For most Solicitors, the path to qualification follows three stages:
- Academic Study
- Vocational Study
- Vocational Training
Academic Study
You have two choices:
- Do an English law degree.
- Do a non-English law degree (e.g. Arts, or a foreign law degree), and then do a one year law course which will either be called a graduate diploma in law ("GDL") or the common professional exam (CPE") depending on where you take it.
Vocational Study
Whichever route you take for the academic stage, you then need to complete a one-year Legal Practice Course (the "LPC").
Vocational Training
The final stage to qualifying as a solicitor is a two-year paid training contract with a law firm or with a legal department of a company that is registered to offer training contracts.
During your training contract, you will need to complete a part-time Professional Skills Course ("PSC").
Qualification
If you get through all that, you then apply to the Law Society of England and Wales to go on the Roll. Assuming you've kept your head down and been good, this should be automatic at this stage. When your name goes on the Roll, you become a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.
Further Reading
For a more thorough, and more official guide to qualifying as a solicitor, see http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/becomingasolicitor.law.
