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Becoming a Lawyer

The route into law, from CSEC and CAPE subjects to admission: choosing where to qualify, the law degree, law school or the bar course, pupillage or articling, the first years of practice and choosing a field.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Then open the Marketplace in the app, search for Becoming a Lawyer, and click Install. It goes into your own files, and works offline from then on.

What it installs.

1

Pillar

1

Area

50

Projects

201

Starter tasks

🧰 Professions & Trades

Becoming a Lawyer

The route to practising law: the law degree, law school and the bar, pupillage or chambers, the first years of practice and choosing a field.

  1. Reality check on life as a lawyer
  2. Mapping the qualifying route where you want to practise
  3. Solicitor, barrister or attorney-at-law decision
  4. CSEC, CAPE and A level subjects for law
  5. Court gallery visits and watching advocates
  6. Cost and funding plan to qualify
  7. Qualification records and good character file
  8. Legal work experience before university
  9. Reading like a lawyer
  10. Choosing where to read law
  11. LNAT or LSAT preparation plan
  12. Personal statement and law application pack
  13. Conversion route for non-law graduates
  14. Regional law school entrance exam with an overseas LLB
  15. Weekly study rhythm through the law degree
  16. Case briefing and reading judgments
  17. Answering problem questions with IRAC
  18. Legal research in databases and law reports
  19. Mooting and mock trial competition
  20. Law society and mentoring network
  21. Final law degree exam revision plan
  22. Legal CV and application letters
  23. Application tracker for placements and training posts
  24. Vacation scheme, summer associate post or mini-pupillage
  25. Interview and assessment day preparation
  26. Pro bono and legal aid clinic volunteering
  27. Commercial and legal news briefing habit
  28. Two years at law school for the Legal Education Certificate
  29. Bar course, SQE or bar exam study plan
  30. Character and fitness or good standing application
  31. Pupillage, articling or qualifying experience logbook
  32. Call to the bar or admission ceremony
  33. Practising certificate and annual renewal
  34. First 90 days as a junior lawyer
  35. Supervision and feedback meetings with your principal
  36. Court etiquette and first appearances
  37. Matter diary and limitation date system
  38. Time recording and billing discipline
  39. Professional conduct, conflicts and client money rules
  40. Drafting portfolio of pleadings, contracts and opinions
  41. Continuing professional development hours log
  42. Workload and wellbeing checks for junior lawyers
  43. Studying law part-time while working or parenting
  44. First-generation law student support plan
  45. Qualifying abroad as a Caribbean law graduate
  46. Returning home to practise after qualifying overseas
  47. Choosing your field and type of workplace
  48. Pay benchmarks and progression case
  49. Setting up as a sole practitioner or in chambers
  50. Path to partnership, senior counsel or the bench

Where it starts.

Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.

Reality check on life as a lawyer

Television shows trials; most lawyers spend their days reading, drafting, negotiating and recording time, and many never stand up in court. Before committing years and money, talk to three practising lawyers in different settings and read about a normal working week, so the decision to study law is based on the real job rather than its image.

First tasks

  • List five lawyers you could reach through family, school, church or social media
  • Send a short message asking three of them for twenty minutes of their time
  • Ask each one to describe an ordinary working day in detail
  • Write a one-page decision note after the third conversation

Mapping the qualifying route where you want to practise

Each jurisdiction qualifies lawyers differently. Across much of the Commonwealth Caribbean a law degree is followed by two years at a regional law school for the Legal Education Certificate; England and Wales uses the SQE and qualifying work experience for solicitors and the bar course and pupillage for barristers; the US requires a JD and a state bar exam; Canada adds licensing exams and articling.

First tasks

  • Write down the country where you most expect to practise and a second option
  • Find the regulator's page listing the stages to admission in each
  • Draw the route for each jurisdiction as a timeline in years
  • Note what happens if you qualify in one place and later move to the other

Solicitor, barrister or attorney-at-law decision

In England and Wales the profession is split between solicitors, who handle clients and transactions, and barristers, who specialise in advocacy and opinions and are usually self-employed in chambers. Most Caribbean jurisdictions are fused, so an attorney-at-law may do both, though many still lean towards court work or office work.

First tasks

  • Read how your target jurisdiction divides or fuses the profession
  • Ask one advocate and one office-based lawyer what they would choose again
  • Write a short paragraph on which work suits your temperament
  • Plan one experience that would test your leaning in the next six months

Make it yours.

Install Becoming a Lawyer, then tell Aurum the date you're aiming for. It checks whether the plan fits the weeks you actually have.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Blueprints are general information to help you organise your own work. They are not medical, financial, legal or other professional advice. See the Terms.