BPPDE-04030_Law_B2B Education Liaison Brochure 2_Aug 2017_V6_LOWRES

Making your Legal
Career a reality
01

Introduction
Working in the legal sector is a challenging but rewarding career choice, however there are several
different routes to take. From applying for training contracts and pupillage to finding the right
postgraduate course, BPP University Law School is here to help students.
Our suite of free interactive workshops are
designed to guide and support students into
making the right decisions to achieve their
career ambitions. Delivered by tutors with
extensive legal experience, each workshop
is mapped to different stages of becoming a
solicitor or barrister.
Many of the tutors at BPP University Law
School are qualified solicitors or barristers,
so we bring our professional backgrounds
and real experience from being in practice to
the classroom.
Our workshops
Our free workshops are delivered online, at
your university or at one of BPP University’s
eight UK study centres. All our sessions can be
tailored and delivered as one hour workshops or
extended to suit the needs of the students.
How to book
To book a session for your university, please
contact your BPP University Representative. If
you have not booked a workshop before please
email: educationliaison@bpp.com
Michelle Still
GDL and LLB lecturer, BPP University Law School
In a survey of 2014
BPP University Law School
LPC graduates, 97% of those
who participated have gone
on to work or further study *
*BPP University Postgraduate Survey, 2015.
Workshop
Delivered
Online At your university At BPP University
Mapping a legal career
Average
length
Mapping your legal career 1 hour +
Becoming a solicitor
Navigating the application process 1 hour +
Help! I’ve got an interview 1 hour +
What to bring to the table 2 hours
Assessment days – a time to shine 4 hours
Becoming a barrister
Becoming a barrister 1 hour
Learn to moot 1 hour
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03

A career in law
Law undoubtedly affects every part of human life. Varied, exciting, challenging and
rewarding, a legal career offers the opportunity to specialise within a chosen field such
as corporate, property or litigation while making a real different to clients. Regardless of
the kind of legal professional a student wishes to become, it is important to understand
what becoming a solicitor or barrister involves and which legal career path is best
to follow.
Workshops
Mapping your legal career
The number of practising
solicitors in England and
Wales is rising *
Delivered online
Designed for students currently making
a decision about whether to pursue
a career as a solicitor or a barrister,
“Mapping your legal career” explores
the different routes into a legal career.
Perfect for both law and non-law
students, the session enables students
to self-guide themselves through an
online session in order to formulate a
career plan. The session includes:
• Details of the different routes into law
• A series of self-assessments to help
determine the right career path,
what students need to do to get
there and what skills they need
for success
• Interviews with people who can
give a view of what life is really like
in practice
• Information on the area of law that
is best for students and to how to
find out more
• Links to further information to assist
students in taking the next steps in
their legal career
Over 30
different fields
of legal practice
Women account for
nearly half of all
solicitors with practising
certificates *
qualities all
successful
lawyers
should have...
excellent communication, sound judgement,
the ability to analyse and research, people
skills, perseverance and creativity
409 chambers in England and
Wales with more than one
self-employed barrister **
*Source: The Law Society, England and Wales, 2015. **The Bar Standards Board, 2015.
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05

Becoming a solicitor
Understanding how to navigate training contract applications is a must for all aspiring solicitors.
All our solicitor workshops are designed around
advising students how to not only apply for
a training contract, but how to succeed in
interviews and assessment days. Delivered
by tutors who have had successful careers
as solicitors themselves, our workshops offer
advice tailored to all career aspirations, whether
students aspire to work in one of the larger
commercial law firms or choose to specialise
and work in a smaller or niche law firm.
The path to becoming a solicitor
Once students have completed the LLB
(Hons), or Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL),
they need to undertake the Legal Practice
Course (LPC) * and complete a period of
recognised training (usually a training
contract) to become a qualified solicitor. Some
universities offer alternative programmes that
incorporate the LPC including the LLM Legal
Practice (Solicitors) which allows students to
gain a Master’s at the same time.
BPP University Law School really
helps you to build the skills
required in everyday work as
a solicitor, through their focus
not only on the technical legal
knowledge required, but also
through the practical skills that
they teach.
Charlotte Wright
LPC graduate,
Commercial Associate, Walker Morris
LLB (Hons)
Non-law degree
Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or LLM [Law Conversion]
Legal Practice Course (LPC) * or LLM Legal Practice (Solicitors)
Period of Recognised Training/Training Contract
Solicitor
Professional Qualifications and Professional Development
*Please note that the SRA is planning to introduce a centralised assessment called the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) for those aspiring to
qualify as solicitors. It is proposed that the SQE qualification route will take effect from September 2020 with transitional arrangements in place for those
students who have already embarked upon a particular path to qualification. Further consultation is taking place between the SRA and stakeholders in the
legal profession about the best way to implement these changes. Please visit law.bppuniversity.ac.uk for more information as it becomes available.
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07

Who we
work with
Through our Law School, Careers Service and
Pro Bono Service, we work with over 150
different firms.
Of those, we exclusively train over 60 leading
UK and international law firms’ trainee
solicitors. Many of these firms work with us in
other ways including consulting on programme
design, attending events, supporting our careers
service and pro bono projects as well as telling
us when additional recruitment is planned.
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09

