{"id":2337,"date":"2023-01-17T11:34:33","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T11:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/klsemployability\/?page_id=2337"},"modified":"2024-09-11T11:19:20","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T10:19:20","slug":"alternative-careers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/getintolaw\/alternative-careers\/","title":{"rendered":"Find Alternative Legal Careers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/solicitor\">Solicitors<\/a> provide expert legal support and advice on a range of personal and commercial issues.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/barrister\">Barristers<\/a> (in England and Wales) are specialists in advocacy and represent individuals or organisations in court.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The following professions are all ones where you qualify as a lawyer &#8211; but just not as a solicitor or barrister.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Chartered Legal Executives\u00a0<\/strong>\u21d2 CiLEX offer the chance to also qualify as a solicitor through further vocational training. They have a law graduate fast path to qualification also. Earn while you learn: <a style=\"color: #2a6496\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cilex.org.uk\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><span style=\"color: #0066cc\">http:\/\/www.cilex.org.uk\/<\/span><\/u><\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>Relevant law degree modules: all of the Core modules; Kent Law Clinic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Notary\/Notary Public<\/strong> &#8211; this is the third oldest legal profession in the UK.\u00a0 A Notary &#8216;notarises&#8217; documents for private individuals and for businesses which, essentially, means that they authenticate documents and signatures for use abroad.\u00a0 Notaries are also able to practice in non-contentious areas such as conveyancing and probate.\u00a0 \u00a0For information about becoming a notary\u00a0see: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenotariessociety.org.uk\/pages\/becoming-a-notary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.thenotariessociety.org.uk\/pages\/becoming-a-notary\u00a0<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>Relevant law degree modules:\u00a0 Land Law, Equity &amp; Trusts; EU law; Public &amp; Constitutional law; Contract; Company law; Succession\/Law of the Dead Hand. Also useful is the Clinic Module so that you can learn how to work with clients and draft documents. Mental Health Law includes the study of &#8216;capacity&#8217; which can be helpful but will also be covered in subsequent study.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Scrivener Notary<\/strong> &#8211; This is a very small legal profession but one in which a number of Kent alumni are represented. Scrivener notaries are trained in advanced aspects of notarial practice and at least two foreign languages. Training requires legal and linguistic qualification and the work is very international and commercial in nature.\u00a0 Although training takes 4 years you work at the same time. Trainee positions are usually advertised on the firms&#8217; own websites and applications are usually by way of CV and letter.\u00a0 This is not a long and complicated recruitment process but you will need to keep an eye on the firms&#8217; websites for the entirety of your final year (and beyond) as there is no standard time when they will recruit &#8211; some firms seem to do it in autumn and others in spring; some may only recruit bi-annually. De Pinna is a firm that regularly recruits paralegals. There are only 4 firms to apply to so this is not an arduous task. You will be able to find out more, including links to the firms here: <a href=\"https:\/\/scrivener-notaries.org.uk\/scrivener-notaries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/scrivener-notaries.org.uk\/scrivener-notaries\/ \u00a0 <\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>Relevant law degree modules: as for Notary above; modules with a commercial theme.<\/li>\n<li>ESSENTIAL &#8211; Languages.\u00a0 You must have two fluent languages as a minimum. There is a preference for European languages, Mandarin, Turkish and Arabic.<\/li>\n<li>VACATION SCHEME opportunity &#8211; Kent students have access to the only known vacation scheme in this profession. It will be advertised via to all Law students in the spring term. It is a paid opportunity with the possibility of extension to a summer long internship and also traineeship. If you are interested in this profession this is essential.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Company Secretary <\/strong>&#8211;\u00a0this is a strategic position of considerable influence at the heart of\u00a0<strong>governance<\/strong> operations within an organisation. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cgi.org.uk\/professional-development\/careers\/being-a-company-secretary\">https:\/\/www.cgi.org.uk\/professional-development\/careers\/being-a-company-secretary\u00a0<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>Relevant law degree modules: core modules; company law;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Licensed Conveyancer <\/strong>&#8211; a specialist lawyer who can do everything that a solicitor can do in a conveyancing transaction \u2013 they have the same legal authority to act. