What is a graduate job?

Graduate jobs are roles for university leavers and can be found in every sector and at a huge range of employers. You’ll typically join an employer in a specific role and progress within that team. Most graduate jobs are permanent, but some are offered on a fixed-term contract. After your initial induction, training is likely to be delivered on the job and focused on the requirements for the role. Law graduate jobs differ slightly from other sectors, this being because there are different opportunities available depending on which law path you would like to go down.

When should you apply for law graduate jobs?

Aspiring lawyers who are undertaking a law degree should apply for training contracts or pupillages in their penultimate year of study (usually the second year of a law degree). Non-law students should apply in their final year. Solicitors’ firms often hire two years in advance, with deadlines often falling around the end of July. Barristers’ chambers often accept pupillage applications one year before pupillage is due to start, and the application season runs from the beginning of January to the beginning of February.