Careers with a Law Degree

Birmingham Law School is committed to supporting students’ employability and providing opportunities for personal development.

Law students on graduation day 2017

In 2012, the Law School launched the Centre for Employability, Professional Legal Education and Research (CEPLER), forging links with the profession through collaborative partnerships with solicitors firms and barristers chambers and through our network of alumni. CEPLER coordinates an unparalleled range of law careers events throughout the academic year.

All of the CEPLER team, and many other Law School academics, have experience as legal professionals, whether as barristers or solicitors or through roles in the administration of justice and consultancy.

Traditionally, a large proportion of Birmingham law graduates go on to further vocational law training through the Legal Practice Course and Bar Professional Training Course in order to qualify as solicitors and barristers, with the majority choosing the solicitor route.

LLM graduates choose to further their academic credentials by undertaking research, entering the legal profession or by pursuing a wide range of other careers using their legal expertise.

Personalised career advice

The School offers a distinctive approach to careers and employability. Every student has a personal tutor, who can provide individual careers advice, and you will have the opportunity to ask questions about careers at every progress review.

Each year, the School offers a range of initiatives directed to improving your employability and to enhancing your understanding of careers options. The School also provides several careers schemes tailored for students in each year of study, including a lecture on employability skills in the curriculum.

Laura Tulley, LLB Graduate (2016) and winner of the CEPLER Award for Outstanding Contribution to Extra-Curricular Endeavour. I have always been keen to get involved with extracurricular activities and the opportunities offered by the Law School have really enhanced my university experience. Through taking part, I have learnt a lot, met some lovely people and developed skills that I can take with me into my future career.

Alternative careers for law graduates

The Law School organises events to enable our students to learn about careers in areas other than the legal professions. Some of our recent graduates have gone on to roles with graduate entry schemes in accountancy, the Civil Service and regulation, amongst many others. We are increasing the number of such events, and arranging alumni contacts in these various careers to offer advice to current students. We also work with the University Careers and Employability Centre (see below) which is an excellent source of extra information about non-legal careers.

University Careers and Employability Centre

The University's Careers and Employability Centre organises a wide range of employer events including presentations by top law firms and the annual Law Fair. It also runs a series of career planning and job seeking workshops to help students prepare for their next move. A CV clinic and applications workshops are offered, where students can receive hints and tips on making their application as polished as possible. The Centre can give you valuable help and support in researching and choosing what you will do next. Information and advice is available at any point during your studies. In particular, it is an excellent source of information about non-legal careers

Skills and employability

Our Law graduates develop a variety of skills through their studies, such as oral and written communication, analysis and evaluation, problem solving, independent working and research skills. Combined with a strong academic background, these skills are highly valued by employers, both within and outside of the legal profession. Whatever your choice of career, therefore, a law degree from Birmingham, one of the leading law schools and universities in the country, will stand you in good stead. Birmingham is one of the top 10 universities in the UK for graduate employability and this highlights our focus of improving the careers opportunities and guidance available in the Law School through CEPLER.