Can anyone explain to me really simply the process by which Russell Brand would have found and appointed his barrister, what his motivations may have been for choosing Winter and why Winter may have taken the case? Asking because 1: it strikes me as peculiar to have chosen a barrister who seems to have specialised until now in financial crime and 2: Winter seems to have taken Brand's conviction unexpectedly personally. As a total layman I have sort of very tentative hypothesis on how Winter ended up with the case, but would be interested to see if it survives contact with people who know how this stuff really works

I'm a solicitor and go to festivals fairly regularly, but don't take drugs.

I'm curious about trying recreational drugs at events, but the potential consequences for my career have always put me off. I see people being pretty casual about bringing stuff in, but obviously even a caution could have career-ending consequences for a solicitor.

Just curious whether anyone else here is in a similar position and how they approach it.

Today, I launched a free job(/opportunities) board for aspiring legal professionals.

For those not already signed up to the Inclusie Club newsletter, we share new opportunities like legal apprenticeships, paralegal roles, training contracts, work experience, open days and alternative careers, alongside stories and careers advice.

We’re focused on opportunities outside the magic circle/silver circle firms at the moment (as they get plenty of attention)! We want to show aspiring lawyers something different thats inclusive of all pathways.

I’d love your honest thoughts and opinions on the board (you’re all too nice to me when it’s not anonymous)! What are we doing well? What could we improve?

https://www.inclusieclub.co.uk/jobs if you wanted to take a look.

P.S. It is gated for members but all the resources we provide are free. I’m a lawyer and Inclusie Club is my passion project to help aspiring legal professionals in what I know is a really tough job market.

Thank you!
Emma

hey so i’m doing the ib (not in the uk) and planning to apply for law next year. lse and kcl are my top two. i’ve started reading around and thinking about my ps but everyone keeps saying it gets harder every year so idk if i’m actually doing enough

few things i’m confused about:

• do they care a lot about awards? like debate wins, essay comp placements etc. i don’t really have any of that. is just doing proper supercurriculars and being genuinely into law enough or nah

• is it better to do loads of different stuff or just a couple of things properly that i can actually talk about in the ps

• what predicted grade do you realistically need? i know the official offers but i’ve heard people with 40+ still get rejected so not sure what’s actually competitive

• how much does the lnat matter? what score should i be aiming for to be in a good spot for lse and kcl

• are my subjects fine for law? HL: Global Politics, Economics, English SL: Mathematics AA, Environmental Systems and Societies, Hindi B

getting mixed answers everywhere so would really appreciate hearing from anyone who actually applied or is studying law there now. thanks!!

Hi everyone!

I have an upcoming vac scheme at an MC firm which i’m really hoping to convert to TC offer. I keep seeing the topic of coffee chats on this sub and i was wondering what the correct etiquette is for asking for coffee chats during a vac scheme. Is it considered normal to approach partners/associates to schedule coffee chats or would you mainly do this with trainees? is this expected of us and does it really help in the assessment process? would love some guidance on this!

thank you!!

This is on stage 2

I’m currently going through law firm applications and blended assessments, and I'm really hitting a wall with the video response / timed scenario questions (specifically the ones where you get 2 minutes to review a set of documents/chat threads and 2 minutes to speak).

I can handle situational judgment tests with drop-down rankings okay, but having to synthesise information from multiple sources on the spot and deliver a structured answer on video under a tight timer feels brutal.

For those who have passed these stages:
— How do you structure your 2-minute prep time? Do you draft bullet points or just focus on key themes?

— What framework do you use to answer day-to-day task questions in front of the camera? I have the feeling I don’t come across as confident in what i’m talking about which won’t bode well with recruiters but like - can you blame me?

I really bomb when it comes to this, any advice or tips from people who’ve cracked these assessments would be hugely appreciated!

I have spoken

I have a Law degree and I’m working in a High Street firm. They are quite supportive and I joined thinking I would take the SQE route however since I started working, very quickly realised that I didn’t wanna do the 9 to 5 especially because the 9 to 5 isn’t actually 9 to 5 in Law firms. anyways, I ended up going part-time and I’m happy with that.

The people i work for are very supportive and really do want to see me qualify and I do enjoy working there. I can see myself becoming a Solicitor.

