How to become a solicitor or lawyer
Official title: Solicitors and lawyers
Also called: Lawyer, Solicitor, Will lawyer, Family lawyer, Probate lawyer, Criminal lawyer, Property lawyer, Family solicitor, Commercial lawyer, Solicitor-partner, Criminal solicitor, Property solicitor
Solicitors advise and act on behalf of individuals, organisations, businesses and government departments in legal matters.
Main tasks
- Draws up contracts, leases, wills and other legal documents
- Undertakes legal business on behalf of client in areas of business law, criminal law, probate, conveyancing and litigation, and acts as trustee or executor if required
- Instructs counsel in higher and lower courts and pleads cases in lower courts as appropriate
- Scrutinises statements, reports and legal documents relevant to the case being undertaken and prepares papers for court
- Represents clients in court
How to become one
Entry to training usually requires a qualifying law degree or postgraduate diploma. Apprenticeships are also available. Graduates in subjects other than law must first take a one year conversion course. All entrants undertake a one year legal practice course, followed by a two year training contract. From 2021 Solicitors also need to pass the Solicitor's Qualifying Examination.
Ways in
- Apprenticeship (England): Solicitor (level 7). England. Typically 72 months. Skills England standard ST0246.
- University: Law & Justice degrees, Offered by 26 universities in the UK
Pay · Outlook
- Median full-time pay: £56,977 a year The middle half earn £42,015 to £77,509.
- About 213,300 people work in this job now, and about 239,400 are projected by 2035. (+12.2%)
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Questions people ask
How do I become a solicitor or lawyer?
Entry to training usually requires a qualifying law degree or postgraduate diploma. Apprenticeships are also available. Graduates in subjects other than law must first take a one year conversion course. All entrants undertake a one year legal practice course, followed by a two year training contract. From 2021 Solicitors also need to pass the Solicitor's Qualifying Examination.
How much does a solicitor or lawyer earn in the UK?
Median full-time pay is £56,977 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £42,015 to £77,509.
Is a solicitor or lawyer a growing career in the UK?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 12% by 2035, from about 213,300 to about 239,400 people (Department for Education).
Do you need a degree to become a solicitor or lawyer?
Usually. 98% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Sources
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.