Workshops
Navigating the application process
Delivered online
From identifying the right firms to
target, to ensuring any application
stands out from the crowd, this
workshop is designed to guide aspiring
solicitors through the training contract
application process. We work with
over 150 law firms, from magic circle
and large commercial firms to niche
legal service firms. This means that
regardless of career aspirations, we
understand exactly what different
recruiters are looking for.
This session includes:
• Advice on what recruiters are
looking for in an application
• How to make sure an application
stands out from the crowd
• How to tailor a CV to different firms
• How to ensure a covering letter
stands out
• How to survive and shine in
online tests
• Top tips from recruiters themselves
This is a chance to find out more about
yourself. By doing these workshops you
can start to see how your personality
and strengths might fit into different
roles within the legal sector.
Sara Dodge
University of Chester
Help! I’ve got an interview
Delivered online or on your campus
Designed for students who have
secured an interview with a law firm,
this session incorporates top tips
on how to prepare for an interview.
Whether it is a face to face, video or a
telephone interview, we’ve consulted
firms about what types of questions
they prefer to use, what they are
looking for in a candidate and what
they don’t want to see in a candidate.
This one to two hour workshop can
be delivered on campus or by a live
webinar. The session includes hints
and tips on approaches that really
work, from alumni that have made
it through the process and from
graduate recruiters.
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11

Workshops
The commercially aware lawyer:
What to bring to the table
Delivered on your campus
Designed for all aspiring solicitors,
irrelevant of level, this interactive
workshop is designed to cover the
key attributes that recruiters look
for in a prospective trainee. The
session includes:
• What employers mean by
commercial awareness
• What it means to be a commercially
aware lawyer in any area of law,
including the high street
• What commercial awareness means
to clients
• How to acquire, keep and
demonstrate commercial awareness
• Resilience – what is it, why is it
needed and how to demonstrate it
• Advice on how to enhance key
employability skills
The workshop is two hours, but
can be delivered as two separate
one hour sessions or tailored to your
student’s needs.
Once you know where you are headed
in law, you can use these sessions to
equip yourself with everything you
need to get interviews and, eventually,
the position you really want.
Fawaz Atta
University of Bangor
Assessment days – a time to shine
Delivered at your local BPP University
study centre
Our mock assessment events give
students an opportunity to join us at one
of our study centres to sharpen up their
professional skills, in order to prepare
for the challenges of an assessment
centre. This assessment centre event
allows students to demonstrate their
commercial awareness and practice
typical assessment centre tasks.
Students will walk away with a
“professional skills and commercial
awareness” certificate to enhance their
CV. This event includes:
• Drafting, negotiation and resilience
mock assessment centre activities
• A panel session with speakers and
BPP University Alumni
• Networking with local practitioners
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13

Becoming a barrister
Barristers are independent and objective and their highly specialist knowledge, in and out of court can make
a substantial difference to the outcome of a client’s matter or case. Our range of barrister workshops are
designed to equip students with everything they need to prepare for the challenges of becoming a barrister.
Workshops
Becoming a barrister
All our barrister workshops are designed
around the key skills that are required to
gain pupillage alongside other key skills such
as mooting.
The path to becoming a Barrister
Once you have successfully completed
your LLB (Hons), or Graduate Diploma in
Law (GDL) you will need to undertake the
Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) to
become a barrister. Some universities offer
alternative courses that incorporate the BPTC,
such as the LLM Legal Practice (Barristers)
enabling you to gain a Master’s at the same
time. Following your study you will need to be
called to the Bar by your Inn of Court, then you
will complete a 12-month pupillage
Delivered online or on your campus
Designed for aspiring Barristers, this
session gives students the opportunity
to find out if they have what it takes to
prepare and present a complex case in
a crowded court.
Learn to moot
Delivered on your campus
Mooting is an invaluable activity
for aspiring advocates and is often
practised on university programmes.
In addition they will discover
everything they need to know about
becoming a Barrister, including how to
gain pupillage.
This face-to-face session gives students
the opportunity to learn eight steps
to communicate, structure a legal
argument and engage with a judge.
Non-law degree
LLB (Hons)
Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or LLM [Law Conversion]
Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) or LLM Legal Practice (Barristers)
Pupillage
Barrister
This talk saved hours of navigating
through confusing legal handbooks and
web pages providing an indispensable
overview of all that you need to know
about the formalities of becoming
a barrister.
Professional Qualifications and Professional Development
Emily Chipchase
University of Leeds
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15

Meet the team
Our workshops are delivered by our team of legal professional, who have all enjoyed successful careers
at leading firms or at the bar. They bring first-hand experiences to the sessions, meaning that students
not only learn the key theoretical elements, but also how they are applied in real life.
Catherine Edwards
Head of Law - Midlands
Helen Morley
Senior Lecturer, North East
Rebecca Yates
Head of Law – North West
Jonny Hurst
Head of Faculty, LPC London
Liz Polding
Head of Law - South West
James Juggapah
Head of BPTC Relationship Strategy
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Locations
Our postgraduate law programmes run in eight different locations across the UK. Like our London
Holborn centre which is close to the historic Inns of Court and Law Society, our study centres are all
located in the heart of thriving legal communities.
Bristol
Leeds
Manchester
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
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Make BPP University Law School
your first choice.
Contact us
UK students
+44 (0)333 1223 604
admissions@bpp.com
EU and international students
+44 (0)333 1223 604
internationaladmissions@bpp.com
law.bppuniversity.ac.uk
©BPP University Limited 2017.
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