Job Description
If you decide to become a solicitor you will be responsible for providing clients with legal support and advice. You listen to your clients’ instructions before discussing any necessary courses of legal action.
Your range of clients could include private companies, public sector organisations or individuals and you may represent them on a wide variety of issues including getting compensation for individuals, buying and selling residential property and helping new businesses get established. If you are interested in the law and enjoy helping people, a solicitor could be your best choice of career.
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What Will I Be Doing?
Obviously, your role will depend on the sector you work in. For example, if you elect to work with commercial clients, you are likely to specialise in one area which may be tax, property or litigation. If you work for private clients, the job may include legal matters such as custody cases, property conveyancing, divorce settlements and Will writing. Regardless of the path you choose, day-to-day activities are likely to include:
- Providing clients with general legal advice.
- Writing legal documents.
- Researching cases on behalf of your clients.
- Communicating with other legal professionals such as barristers.
- Representing your clients in the courtroom.
- Attending meetings and negotiations with opposition parties.
- Checking all documents before they are signed and implemented.
When you decide to become a solicitor, you need to determine the sector in which you will work in. Perhaps you will work as part of the government’s prosecution team or else you may specialise in litigation, probate or commercial property.
Is There Anything Else?
The first few years of your career as a solicitor will be spent fulfilling academic and vocational requirements so you need to be prepared to study. While the solicitor’s jobs are sometimes marketed as being typical 37 hour work weeks, the reality is likely to be very different. You can expect to be on call during bank holidays and weekends and you may also have to go to police stations during the middle of the night in certain instances because the legal profession doesn’t sleep!
Most of your work will take place within an office but, depending on the area you specialise in, you may be required to attend meetings or discuss legal matters with clients at their homes. If you specialise in criminal law, some of your time will be spent in court.
Solicitor Career Path
You can become a solicitor even if you don’t have a law degree or if you have a degree in a non-legal area. If you don’t have a legal degree, you need to pass a preliminary examination. In total, it takes three years of training to become a solicitor and it takes place at the Law Society of Ireland in Blackhall Place, Dublin.
You need to pass the First Irish Examination which is a written and oral test conducted in the Irish language. You can sit this exam at any time regardless of whether you have a degree or not and for most people it is a good idea to complete it as soon as you get the chance.
The next step is the Final Examination FE-1 exams. If you don’t have a law degree, you must complete a preparation course before being eligible for the FE-1 exams. It is possible to take a course in different colleges such as Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) where you will gain a foundation in all 8 FE-1 subjects.
Once you have done this, you must secure a training contract with a qualified and approved solicitor before beginning the two year Professional Practice Course. You will begin full training once you have finished Course I and this leads to the Final Examination FE-2 exams. Then you take the 12 week Professional Practice Course II which leads to the Final Examination FE-3 exams. Once you complete this, the Second Irish Examination and your training contract and you will be placed on the Roll of Solicitors.
Solicitor Salary
If you decide to become a solicitor in a private practice, it is possible to earn a graduate salary of €45,000-€55,000 per annum in Dublin and €40,000-€50,000 in the nation’s other cities. Within a couple of years, this could rise to €65,000 while solicitors in Dublin in could earn up to €100,000 a year once they have more than 5 years’ experience.
Becoming a property solicitor could also be lucrative as they earn up to €45,000 a year upon graduation in a career that can net you more than €90,000 a year once you have 5+ years experience. For most solicitors, the goal is to climb the corporate ladder because once you become the head of a company’s legal department; your salary could exceed €200,000 a year.
More on Legal Sector Salaries | View current Solicitor Jobs.
What Are The Good Points?
As a solicitor, you have the opportunity to genuinely make a difference in people’s lives. For instance, you could decide to work in the charity sector to help disadvantaged people. When you help a client win a case, you feel as if it is the most rewarding job in the world. It is also an extremely challenging job where your skills will be tested to their limits.
Additionally, being a solicitor can be an extremely lucrative career move and it is consistently ranked as one of the highest paid jobs in Ireland. You have a wide choice when it comes to picking your specialisation and there are plenty of opportunities for promotion.
What Are The Bad Points?
If you decide to become a solicitor you need to be prepared to work very long hours in a role that is demanding both emotionally and mentally. You will come across certain cases that take up a lot of your time and may also require you to spend a lot of time away from your loved ones. You may even be woken up in the middle of the night and asked to assist a client in an emergency.
You must also be prepared to study because to become a solicitor you need a lot of qualifications. In order to gain your qualifications through the traditional route, you will have to spend a lot of money and this path is not immediately affordable for a lot of people.
Is a Solicitor Job Role The Right Job For Me?
If you wish to become a solicitor, you need the following qualities:
- Time management.
- Excellent planning and research skills.
- Leadership & Professionalism.
- Top notch communication skills.
- The ability to negotiate and network.
- A high degree of confidence.
- Attention to detail.
If all of the above describes you and you’re no stranger to hard work, a career as a solicitor could be right up your alley.
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