TCPH: How to research what kind of lawyer you want to be

The Training Contract & Pupillage Handbook (TCPH) is a free and comprehensive guide to starting a career in law, which includes information on all the different types of lawyer and an exhaustive directory of hiring law firms and barristers’ chambers. Before deciding where to apply, you first need to think about what kind of solicitor or barrister you broadly want to be – do high-value commercial deals get you excited? Helping to patent exciting new technologies? Assisting families and people in need with their problems? Here we show you how TCPH can be used to learn about all these areas and more, and then find firms or chambers which work in those areas ahead of making applications.

Learn about the different types of lawyer and what they do

TCPH contains in-depth interviews with lawyers in every specialism, from banking to immigration law; from Islamic finance to human rights. Head to p161 to read up on different solicitors’ practice areas and p491 for barristers’ practice areas. Both are full of inside information provided by lawyers working in those areas themselves – useful for deciding which career path might be for you.

Identify firms practising in the areas which interest you

Once you have learned more about the different types of law and have identified one or two areas which really spark your interest, you can use TCPH’s training contract and pupillage indexes to find firms and chambers that work in those areas. Aspiring solicitors should consult the training contract regional indexes beginning on p215, while those set on the Bar can find the barristers’ pupillage index on p539. Both sets of indexes enable you to see firms’ and chambers’ locations, size, number of vacancies and areas of law covered.

Read up on the firms or chambers that you have identified

Your next stop is the training contract directory (p285) or the pupillage directory (p551), where you can learn more about the firms or chambers that you have identified as operating in your chosen practice areas and locations. The directory entry for a law firm or chambers will tell you more about the organisation – this can include its clients and types of work, its minimum academic requirements, work experience opportunities and contact details. For more tips on how to use both directories, see useful guides on p214 (solicitors) and p538 (barristers).

You are now armed with much of the knowledge you need to apply to a firm or chambers operating in the areas of law that really interest you. Make sure to augment your research by reading about your chosen organisations in the legal press, and then channel all your knowledge and understanding into a well-crafted and highly tailored application.

The 2017 edition of TCPH is available through your careers service and law department.