Targeting City law firms
In our latest career conundrum, an aspiring solicitor who hopes to work at a City law firm asks whether a masters degree will help recruiters look past their 2:2.
“Hello Legal Cheek. Please keep me anonymous. I achieved a 2:2 in law from Durham last year, and since then I’ve been doing a few non-legal roles to earn a bit of money. My question is really will completing a masters help law firms see past my 2:2? I have strong mitigating circumstances (a close family member was unwell during my final set of exams), but I’m still worried I’ll end up on the rejection pile in what I know is a very competitive process. I am targeting commercial law firms in London and the masters degree would also be law. Thank you.”
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No.
With the mitigating circumstances you describe, I think a few firms would be interested given you went to Durham
Don’t waste your money on an LLM. Get some good paralegal experience at a City law firm
I agree with this approach. If you’ve got 12k burning a hole in your pocket, stick yourself through the SQE and gain paralegal experience. You’ll be a much more attractive prospect to law firms doing that!
Don’t waste your money!
In my experience of recruiting and interviewing grads over the last 5 years (MC) it is extremely rare that having a postgraduate degree makes a material difference to the strength of a candidate’s application. Good work experience (and ability to speak intelligently about it!) far more important.
I have a TC at a top 5 firm by revenue (international), my law degree was a 2:2, I did have mitigating circumstances but the point is firms will still take you as my firm cares more about potential and you as a person than a good test day or bad test day. My uni was not top 30 (non Russel group). Everyone fixated on what uni they went to are amusing to me as that’s not what’s the most important. Cambridge applicants went to the same vac scheme with a first class and didnt secure a position. Sometimes its is luck, personality, mitigating circumstances and performance. BTW I love my firm.
Also dont do a masters unless you absolutely want to, my firm is paying for my masters with sqe 1 &2 so you doing one is a waste unless you want to as they will likely send you to do one with the sqe anyway. If you must do something do the sqe as a number of future trainees fail (unfortunately the sqe is the real deal) which opens direct tc places. You could grab one of those places without a vac scheme if you are on or have completed the sqe course