Do you want to become a Solicitor? Here is some information to help point you in the right direction:
Job Description - 
Print Page
Bookmark or recommend this article:
Solicitors give advice to clients and act on their behalf in legal matters. The cases they deal with depend on their employer and the area of work they choose. The main areas of work are:
· company/business law
· conveyancing (the legal side of buying, selling and leasing property)
· probate (dealing with wills and legacies)
· litigation (dealing with disputes)
· central and local government (advising civil servants, ministers and councillors)
· Crown Prosecution Service (examining evidence and deciding whether cases should go to court).
Solicitors normally work 37 hours a week, but longer hours are common. They may be on call at weekends and bank holidays. They are based in offices but some spend much of their time in court.
The basic starting salary for a trainee solicitor is £14,200 a year. A partner in a large firm could earn over £100,000 a year.
Solicitors should be:
· confident, with strong communication skills
· able to absorb and analyse large amounts of information
· careful and accurate in their work
· able to work under pressure
· good with figures
· interested in law and research.
There are over 90,000 solicitors in England and Wales, and about 9,900 in Scotland.
In England and Wales, solicitors normally have a law degree, or a non-law degree plus a Common Professional Examination, a graduate Diploma in Law or a Senior Status Law Degree.
In Scotland, entrants normally need a LLB degree in Scottish law, or a good first degree in any non-law subject and a two-year graduate law degree.
Solicitors undertake vocational training after graduation. This involves taking the Legal Practice Course (LPC) in England and Wales, and the Diploma of Legal Practice in Scotland. Both courses involve a training contract with a firm of solicitors.
With further training, solicitors may become barristers or advocates. They could also become heads of legal departments in companies, chief executives or company secretaries, local government chief officers or parliamentary counsels.
Do you know of a useful and relevant website that would be helpful to our users? Tell us about it by emailing 
