Wondering if anyone else feels overwhelmed/so busy that they have no tolerance for things that have no relevance or value? Is this common when practising (esp in private practice)? How do you combat it?

Feeling like a terrible human because my current mindset has slowly become one of "get to the point", "what relevance does this random text have to me?", "I don't have time for this".

A friend/acquaintance could text me something random about their day and instead of being happy or empathetic, I start feeling irritation and like another thing that has no relevance to work or goals has been put on my to-do list that I need to expend mental energy for. I feel so bad feeling this way but I'm having a hard time controlling it... it's like I'm watching myself change from the sidelines and being helpless to stop it.

I really don't want to become an a-hole hahah 😭

Recently qualified in PP at a U.S. firm and the pay is obviously very crazy, but I just hate the job. And it’s not even because the hours are that bad. I still get a lot of my evenings and weekends. I hate the demanding nature, I hate the work, I hate the serious (and sometimes insufferable) people. I know I want to go in house as I loved my secondment, but taking an 80k pay cut at the beginning of my career just feels foolish. Any advice?

I don’t come from a well off family but I have around 100k in savings, so I can afford to not save for a while.

I’m currently student and hoping to qualify as a solicitor.

I’ve received a Single Justice Procedure Notice for keeping an untaxed vehicle under Section 29(1) of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994.

I originally taxed the vehicle and received DVLA confirmation, but after transferring the V5C into my name, I mistakenly believed the existing tax would continue. I was also dealing with a family bereavement at the time.

I’m concerned about the implications if I’m convicted.

Has anyone been admitted as a solicitor with a similar conviction? How likely is the SRA to refuse admission over a single minor motoring offence involving no dishonesty?

Hi all, I’m looking for honest views and tips.

About me:

• After my undergrad, I’ve decided to study law with the hope of becoming a barrister (I’m also open to becoming a solicitor)
• Final year maths & CS at an Australian Go8 university with a high distinction WAM
• FWIW, 2 big tech software engineering internships + 2 ML research assistantships, though I’m not sure these would be relevant
• Eligible for a UK Ancestry visa

I’m currently deciding between a 3-year JD in Sydney/Melbourne and a GDL in London. I’d need to relocate for either option, so the overall costs are broadly comparable. I’ve become interested in the GDL mainly because it’s shorter and a quicker path to becoming a barrister, though I’m aware it’s super competitive.

I’m broadly looking for any thoughts and advice you may have, but I do have a few questions:

1. How would chambers and firms view my Australian degree?
2. Is the GDL enough, or is something like a Cambridge or Oxford senior status law degree worth the extra cost and year?
3. Do I have any chance, considering my background is completely unrelated to law?

Thanks in advance, any advice appreciated.

I have my moot coming up i'm not sure of when because the sign ups start next week so i'll find out the dates then. But I'm genuinely so lost on how I should start preparing for the moot now that I have my question. Any tips?

Sorry- I know u guys probs get this question a lot (or stuff similar)
But I can’t find any clear information on this topic (for obvious reasons- barristers have an income not a salary)

But I’ve been hearing things which just seem insane- like crim barristers earn ~minimum wage for like 15 years and stuff? I get that it’s the worst paid area of law, but surely it’s not that bleak, right? Otherwise why do it?

Idk- do ppl mix it with stuff like civil or financial crime early on to make up for how badly criminal is paid?

I just don’t understand how criminal barristers can earn so little?
And I guess, do they really earn so little?

Has anyone get recommendations for good note taking software for law students (pgdl or otherwise).

I have been using onenote but my organizations servers are dodgy and I keep losing all my notes.

I’m looking for something that would allow well laid out notes that are usable for open book exams.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated!

Interesting legal argument here: His legal team argued that publishing them would “highly likely lead him to commit suicide”.

Hi everyone. I’m about a month into my TC at a national firm having paralegalled for them a few years’ prior.

As a paralegal, I mainly did recovery work for insurance clients and really enjoyed the case handling and investigation side of things, to the point where I ended up considering a career in insurance/loss adjusting instead. However, I was then successful in getting my TC offer and accepted it knowing how difficult TCs are to come by. Fast forward a year, I have just started my TC four days a week and studying for the SQE one day a week. I’m not enjoying my first seat for various reasons.

I’m also finding the SQE extremely challenging to balance alongside work and I’m constantly reading about how hard these next two years are going to be study-wise. To be honest, I don’t believe in myself that I can pass the SQE as I’m already struggling to keep up with the reading and workshops and feeling completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content that I’m going to have to remember for the exams.

