Hi Sarah
Congratulations on getting a 2.1 - you must be pleased!!=
The type of work experience you should be doing depends on what type of solicitor you want to be. For example, if you want to work in a legal aid
practice then volunteering at a Citizens’ Advice Bureau would look good to prospective employers, particularly if you do it throughout your third year of university and LPC.
On the other hand, if you want to be a commercial lawyer then you need to be looking for a vac scheme at the large city firms. You are too late for almost all of this summer’s schemes so you could try applying for winter schemes (bearing in mind the number of exams / pieces of coursework that may be due around that period).
As well as the big city vac schemes, it is worth contacting solicitors’ firms in your local area and asking for some experience. This option is typically of limited success but definitely worth a try. Unlike the vac schemes, these will amost certinly be unpaid - but very valuable to your CV!
If you or your family have any contacts in the legal profession, now is the time to start asking them for help - even if all you get is the odd day’s experience here and there, it will improve your CV and make you more aware of the type of law you want to practice in.
In terms of applications to colleges - do you mean for the LPC? If so then usually you would apply in the first semester of your final year of undergraduate study.
In response to whether you should be applying for work experience or a training contract, it is going to be very difficult (I would even say impossible) to get a training contract without any legal experience on your CV. There are so many law graduates at the moment that firms are looking for the best - you need work experience on your CV / TC application to stand out. Of course it will also help you to understand what type of law you want to practice - and just as importantly, what type of law you don’t want to practice.
Hope this helps!
