Before you can decide whether to become a solicitor or barrister, it’s essential to explore in detail what they do, how their roles differ, and how to start your graduate career and eventual qualification.

What solicitors do

The work undertaken by solicitors varies enormously, but the common thread is that it is a solicitor’s job to provide their clients with skilled legal advice and representation.

These clients may be members of the public, businesses or voluntary bodies and their needs may vary from buying a house or drawing up a will to being guided through a huge commercial transaction. Solicitors also advise people on their rights in all areas of life.

Read about the skills required to be a solicitor.

Where solicitors work

One of the perks of becoming a solicitor is that you have the opportunity to work in whatever environment suits you best. That may be a small high-street practice or a firm with hundreds of employees in the heart of London.

Solicitors work in a variety of organisations but most work in firms of varying sizes in private practice. The larger firms usually boast a number of specialist departments, such as property, media or litigation.

A trainee solicitor in a large firm will usually take on fairly specialised work. By contrast, a trainee solicitor in a small firm may be involved in a great range of activities, from conveyancing to dealing with divorces or drafting wills.

Other trainee solicitors work in-house in the legal departments of large companies, for local or central government, the Crown Prosecution Service or the Magistrates’ Courts.

Find out more about Areas of law and Types of firm.

Typical salaries for solicitors

The minimum trainee salaries set by the Law Society are £17,110 in central London and £15,332 elsewhere in the country.

Typical salaries for an assistant or associate solicitor in private practice, however, are around £38,635 in the first year of post-qualification experience and £40,000 in the second.

How to become a solicitor

Most solicitors will have studied a law degree at university. They then complete a Legal Practice Course (LPC) before undertaking a two-year training contract.

The majority of law firms are also very keen to recruit non-law graduates. Sometimes, being a non-law graduate can be an advantage because you can bring knowledge of a particular area (eg genetics), which can be quite useful when you eventually start to practise law.

Non-law graduates must complete a law conversion course before the LPC and training contract.

Take a look at our solicitor timetable to find out what you need to do while at university to become a trainee solicitor.