Admission to practice law
In England and Wales, one does not have to be admitted to the bar to practice law, but qualifications are required to become a solicitor or barrister, both of whom are qualified lawyers and have special rights of audience in law courts. For both the solicitor and barrister professions, one must either obtain an undergraduate law degree (LL.B., which typically lasts three years), or complete the Common Professional Examination/Graduate Diploma in Law (which lasts one year after completing an undergraduate degree). Potential barristers must complete the Bar Professional Training Course (formerly Bar Vocational Course), followed by a year of vocational training known as a pupillage and be member of the four prestigious Inns of Court. Potential solicitors are required to complete the Legal Practice Course which lasts one year, then a two-year apprenticeship under a training contract, during which the trainee solicitor has to complete a Professional Skills Course. Chartered Legal Executives (formerly known as Fellows of CILEx) undertake a series of training courses and are required to pass qualifications relevant to the area of practice in which they intend to specialise. The first stage for the full vocational route to qualifying is called the CILEx Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice and is set at the equivalent to A-level law. The second and final qualifications are equivalent to an honours degree course - the CILEx Level 6 Diploma in Law and Practice. Trainees will often work at the same time as studying in order to acquire practical skills. The courses can be undertaken at a college, university or through an open learning programme. The courses are open to graduates and non-graduates. Chartered Legal Executives qualify after completing their CILEX training followed by a minimum of 3 years' qualifying employment. Chartered Legal Executives may do to a wide range of legal work although, like solicitors, they generally specialise in one area. After completing their academic training, trainee Legal Executives often occupy paralegal roles to satisfy the 3 year vocational stage of qualifying as Chartered Legal Executives.
Solicitors Regulation Authority. Accessed February 18, 2009. Notes on Applications for Certificate of Exemption from the Common Professional Examination.
Bachelor of Laws
In Australia some LL.B. graduates practice as a solicitor or barrister, while others work in academia, for the government or for a private company (i.e. not as a practicing solicitor or barrister). For LL.B. graduates who do choose to practice law, in some states of Australia (namely, Victoria and New South Wales), LL.B. graduates are required to undertake a 1-year articled clerkship or the Legal Practice Course (commonly Practical Legal Training or PLT) before applying for registration as a solicitor. In other states, (namely, South Australia) an LL.B. graduate is required to undertake a 6-week PLT course before applying to be admitted to the bar as a barrister and solicitor. Depending on the state where a lawyer is admitted to practice, membership in the Bar may be either restricted to barristers or open to both solicitors and barristers. In the states that maintain as split Bar system, barristers are a separate and distinct profession to that of a solicitor, and entry is attained through the successful completion of an exam and a 9-month reading period (in other words, tutelage) under a senior barrister.