Without Law we would all live in anarchy
Our Law Programme
There's a huge variety of careers paths and employers in the legal industry. These range from global solicitors firms to boutique and regional solicitors firm, barristers’ chambers, corporations with their own in-house legal teams and everything in-between. As a lawyer you may be instructed to work with a wide range of actors including big business clients, local authorities, charities, or those accused of criminal activity.
To become a lawyer you will need to complete a qualifying law degree, most commonly an undergraduate degree in law or the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL). Following this, depending on whether you wish to become a solicitor or barrister you will need to complete the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) or Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). The formal training at a solicitors firm is referred to a training contract. This usually consists of a rotational programme where trainees will undertake two years’ work across a variety departments. For fledgling barristers, the training period is called a pupillage and consists of a year’s work shadowing a variety of barristers in their chambers.
What one can learn from a career in the legal industry is unlimited. Lawyers are not only expected to explain the law to their clients, but also have a deep understanding of their clients’ business so they can advise on the commercial implications of events/decisions. In essence, lawyers are both legal and commercial advisors. Lawyers will be involved in every aspect of a client business’s lifecycle including but not limited to incorporation, drafting and signing contracts, buying and selling assets, regulatory compliance all the way through to insolvency and everything else in-between.
A career in law is intellectually stimulating as the law evolves constantly and quickly and lawyers are tasked with making sense of conceptually challenging and complex issues. You will develop a global outlook as both business and legal systems are increasingly international. Finally, as a lawyer you will necessarily be highly educated and belong to an prestigious profession.
A few of the skills you will need to be successful as a lawyer are:
Hard work
Attention to detail
Problem solving
Initiative
Team work
Networking skills
A strong interest in current/commercial affairs
Please see the following links for further reading -
The Program
One-to-ones
We ask for 3 one-to-one sessions with your mentors. We encourage the first session
to be hosted by the mentors at their place of work, to give their mentees an insight
into a corporate environment. We also advise the mentees to choose where the
second session is held, ideally taking the mentor to a place that is important to them,
so they can understand the challenges that have faced the mentee to get to where
they have. For the last session, we believe that should be a joint decision based off
the previous two experiences. However, until it is safe, all meetings must be held
online.
Workshops
We hold a series of workshops over the course of the programme, which our
mentees have preferential access to. These workshops are designed to give you the
edge when applying for your dream job in the future.
Life mentors
Whilst we recognise that our mentors will provide experience, opportunity and belief
to our mentees, we also recognise that those closer to the application process may
be able to offer a different and useful perspective. That is why every graduate from
The Open Private School will be partnered with a Life mentor, an individual under the
age of 30 from their preferred field, who can support them on next steps.
Alumni Network
At the start of the programme, all mentees will meet on and benefit from an
exclusive introductory workshop. Upon graduation from the programme, all mentees
will then become Open Private School alumni, equipping them with a professional
network for life.