Career guidance

How do I become a solicitor or a barrister?

Student profiles

Here are profiles of two of our students who wanted to become lawyers:

• Sean Walsh
• Jane Heybroek

The Open University LLB (Hons) is professionally recognised as a 'Qualifying Law Degree' in England and Wales. Legal systems in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the rest of Europe have separate rules governing professional qualifications.

You must complete three stages of legal training within specified time limits to qualify as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales:

• the academic stage (law degree; or common professional examination / graduate diploma in law);
• the vocational stage (Legal Practice Course (LPC) for solicitors and Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) for barristers);
• and the professional stage (training contract for solicitors and pupillage for barristers).

The first stage, the academic stage, has elements common to both sides of the legal profession. Please see the Recognition leaflet, for further information.

If you are considering qualification as a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales, you should make sure that you are familiar with the requirements of the professional bodies, either the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (for solicitors) or the Bar Standards Board (for barristers). The SRA student enrolment and completion of the academic stage of training processes is now online. The SRA will no longer be sending students enrolment application forms. The onus will therefore be on students to ensure that they have the necessary documents submitted in time for them to commence the Legal Practice Course.

Further information about the new process can be found on their website.

Tell me more about LPCs and BPTCs

As a LLB graduate of the OU, you are automatically guaranteed to a place on the LL.M LPC course at the University of Law (except on the LL.M LPC accelerated 7 month course). This guaranteed place will be held for seven years following completion of the LLB. To take up this guaranteed place, you must apply in the first round of applications after you have completed your LLB. You are welcome to apply for the LL.M LPC accelerated 7 month course but the University of Law cannot guarantee you a place on this course.

You may wish to consider another LPC or BPTC provider. For further details of other Legal Practice Course providers please visit the Solicitors Regulation Authority website.

Please note in addition that you cannot enrol upon the LPC unless you register for student membership at the SRA. You should make your application in the spring of the year you wish to study the LPC.

At the moment, the University of Law's Bar Professional Training Course can only be taken at their Birmingham and London Bloomsbury centres.

When should students enrol for student membership of the Solicitors Regulation Authority?

Students are normally advised to enrol as student members in March of the year that they will commence the LPC. However, student enrolment can be taken out at any time, so the SRA suggests that students with convictions or otherwise to declare, enrol early so that they can establish whether they will be allowed to continue to qualify as solicitors.

It is now a requirement, when applying for admission as a solicitor of England and Wales, to obtain from the Criminal Records Bureau a satisfactory criminal records check, which includes details of any current and spent convictions, police cautions, reprimands and final warnings held on the Police National Computer. The SRA also uses overseas criminal records information services whenever appropriate. It is a serious matter to fail to disclose convictions and other issues when enrolling as a student member or subsequently, and an application for admission as a solicitor may be refused as a result.

Related features