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With careers departments pushing vacation schemes and pupillage from your very first year at university, it can often seem that there is only one career path for law students. However, this is far from the case. If you’ve changed your mind about law, you may be wondering what you can do with a law degree under your belt.
There are a diverse range of jobs out there and a law degree equips you well for a significant number of them. Here’s a look at ten jobs that you can do with a law degree.
If you want to find out more about what qualities you need to be a lawyer – as well as the qualities developed by a law degree – take a look at our What Makes a Good Lawyer page!
See What Makes a Good LawyerThe Civil Service Fast Stream offers graduates an accelerated career path to leadership with supported development.
Around 700 graduate vacancies are offered each year in a variety of different civil service departments, ranging from the diplomatic service to the government social research service. Successful applicants complete a number of job placements and move between a variety of different departments and agencies.
Recruiters look for an attention to detail, the ability to work under pressure and an ability to think critically. These are all qualities that are developed during a law degree.
Taxation is another field for which law graduates are well suited.
For example, tax consultants offer advice to businesses or private clients on their tax liabilities and cost-effective tax solutions. Each year’s budget introduces new tax legislation, so a background in analysing legal changes is extremely useful. This means that tax consultancy firms actively seek to recruit law students.
Moreover, your law degree can exempt you from some of the exams tax practitioners sit to gain the professional qualifications needed to become a tax consultant, so you’re already on the way there!
This is a career you might not have considered.
Many publishing houses, especially those with specialist legal publications, look to employ law graduates as researchers. They are thought to be a good fit for the role given that a law degree equips you with research skills and the ability to absorb large amounts of technical information and convey it clearly and succinctly.
There are also opportunities available within publishing houses’ intellectual property and rights departments for those that are qualified.
What is a management consultant? This is an individual who provides advice to others on the management of a company or organisation, in simple terms.
A law degree provides you with a range of skills that would suit this career as you need good research skills, so you can quickly acquire an in-depth knowledge of the industry and business of your client.
Moreover, analytical skills are essential to a management consultant being able to understand the way in which a business operates and how it can be improved.
A compliance officer is responsible for a company’s financial conduct and ultimately ensuring that it complies with the relevant regulations and its reporting obligations.
Compliance work is available at a range of different finance organisations and a legal background is definitely a plus!
A loss adjuster is a key example of an insurance role available to law graduates. Loss adjusters are used by insurance companies to verify insurance claims. This involves visiting crime scenes and sites where accidents have taken place, investigating claims, gathering information, evaluating damage and conducting interviews with policyholders.
Many of the skills developed during a law degree transfer well to this role such as an attention to detail, good negotiation skills and an analytical outlook.
As a chartered accountant, you’ll provide advice, audit records and provide information about financial records. This role therefore requires a grasp of legal concepts as well as maths and so a law degree can prove handy.
This career offers you a choice of future workplaces, including private practice firms and the not-for-profit sector, and tends to involve better working hours than at a City law firm!
Many law graduates go on to pursue a career in politics, either as an elected official or as a member of their support team. This can involve policy development, speech writing, PR and a range of other activities.
Arguably, many of the skills that you acquire during a law degree prove useful to this career such as public speaking, problem solving and the ability to analyse legislation and its efficacy.
As a human resources officer, you develop, advise on and implement policies relating to the effective use of staff in an organisation. This can include employee recruitment, training and development, the provision of compensation and benefits, the implementation of disciplinary procedures and conflict resolution.
This role therefore requires good interpersonal, organisational and negotiation skills. These are all qualities that are developed during a law degree.
A licensed conveyancer is a property law specialist who works on behalf of clients buying or seller property. They are ultimately responsible for the legal matters, administration, finance and queries involved in a property transaction.
A legal background is consequently extremely useful.
Published: 23/03/18Â Â Author: Hannah Capstick
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