Law: What will I learn on my legal training contract?
Law training contracts are similar in many ways to apprenticeships. You will spend two years building on what you’ve learned in your studies and supplementing it with practical experience.
Remember that the law firm that you get your training contract with is also likely to be keeping a close eye on you to see whether they might offer you a solicitor job when your training period is up.
The type of work you’ll be doing and therefore what you’ll learn will obviously be affected by where you do your training contract and the type of firm you’re working in, as well as which solicitors supervise you throughout your contract.
If you work for a large firm, you are more likely to move between different departments and so gain a broad experience, whereas at a smaller firm there’s less space to move around but the experience you gain will be more specialised. That’s why you need to think carefully about future plans when applying for law training contracts.
During your training contract, you’ll also need to pass the PSC – the law firm where you undertake your training will pay for this and it is compulsory if you’re to pass the training period. You’ll study:
- Finance and business
- Advocacy and communication
- Client care and professional standards.
Some large law firms run the PSC in-house.
The structure and style of any training contract is likely to be discussed at interview and don’t be afraid to ask. In addition, talk to the solicitors at the start of your training contract about the plan for your two years.
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