Whether or not you become a solicitor, a law degree can help you pursue a successful career in a range of fields. A law graduate will develop a range of skills through their training and experience such as:
- communication skills
- problem solving
- working under pressure
- managing time effectively
- reaching decisions quickly
These skills are highly transferable and attractive to a very wide variety of employers.
What do law students go on to do after the LLB?
To find out what the graduates at your university went on to do, we recommend you contact your University Careers Service. They often collect and compile data to map the careers that graduates pursued from their institutions.
Non-solicitor roles in the legal sector
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (based in London), also offers work experience opportunities open to candidates from backgrounds that are currently underrepresented. In 2014, it offered the following work experience schemes: Future Talent Scheme, the Fast Stream Summer Diversity Internship Programme, Whitehall Social Mobility Internship Programme, Graduate Internship Programme, Government Economic Service Summer Student Placement Scheme. Details of work experience opportunities are published in Spring each year: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-office/about/recruitment
Vacancies within different government departments and public agencies are published centrally on the Civil Service recruitment gateway: www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk
Each autumn the Scottish Law Commission employs a small number of law graduates as legal assistants for one-year fixed-term appointments. These posts are open to candidates who have a first or upper second class honours degree in Scots Law, or any other similar academic qualification that provides evidence of relevant knowledge and understanding of Scots Law. Applications from other suitably qualified candidates who have relevant experience may be considered in exceptional circumstances. Additionally, the Scottish Law Commission also offers a limited number of short (unpaid) work experience placements to 3rd and 4th year law students and to those studying the accelerated LLB or Diploma in Legal Practice. For more information, please visit the Scottish law Commission’s website: www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/working-with-us/
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has offices around the UK, including in Glasgow, and occasionally advertises for positions that may be suitable for candidates with an LLB. Vacancies are advertised on their website: www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/about-us/careers
The Centre for Scottish Public Policy is an independentpublic policy think tank, which is a member of the Adopt an Intern scheme. Opportunities to undertake an internship with this organisation will be advertised on the Adopt an Intern website: www.adoptanintern.org.uk/adopt-an-intern.html
The Law Centres Network is the peak body of a national network of law centres. It offers paid and voluntary opportunities in legal, policy and research roles on its website: www.lawcentres.org.uk/
Social Investment Scotland is a registered charity and social enterprise, which provides business loans to third sector organisations. Job and internship opportunities for research assistants with this organisation may be advertised on its website www.socialinvestmentscotland.com/, or on the Adopt an Intern website: www.adoptanintern.org.uk/adopt-an-intern.html
The UN Refugee Agency is the UN body charged with leading and coordinating international action to protect refugees and resolve refuge problems worldwide. It routinely offers internship programmes for its London office and publishes voluntary work and other employment opportunities on its website: www.unhcr.org.uk/about-us/jobs-and-internships.html
The European Union offers traineeships to university graduates across its many institutions. Traineeships may be paid or unpaid and vary in length. More information can be found on this website: http://europa.eu/about-eu/working-eu-institutions/index_en.htm
The International Criminal Court offers internships to young professionals who are in the early stages of their careers. Internships are offered for a period between 3-6 months. The Court has strict eligibility criteria and more information can be found on its website: www.icc-cpi.int/
Justice is a law reform and human rights organisation that conducts research and analysis and raises awareness of human rights issues in the UK. Each year, this organisation appoints 2-3 law graduate interns as part of its internship programme. These placements occur in the summer and winter each year. Details of the programme can be found on its website: https://justice.org.uk/jsn/
Shelter Scotland is a housing and homeless charity in the UK. It advertises research opportunities on its website: http://england.shelter.org.uk/
Goodmoves is a recruitment website for the voluntary sector. If you are interested in opportunities in this sector, its website is an excellent resource for finding vacancies: www.goodmoves.org.uk
News Direct is a political intelligence company providing daily monitoring of political news and parliamentary proceedings across the UK. It advertises graduate trainee researcher and reporter opportunities on its website: www.newsdirect-uk.net/
The Scottish Youth Parliament is a forum for elected Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament to debate issues and run projects and campaigns that are relevant to the needs and concerns of Scotland’s youth. Policy and research internships, as well as other employment opportunities, are advertised on its website www.syp.org.uk/
The Scottish Parliament also advertises positions on its website: www.scottish.parliament.uk/
Other useful websites include:
Public Policy Jobs and Internships: www.policyjobs.net
Policy Library: www.policylibrary.com
Political Jobs: www.politicaljobs.net
Association of Professional Political Consultants: www.appc.org.uk
Legal publishing offers a variety of job opportunities in areas such as editing, production, sales and marketing, and rights. Examples of graduate roles include: editorial assistant, copy editor, production assistant, rights assistant, and sales representative. Many legal publishing companies in the UK are based in England. For example, Oxford University Press is an international academic publishing house and a department of the University of Oxford. It offers a number of positions for graduates, including: editorial administrator, editorial assistant, sales executive and sales administrator.Each year it also advertises opportunities to join its summer internship programme. Information about its recruitment and internship programmes can be found on its website: http://global.oup.com/jobs/?cc=gb
The Law Society of Scotland’s Journal publication and online jobs portal is produced by Connect Communications, which is a media organisation that produces publications for a number of industries. Positions may be advertised on its website: https://connectcommunications.co.uk/
GTI Media operate Target Jobs’ website, which is a recruitment website for many industries, including the legal sector. Vacancies are advertised on GTI Media’s website: http://groupgti.com/
Other vacancies in the Scottish legal publishing sector may be advertised on the following website: www.lawcareers.net
A number of recruitment companies specialise in recruitment for the legal sector. Such companies include: Hays: www.hays.co.uk; Hudson: www.hudson.com; Reed: www.reed.co.uk; G2 Legal: www.g2legal.co.uk/; Adecco: www.adecco.co.uk; Frasia Wright Associates: www.frasiawright.com
Police Scotland offers a variety of roles for both uniformed and non-uniformed officers, such as police officers, special constables and support staff. Vacancies are published on its website: www.scotland.police.uk/recruitment/
The Scottish Prison Service offers a number of roles for candidates with a law background, such as their specialist roles in legal services and prisons. Vacancies are published on its website: www.sps.gov.uk/Careers/Careers.aspx
Career support and advice
We have a dedicated careers team, who provide advice on employability skills, entry to the profession and career growth.
