A friend of mine recently worked for my University, contacting recent graduates to find out what they were doing during the year after their graduation. Naturally, I enquired as to what those who like myself studied History were doing, and was slightly surprised to discover that a huge proportion of them were currently enrolled on law conversion courses.
This was a path I had myself considered, and not an uncommon one across the country, but I didn't expect it to stand out as the single most popular option for History graduates. This piqued my interest, and I began to explore the possible routes into law graduate careers for those without the corresponding degree.
The vast majority of those on such a course are likely to be self-financed, another significant investment in education which whilst potentially hugely beneficial does not necessarily guarantee employment. Where this differs is with those who apply directly to a law firm in the first place, securing a training contract which sees them simply take the graduate diploma as an additional year ahead of the further training which law graduates themselves must go through.
At one of the first career events of the year I took the opportunity to speak to a recruitment advisor from a leading corporate law firm about the possible routes into the sector for those without a law degree. While History was once again emphasised as a popular choice for such candidates on account of the transferable, analytical skills so crucial to a career as a solicitor, he emphasised that whatever your degree background, the most important thing is to really emphasise how an interest in law and your non-law degree study co-exist; why you chose something else before making this transition. For most this should be simple - a passion for another subject, a desire to keep your options open and a chance to develop a skill set that will be of benefit throughout and beyond extending your study to the legal field.