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clc-uk.org\/trainees\/become-a-clc-lawyer\/licensed-conveyancer\/\">https:\/\/www.clc-uk.org\/trainees\/become-a-clc-lawyer\/licensed-conveyancer\/\u00a0<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>Relevant law degree modules: Land Law, Equity &amp; Trusts; Contract;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Arbitrator\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/arbitrator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8211;\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/arbitrator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/arbitrator<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>Relevant law degree modules: ADR; Critical Legal Reasoning; Skills of Argument<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Costs Lawyer <\/strong>&#8211;\u00a0ensure that a firm\u2019s clients are properly charged for work undertaken. Completion of a two-year, learn-while-you-earn course is required to qualify:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.associationofcostslawyers.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.associationofcostslawyers.co.uk\/\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li><b>Careers in Intellectual Property: <\/b>There are a number of legal professions in IP, including the two most known ones listed below. But you&#8217;ll find the most comprehensive resources on the Careers in Ideas website\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/careersinideas.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/careersinideas.org.uk\/<\/a>\u00a0 including mentoring and career exploration. There is also a &#8220;Summer in IP&#8221;\u00a0 event which includes opportunities to attend talks with IP lawyers, insight events, firm open days, skills workshops and much more.\u00a0 \u00a0See <a href=\"https:\/\/ipinclusive.org.uk\/careers-in-ideas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/ipinclusive.org.uk\/careers-in-ideas\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li><b>Trade mark attorney<\/b> \u2013 expert in applying for and obtaining trademarks as well as advising clients who believe their trade mark had been exploited: <a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.citma.org.uk\/careers\/becoming_a_chartered_trade_mark_attorney\">Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys<\/a><\/li>\n<li><b>Patent attorney<\/b> \u2013 combines a background in science with law. Helps organisations acquire patents for new inventions or products. <a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/patent-attorney\">Patent attorney<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><strong>Other legal jobs\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>These legal jobs will use your knowledge but <em>may not<\/em> require professional qualification:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Legal Technologist <\/strong>&#8211;\u00a0this is a growing area of work and there is a whole website dedicated to this which includes profiles of the variety of careers in this arena.\u00a0 See <a href=\"https:\/\/lawtomated.com\/careers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/lawtomated.com\/careers\/\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0Coming soon &#8211; a page on this blog dedicated to legal tech.\n<ul>\n<li>Relevant law degree modules: Technologies in Legal Practice; Law, Science and Technology; for some:- Privacy, Data Protection and Cybersecurity Law<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Judicial assistant<\/b> \u2013 assists in the preparation of appeals for hearings, analyses appeal papers, conducts legal research and drafts case summaries. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.uk\/about\/ja-recruitment.html\">https:\/\/www.supremecourt.uk\/about\/ja-recruitment.html\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Paralegal <\/strong>&#8211;\u00a0 this can be both a qualified and unqualified profession. The Institute of Paralegals offers lots of information and help <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theiop.org\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><span style=\"color: #0066cc\">http:\/\/www.theiop.org\/\u00a0 <\/span><\/u><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Mediator &#8211; <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/mediator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/mediator<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Barristers Clerk<\/strong> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/barristers-clerk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/barristers-clerk<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>United Nations <\/strong>&#8211; legal job openings at the Office of Legal Affairs are managed by the United Nations Office for Human Resources Management:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/management\/content\/office-of-human-resources\"> https:\/\/www.un.org\/management\/content\/office-of-human-resources<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Court Usher <\/strong>&#8211; ushers\u2019 duties include escorting judges to and from court, preparing and closing courtrooms, carrying out court duties i.e. obtaining names of legal representatives, preparing court lists, maintaining order in the courtroom, administering oaths in court, and handing round exhibits. Vacancies are advertised on HMCS website: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk\/csr\/jobs.cgi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><span style=\"color: #0066cc\">https:\/\/www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk\/csr\/jobs.cgi<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Researcher, Law Commission <\/strong>&#8211; there is an annual recruitment of researchers to work on legal review and reform projects. Posts last for up to twelve months.\u00a0 If you are interested please contact the Careers and Employability Service (<a href=\"mailto:careerhelp@kent.ac.uk\">careerhelp@kent.ac.uk<\/a>) as there are staff in KLS whom have previously held these posts and\u00a0 you can speak with them about it. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lawcom.gov.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><span style=\"color: #0066cc\">http:\/\/www.lawcom.gov.uk\/<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Legal Cashiers <\/strong>&#8211; usually work in solicitors\u2019 practices. They keep financial records and keep solicitors informed of the financial position of the firm: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ilfm.org.uk\/site\/about\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><span style=\"color: #0066cc\">http:\/\/www.ilfm.org.uk\/site\/about\/<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Legal Secretary<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; provide secretarial and clerical support to solicitors, barristers and the law courts. Positions can usually be found by contacting firms directly or checking with local recruitment agencies: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.institutelegalsecretaries.com\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><span style=\"color: #0066cc\">https:\/\/www.institutelegalsecretaries.com\/<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Insurance and Financial Planning<\/strong> &#8211; law graduates are in demand in these industries which offer a strong legal element.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ciistepforward.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ciistepforward.co.uk\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Compliance careers<\/strong> &#8211; there&#8217;s a good read here about financial compliance <a href=\"https:\/\/www.efinancialcareers.co.uk\/news\/2022\/07\/how-to-get-a-job-in-compliance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.efinancialcareers.co.uk\/news\/2022\/07\/how-to-get-a-job-in-compliance<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Human Resources<\/strong> &#8211; a law degree is particularly relevant to a career in HR where you will need to know about Employment Law.\u00a0 \u00a0Read more about this profession on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/ces\/student\/workin\/hr.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/ces\/student\/workin\/hr.html\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Contracts Specialist &#8211; <\/strong>\u00a0organisations<span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"> will deal with a range of contracts for services, employment, trading etc. Some may employ a contract specialist who writes, negotiates, finalises and monitors the contracts.\u00a0 \u00a0Such specialists may work in <\/span><\/span>many different industries and departments, including:\u00a0 <span class=\"styles-module--listItemText--2JjD8\">Human resources, <\/span><span class=\"styles-module--listItemText--2JjD8\">Manufacturing, <\/span><span class=\"styles-module--listItemText--2JjD8\">Retail, <\/span><span class=\"styles-module--listItemText--2JjD8\">Construction, <\/span><span class=\"styles-module--listItemText--2JjD8\">Finance, <\/span><span class=\"styles-module--listItemText--2JjD8\">Technology, <\/span><span class=\"styles-module--listItemText--2JjD8\">Government services, Logistics etc.\u00a0 There isn&#8217;t a specific career title or pathway to get into this work and often it will be work that is done by lawyers (in-house and contracted), paralegals, a<span style=\"color: #000000\"> purchasing manager, HR department or others.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>You can also use your law degree and legal knowledge in many other jobs.\u00a0 Here&#8217;s some suggestions\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk\/fast-stream\/?utm_source=faststream.gov.uk&amp;utm_medium=redirect&amp;utm_campaign=301_redirect&amp;utm_content=Home\">The Civil Service fast stream<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.w4mp.org\/\">Work for an MP<\/a> or political organisation<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.efinancialcareers.co.uk\/\">Finance<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.college.police.uk\/career-learning\/joining-police\">The Police Service<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/social-worker\">Social Work<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/advice-worker\">Advice Work<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prospects.ac.uk\/job-profiles\/local-government-officer\">Local Government Officer<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Solicitors provide expert legal support and advice on a range of personal and commercial issues. Barristers (in England and Wales) are specialists in advocacy and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/getintolaw\/alternative-careers\/\">Read&nbsp;more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34794,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/getintolaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2337"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/getintolaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/getintolaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/getintolaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34794"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/getintolaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2337"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/getintolaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4587,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/getintolaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2337\/revisions\/4587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/getintolaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}