Welcome to The Training Contract & Pupillage Handbook 2008. This is the 11th edition of the handbook and, thus, is the product of over a decade of experience offering essential information to you would-be lawyers out there - so you needn't look anywhere else!

Over the past 12 months, we've surveyed hundreds of barristers, solicitors, graduate recruiters and others to get a sense of the current legal landscape. We've interviewed dozens of practitioners to form a detailed picture of their areas of expertise and what it really means to be a lawyer. We've expanded sections, added information and checked facts - all in an effort to make sure that you have every morsel of relevant information right at your fingertips.

If you're not sure where to begin your quest, then "Solicitor v barrister" is a great place to start. Hot on its heels follow "Getting the best careers advice" and "Choosing where to apply" - both useful guides to clarifying your search. Then we get down to the nuts and bolts of applying, with twin chapters on application and interview technique. We've also got a bumper section on work experience, including first-hand accounts from work placement veterans in the "Insider reports" section. And for how not to do things, take a look at the diverting - nay, hilarious - "Where did it all go wrong?".

The postgraduate phase is explained in full, with all manner of acronyms demystified (we've got your LPC, your GDL, your BVC…). There is also some timely advice on how to fund your studies and how to make the most of your postgraduate provider's careers service. And don't skip past our section on clerks and the important role they play in shaping the careers of young barristers.

Perhaps you're not even sure that it's a solicitor or barrister you want to be; in which case, read "Alternative careers" for an introduction to a host of related job paths that might just take your fancy.

Of course, it's not just paper-based help we offer - we also urge you to make full use of the handbook's online sister publication, www.LawCareers.Net. The website gives you access to recruitment literature, trainee profiles, application deadlines, legal news and so much more. LawCareers.Net also took to the road earlier this year with its "Basic Training" skills evenings held in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Oxford. Aimed at first-year law students, the evenings gave an insight into the way graduate recruiters think and what they're looking for.

Finally, June 2007 saw the fourth annual LawCareers.Net Training & Recruitment Awards take place. The awards identify and reward those firms whose training and recruitment procedures are the best in the country. In holding the awards, LawCareers.Net hopes to inspire the entire profession to strive towards offering new entrants a challenging and rewarding career.

As ever, we wish you all the very best with your legal career and hope that the handbook can help you along the way. Happy reading!

The Law Society Published in association with The Law Society
Sponsored by Nottingham Law at Kaplan Law School
Sponsored by Nottingham Law at Kaplan Law School
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