Overall, I’m feeling pretty miserable in my current situation, and I keep thinking about ‘what if’ I just switched to insurance/loss adjusting and spent the next two years building a career in that instead of studying towards the SQE when I don’t feel confident I’m going to be able to pass it.

Would it be foolish to give up the TC at this point, or is it worth doing if I genuinely think I would be happier in an alternative career?

Do defendants ever buy a thank you gift for their barrister at the point of acquittal? If so, what sort of gifts do people get them?

I (F26) am on my second week of my training contract at a small high street firm, and my seats are in criminal and family. It’s still very early days and I’m yet to properly get stuck into the detailed work, but for the life of me I am SO anxious about everything right now. I feel like I know absolutely nothing!!

I completed the LPC in 2024, and obviously studied criminal and family, but I’ve practically forgotten everything from then (and from my LLB!) it feels like anyway. Prior to my TC, I was a legal assistant / paralegal in a niche civil litigation team so I feel as though my legal brain is more up to geared towards that at the moment.

I listen to how the other trainees (who have been there around a year) talk so confidently amongst themselves and to clients and stakeholders, and I genuinely feel like a layperson listening in🥲.

I’ll soon be attending the police station to shadow my colleagues during interviews. The thought of eventually doing it myself terrifies me. I’m worried that I’ll advise incorrectly or not know what to say, think or do. I feel like a fraud lol, but I am hoping this feeling will pass and in a few months time things will seem much easier.

I’d be grateful for any advice, particularly from anyone who has experience with police station attendances, but also just generally. Does it get easier, is learning on the job how you’re expected to learn, and will that pesky imposter syndrome ever go away!?

Thank you!!

Career question, not a request for legal advice.

TL;DR: Senior tech leader in UK with a decade of privacy/security governance work, considering 2-3 years out to qualify as a solicitor (conversion + SQE). Is the qualification worth it for someone already doing the work?

Background: 27 years in software engineering, the last 17 or so heading into and working in CTO/CIO-level roles. For at least a decade I've worked closely with customers' legal counsel and privacy counsel, and I've run the governance side myself: data protection, AI governance, infosec and the blue-team/GRC side of cybersecurity. Non-law BA and for what it's worth, about to turn 50.

Where I am: financially stable, so I can afford to step back for a few years. I'm looking at a law conversion plus SQE prep (BPP is on my list), then QWE. Privacy, cybersecurity and contract work are the parts of my job I enjoy most. Software engineering is still fun, but there's only so much of it before it gets repetitive, and AI is taking over more of it every year.

The goal: qualify, then eventually build a practice around privacy and cybersecurity. I'd be happy at a firm, in-house, or on my own.

What I'd love to hear from practising solicitors:

1. What does being qualified add over being a consultant or DPO-type adviser? Privilege, credibility, sign-off, something else?
2. Would firms realistically take on a career changer for QWE? What have you seen work or fail?
3. Is a full conversion worth the cost, or is cheaper SQE prep enough for someone with my background?
4. What am I underestimating: the QWE stage, the pay drop, the day-to-day work?

Also - I'm genuinely open to "don't bother." I'd rather hear it now : )

----

Update: thank you massively to everyone for their input. It's been very helpful in making a decision. I'm very grateful for your time and your insights. I'll likley shelve the plan.

Saw this in r/biglaw. The office is a stone’s throw away from where I am. Really hope you’re all doing okay, all things considered, and that everything pans out alright.

Hi guys, I recently graduated in July of this year with a 2:1 from a RG uni and I've been looking for roles to build legal experience. But I know that the job market in this state is not good, but I've still been trying. I think I've been somewhat fortunate in getting 8 interviews in the past month, but I've consistently failed as I didn't have any experience, despite the roles being graduate focused.

Can someone who was in a similar position to me have any potential ideas to get over this? I don't want to waste too much more time.

Hi! I’m currently finishing my last year of academy and I’m hoping to secure a place in university for law, specifically scot’s law with english law alongside it. I thought about doing international law too, but quite frankly couldn’t be bothered and didn’t believe I had the financial stability to move to another country for a year, haha.

Of course I have all the time in the world to consider what career path I would like to take, and my preferences may change the longer I study law, but I’d like to hear from the professionals themselves about what their career entails, and what parts they like/dislike about it? The reasoning behind choosing that path and how you got to studying law would be useful too!

