you are studying, the University of Wolverhampton offers great opportunities to gain practical experience in a supported environment. Boost your CV and make valuable contacts by becoming a volunteer in one of the following services. You can benefit yourself and the community, get an insight into day-to-day legal problems and interact with people from all backgrounds and walks of life.

  • Our Legal Advice Centre  is supported by local law practices and  provides free legal advice for the local community. Especially for those unable to obtain legal assistance through other charitable organisations e.g. the Citizens Advice Bureau. Free legal advice is provided by the University’s law students, supervised by their lecturers or practising lawyers from local law firms.
  • Law Student Representation Project – opportunity for students to volunteer as representatives (advocates) at the Benefit Appeals Tribunal Project with the Wolverhampton City Council Welfare Rights Services
  • Wolverhampton Legal Companions – a Legal Companion scheme where students receive training in providing assistance to members of the public regarding court application forms and accompanying them in formal proceedings at the local court, or in signposting them towards Legal Aid funding or charitable organisations where appropriate.
  • Mentoring Scheme – students with little or no experience of legal practice are assigned to local solicitors who give the students a feel of what practice is all about. For the last three years we have been running a mentoring scheme with international law firm DWF LLP.
  • Citizens Advice Bureau – opportunities for students to train as volunteer CAB advisors.

We also hold Law Careers Fairs, attended by local and national law (and law-related) organisations, who can give you tips on what they are looking for in a future employee.

Occupations requiring an LLB (Hons) degree

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The most common legal careers involve becoming either a:

These two professions are in themselves incredibly diverse and offer a huge range of different opportunities. They also both open up a number of possible careers paths, such as becoming a partner in a law firm or a judge. Click on the links above to find out more about these careers and what you will need to do after your law degree to pursue these.

In addition to the above, a number of aspiring solicitors often work as paralegals within law firms prior to starting their training to become a solicitor.

Chartered Legal Executive

A Chartered Legal Executive is a qualified lawyer. Rather than taking an LLB (Hons) degree, you could take this alternative route into the law. We work with the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) as an accredited CILEx Study Centre and offer four levels of CILEx qualifications at the University. This could be an option for you if you don't have the qualifications to start an LLB or if you are already working. Find out more about CILEx here.

Other occupations

Did you know? A number of politicians, past and present, were lawyers before entering Parliament.

Owing to the diverse nature of  a law degree, law graduates enter a range of alternative occupations, utilising the skills and knowledge gained from the qualification.

Alternative occupations that former students have gone onto include:

  • Police Officer
  • Probation Officer
  • Public Sector Administrator
  • Trading Standards Officer
  • Health and Safety Inspector
  • Personnel Officer
  • Accountant
  • Housing Manager
  • CPS caseworker
  • Bank fraud investigator
  • Civil servant
  • Financial Adviser

If you would like to find out more about alternative careers, then check out the occupational profiles available on the Graduate Prospects web site.

Graduate destinations

Our graduates go on to enjoy a wide variety of experiences when they graduate. Here's what some recent graduates were doing 6 months after finishing their course:-

  • Auditor
  • BPTC student
  • Documentation Manager
  • LPC student
  • Paralegal
  • Personnel Officer
  • Retail Manager
  • Trainee Probation Officer
  • Trainee Solicitor

What our students say

If you would like to pursue a career as a solicitor or barrister you will need to complete a Qualifying Law Degree (‘QLD’). The LLB Hons is the most popular way to meet this requirement. Even if you do not want to be a solicitor or barrister, or have not made up your mind yet, a Law degree can be a great foundation to a number of careers.

But why study at Wolverhampton Law School? Well, it is probably best to ask students who have done so already:

"I enjoyed my time on the undergraduate LLB (Hons) Law and so moving on to do the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at Wolverhampton was a natural progression. Doing the LPC was by far the best part of my education so far. The course is very demanding but is made so much easier by the fact that it is so well run."  Graduate, LLB (Hons) Law

"I chose to study at Wolverhampton on the LLB because I visited the School and was impressed by the helpfulness and enthusiasm of all the staff." Graduate, LLB (Hons) Law

Useful links

If you would like to find out more about the profession and the benefits of a law degree, you may want to take a look at the following links:

Job links

If you would like to know more about how to begin a career in law, then you may like to look at the following links:

If you are currently looking for a training contract, pupillage or paralegal position then the following sites may be of help

You may also want to check the website of legal recruitment firms, particularly for paralegal vacancies.

Further information

If you would like to know more about the LLB (Hons) or your employment options once you have successfully completed the course, then get in touch: