Hi
Actually I was planning to do LLM in corporate and commercial law so it would be very kind of anyone can guide me about what is the job scenario there for corporate lawyers or a lawyer with Corporate law LLM degree from uk University can get a job in UK firms if not studied llb from UK.

[Edited by Kartik7451 on Dec 16, 2019]

Hello,

Doing an LL.M. in United Kingdom ("UK") will always be an asset. However, if you want to secure a position as lawyer/solicitor in the UK the best way is to become qualified in a country of the commonwealth, and ideally in one country of the UK.

If you are already qualified in another jurisdiction which have some importance in a legal practice area (New York for high yield transactions, Luxembourg for investment funds, etc.) you could also reach a position in UK, but it's a bit harder.

If you are not qualified at all, in that case you will probably reach only paralegal positions.

To become qualified in England and Wales there is a least two pathways (but be careful, it should have some changes in mid-2021; See https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/policy/sqe/):

- If you are not qualified in another country recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ("SRA"): You need to do an LL.B or 1 year of Graduate Diploma in Law ("GDL") + 1 year of Legal Practice Course ("LPC") + 2 years of traineeship (and keep in mind that usually the most difficult part of this process is to find a traineeship position because it's super-competitive). So, it's a 4-years project and unfortunately doing a LL.M. will not "absolve" you to do the GDL+LPC.

- If you are already qualified in another country recognised by the SRA: you can do a transfer exam called the "Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme" (QLTS), and with that scenario you should become directly qualified without doing the GDL+LPC+ 2-years traineeship. (See https://qlts.kaplan.co.uk/)

Good luck!

[Edited by # on Dec 17, 2019]

Hello,

If you want to secure a position as Lawyer in the UK the best way is to become qualified in a country of the commonwealth, and ideally one country of the UK.
If you are already qualified in another jurisdiction which have some importance in a legal practice area (New York for high yield transactions, Luxembourg for investment funds, etc.) you could also reach a position in UK, but it's a bit harder.
If you are not qualified at all, in that case you will probably reach only paralegal positions.

To become qualified in England and Wales there is a least two pathways (but be careful, it should have some changes in mid-2021):
- If you are not qualified in another country recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ("SRA"): You need to do 1 year of Graduate Diploma in Law ("GDL"), 1 year of Legal Practice Course ("LPC"), and 2 years of traineeship (and keep in mind that usually the most difficult part of this process is to find a traineeship position because it's super-competitive). So, it's a 4-years project and unfortunately to do a LL.M. will not "absolve" you to do the GDL.
- If you are already qualified in another country recognised by the SRA: you can do a transfer exam called the "Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme" (QLTS), and with that scenario you should become directly qualified without doing the GDL+LPC+ 2-years traineeship. (See https://qlts.kaplan.co.uk/)

I think SRA recognise Indian Advocates

someone told me that you should get LPC as it will surely help in landing a job in UK firm

[Edited by # on Dec 17, 2019]

I think SRA recognise Indian Advocates

Yes, see here: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/qlts/recognised-jurisdictions/

someone told me that you should get LPC as it will surely help in landing a job in UK firm

It's true that from a job market perspective, law firms will prefer applicant with the most of work experience. So an applicant with 1y of LPC and 2y traineeship in UK should look more suitable than an applicant without work experience.

Therefore, it will depend (1) if you want to do a 2-years traineeship and (2) if you can secure a 2-years traineeship.

As explained before, the traineeship position is probably the harder part of this process.Iindeed, people usually secure the traineeship 1 or 2 years in advance, sometime more, and most of the good position in London are usually "reserved" to OxBridge, so you can imagine that the remaining positions are very competitive.

Therefore, in your case it seems easier to consider the QLTS option and so avoid the 2-years traineeship. But don't wait too much, because after mid-2021 the pathways described above will merge and the traineeship should be mandatory for everyone.