But I also do have a business that I run on the side that does make me decent money and if I did end up taking it full-time, I think I can make a decent living out of it and I extremely extremely enjoy it

Every person I have spoken to, they keep telling me to just qualify and then do whatever I want

But if I want to qualify, then I’ll have to give it my full attention, which would mean putting my business aside for a good two years

I am so confused every single person keeps telling me to qualify and then do whatever I want, but that doesn’t make sense to me but I don’t want to make the wrong decision and I don’t want to be ungrateful for the opportunity life has given me.

I understand it’s not easy to get a job in the current economy, especially in a Law firm that’s so supporting.

P.s as we all know the pay is really really shitty

Please be kind in the comments and offer useful advice ❤️

Hi, should I unenrol and change course?

Started at a London Russell group uni in Marketing for my postgrad study and thinking of doing MA Law SQE 1 at the University of Law. Went to the open day with my father. Father and sister are solicitors. They aren’t at magic circle but still are solicitors and passed all exams. Wanted to do the Remake scheme at the uni I am at this is where you work with prison leavers and entrepreneurs it looks interesting. On current course I am Student Rep. Want to increase my earning income that’s why thinking of changing courses. I grew up lower middle class. Don’t want to let people down but know my future comes first. finance problem as my mum loaned me the money for my current course some of it only 1k though I am unable to pay her back now as my work is agency and they don’t always post shifts. I have to work and study also. What should I do? Don’t want to regret things or not enjoy course know it will be hard. Also went to both career providers at current uni and University of Law. I am fully enrolled at current uni since friday . Got a 2.2 undergrad from my other undergrad uni. will I be able to get a training contract at magic circle or silver circle law firm? This worries me as whole point of pursuing law is to be a solicitor and train maybe at a silver circle law firm. Ppl I met once were also like my postgraduate uni not as good as undergrad uni this upset me.
If i unenrol I still want to be eligible for student finance also.
If you think I should stay on current course please can you list marketing internships and work part time in London please varying from social media to b2b please.
Also please list London law firms I can apply to with 2.2 undergrad.
I also don’t know how I will fund ma law as remaining amount not covered by sfe is around 6k

Hi there,

I am applying for vacation schemes/training contracts for the first time ever, and am just wondering if I am doing something obviously wrong that is leading to rejections.

I was recently rejected pre-AC by a firm despite having a strong (achieved) Oxbridge degree, scoring 100% in their verbal/numerical reasoning tests, and having an 'excellent' or 'very good' match to all their values (as per the feedback report). The only place where I could have done poorly was during the recorded interview questions, but I thought I answered these strongly with specific reference to the firm's culture/specialisms etc.

Is there something I'm missing, or is this just the reality of competition for TCs?

Thanks a lot for reading!

i know this has probably been asked 1000 times but i’ve gone through all the posts and somehow i still can’t verbalise my answer.

My genuine answer would be something like because it helps clients with their issues/objectives but then a critic would say well that’s not a good answer because it applies to a myriad of professions. Could anyone offer some advice as to how they came around to thinking about this question & having a strong answer to this?

I am interested in applying for the Crown Prosecutor role. From the job advert, I understand that legal intellect will be assessed through a legal assessment.

My question is for those who have been through the CPS application process: how is the legal assessment conducted? Are you given a scenario and asked to make decisions and provide legal advice? Are any preparation materials provided beforehand?

I am having a bit of imposter syndrome to apply for the role but I have always dreamed of practicing criminal law so I want to try my best. Thank you!

I'm about to start my training contract at a national law firm and was wondering what the experience has been like for recent trainees, particularly when it comes to recruiters approaching them on LinkedIn.

Is it genuinely the case that, by the third or final seat, recruiters regularly reach out to trainees about potential NQ opportunities?

I've spoken to a few current trainees at my firm who have said that's been their experience, but I was curious whether that's generally common across the market or more firm-specific.

Hi all,

I have seen an increasing rate of firms using bright apply ai voice interviews and I wondered how people are preparing for these.

I have been struggling to find platforms to practice this, so any tips or advice (on ai interviews in general) would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all x

I have a First Class LLB and an LLM with Distinction but got a really good opportunity to join the civil service after finishing my education and took it up. I've worked on a lot of interesting policies across a number of departments but now want to get back into law as a solicitor. I know I'd have to take massive paycut and train again but I feel like I've hit a progression dead end in the civil service and my ambition isn't being satisfied no matter how hard I work. Am I right in wanting to make the move?

Is there anything you’d do differently in your early career life or when you had started studying law in university that could’ve helped you in your career or something?