Thank you :)

Hiya, I’m an NQ working in litigation and I’m trying to build my experience with advocacy (other than my SQE exam and a few shadowing here and there, I have no experience).

My firm is great and all for me just doing my own hearings but there’s little traditional structure due to the volume of work and so I’ve reached out to colleagues in different teams to shadow their trials so that I can gain some more exposure. However I appreciate that shadowing only teaches you so much and I feel way too unprepared to just go into my own hearing at this stage. I’d also appreciate any tips on how to make the most of the shadowing.

Does anyone have any advice on approaching hearings? I understand that hearings will change depending on the type of hearing I.e. allocation, directions, trial etc but what does that mean practically?

I’m AuDHD so I think I’m struggling to understand the practical elements of the hearing - what I can ask for, how much information to share at what hearing (e.g. I shouldn’t submit witness statements for the allocation hearing) and any strategies revolving around settlement/ hearing.

Any tips would be so greatly appreciated.

so for context, im 17 in my first year of a-levels (law, politics, english lit), and im doing EPQ for enrichment (on to what extent we should sacrifice civil liberties for counter terrorism, but i might change it to something more relevant? possibly).

i don't have any lawyers in my family as i'm lower class, but my absolute dream job is in law as a barrister. i can't see myself doing anything else other than maybe politics, but i equally can't see myself enjoying that on par with law. i'm doing well in law a-level, like one of the best in my class so far, and it feels extremely promising. i plan to go to University of Nottingham for a law degree (i know it's only 11th for law, but it's the best one for me to commute to). in terms of area, i'd like to do civil litigation, something to do with negligence or personal injury, i'm not sure yet, though. NOT CRIMINAL

If anyone has any career advice, what i could be doing now/in the future, work experience, literally anything? (i dont exactly know if this is the right subreddit for this question, so if not, i'd appreciate a redirection)

I’m Emma 👋 I’m an in-house lawyer and in my spare time, I run the Inclusie Club to help aspiring legal professionals find diverse routes into the legal profession.

I’m building a free job board to help you find different legal work experience opportunities, placement years, paralegal and entry-level legal roles, training contracts and more.

I’d love to know what features are most important to you about the job board. So far I’ve got

✨ Searchable by location

✨ Searchable by opportunity type

✨ Clear whether prior legal experience is required

✨ Provide some interesting alternatives to legal careers

I’d love to know what else you’d like to see or what else we can build?

You can view the resources we already provide free and sign up to the Inclusie Club at www.inclusieclub.co.uk. Our members will be the first to get access to the job board when it’s live!

Thanks 🙏

Hi there

I was just wondering if anyone had any experience/advice re qualifying as a solicitor while working in a risk and compliance role.

I have 5+ years experience in risk and compliance, but I am seeing more roles that require you to be qualified - all for things I can competently do. I am wondering if it is worth attempting to qualify for the longevity of my career

My biggest concern is QWE while working in compliance - any advice would be greatly appreciated

An Evening with Linklaters in London, taking place on Thursday 29th October 2026.  - did anyone receive an offer to attend?

I have completed my LLB, I did start my LPC but never finished due to health issues and I have now gone past the 5 year mark. I have appealed and was denied twice.

I am looking for a paralegal role with SQE so I can qualify and honestly enjoy my job. I am wanting to go into family, public, human rights law. But my background was mainly m&a and dr.

I have been working in conveyancing for multiple years now and am at a firm with no progression or support for staff and I’m basically on less than minimum wage for a job where I cannot qualify and honestly is chipping away at my soul everyday.

I am now 30 and feel like I’m starting over and am so depleted at the moment. Do you have any tips or advice? I have applied for a few jobs and have been rejected. I understand the field is now very saturated but I would be happy to accept a paralegal role with at least minimum wage if that means I get progression or qualify.

Hi guys, I'm a peultimate-year currently applying to vac schemes and I recently saw my uni's careers counselor for law. She told me that I should omit certain work experiences in my application, such as my part-time tutoring job because these are 'professional' big-corporate companies and these experiences 'weren't exactly at this level'. Since this goes against the general conventional advice (from at least what I've heard) that you should include a range of experiences, I'm just wondering what's everyone's take on this. Thanks!

Turned out I accidentally signed up for a case on UK Lore

I am an overseas solicitor and will need to arrange for the printing, binding, and delivery of a bundle to an Arbitrator based in London. Just looking for suggestions of suitable companies to engage considering the short turn around and confidentiality requirements.

pls and thx