The legal profession remains one of the most sought-after career paths in the UK. For aspiring solicitors, it offers intellectual challenge, professional prestige and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact. However, the current climate is making that ambition harder to realise. In my conversations with aspiring legal professionals, many speak openly about how tough the market feels, from the intensity of competition to the uncertainty around where they fit and how to stand out.
The introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) has created greater flexibility and opened new pathways into the profession. The growing use of AI is reshaping how legal services are delivered and raising important questions about the skills solicitors will need in the years ahead.
Meanwhile, the number of aspiring solicitors continues to outpace the number of traditional training contracts and graduate opportunities available. In the UK legal market, approximately 5,000 to 6,000 trainee solicitor positions become available each year. These opportunities attract tens of thousands of candidates, many of whom submit multiple applications.
As a careers adviser, I speak to students every day who feel overwhelmed by the process. Many are highly capable individuals with strong academic records and valuable experience, yet they are often unsure where to begin, how to stand out or what employers are actually looking for.
The Skills Solicitors Will Need in an AI-Enabled Profession
While AI is unlikely to replace solicitors, it is already changing how legal work is carried out. Tasks such as document review, legal research and contract analysis are increasingly being supported by AI-powered tools. As a result, employers are placing greater value on skills that technology cannot easily replicate, including critical thinking, commercial judgement, client relationship management, ethical decision-making and effective communication.
Alongside these core skills, legal employers are increasingly looking for candidates who understand how technology is being used within legal practice. Future solicitors will need to be comfortable working alongside AI tools, evaluating outputs critically and understanding both the opportunities and risks associated with their use. For aspiring solicitors, developing technological literacy is becoming an important part of career preparation.
A Competitive Market and an Information Gap
Competition for legal opportunities remains intense. Students are applying for a limited number of training contracts, vacation schemes, paralegal positions and Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) opportunities.
What is often overlooked is that many candidates begin the process without a clear understanding of how legal recruitment works. Some students I work with have never heard of an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and are unaware that their CV may be screened before it reaches a recruiter. Others have never attended an assessment centre and have little understanding of the exercises, competencies and behaviours firms are assessing.
Many also struggle to communicate their skills and experiences effectively. They may have gained valuable experience through employment, volunteering, leadership positions or part-time work, but they are not always sure how to present that experience in a way that demonstrates impact and aligns with what employers are looking for.
As a result, talented candidates can find themselves applying repeatedly for opportunities without understanding why they are not progressing.
The Importance of Practical Careers Guidance
This is where quality careers guidance can make a real difference. Effective careers support goes beyond reviewing a CV or discussing application deadlines. It involves helping students understand the realities of the market, giving them practical steps they can take to improve their prospects.
At BARBRI, we support SQE Prep students by helping them understand recruitment processes, identify and articulate their strengths, and present their experiences with confidence. Through one-to-one guidance, group workshops, industry insight events, mentoring opportunities and Qualifying Work Experience programmes, we help students build the knowledge and skills needed to pursue a legal career.
It is important that we ensure students are getting the most out of the service and that our support is making a meaningful difference, with our impact being measured. Feedback shows that students value the tailored advice and insight they receive on how to stand out to employers, and many say they leave with a clearer understanding of the steps they can take to become stronger candidates. While support with applications and CVs is often needed, many students also benefit from having space to talk through their thinking, weigh up their options and gain clarity on how to move forward.
The Value of Employer and Recruiter Insight
One of the most valuable aspects of careers guidance is access to insight from employers and recruiters. Through regular conversations with partner law firms, graduate recruitment teams and legal employers, we gain a clear understanding of what organisations are looking for and where candidates often encounter challenges. This enables us to offer informed advice to our students and prospective students at partner universities, while ensuring the right messages are being shared about the market, recruitment expectations and how students can position themselves effectively. By working closely with careers teams and faculty, we can also complement existing provision and take a more collaborative approach.
We also understand that there is no single route to a successful legal career. Not every aspiring solicitor will secure a training contract with a large commercial law firm, and not every successful legal career begins in one. Sometimes our role is to gently challenge assumptions and encourage students to consider opportunities they may not have previously explored.
This could include in-house legal teams, public sector organisations, charities, regulatory bodies or alternative legal service providers. For many students, these conversations introduce career paths they had never seriously considered and help them make more informed decisions about their future.
Building Confidence in a Competitive Market
The legal job market can often feel discouraging from a student's perspective. Rejection is common, competition is fierce and social media can create the impression that everyone else is progressing more quickly.
Many students tell me the same thing: “I just don't know where to start.” With so much information available online, it can be difficult to know which advice to follow, which opportunities to prioritise and where to focus their efforts.
The candidates who succeed are not always those who submit the highest number of applications. More often, they are the individuals who understand the market, target opportunities carefully, tailor their applications and communicate clearly the value they can bring to an employer.
Many students focus only on advertised vacancies, but a significant number of opportunities are still found through the hidden job market. Professional connections, speculative applications, work experience, networking events and employer engagement can all lead to valuable conversations and openings that never appear on a job board. Helping students recognise this can encourage them to take a more proactive and strategic approach to their career development.
Many students I speak to have not yet considered how important their personal brand can be, or the role networking can play in opening doors. One of the first things I often hear is, “I do not like LinkedIn.”
Supporting students to understand the value of personal branding and networking can have a real impact on their confidence and career prospects. When they begin to see these activities as part of career development rather than self-promotion, they are often more willing to engage.
Supporting the Next Generation of Solicitors
Preparing students for qualification is only one part of the journey. Equally important is helping them navigate an increasingly complex legal careers landscape.
By combining employer and recruiter insight with practical, personalised careers guidance, we help students make informed decisions about their future. Whether that means securing QWE, preparing for an assessment centre, improving an application, developing commercial awareness or exploring alternative career paths, the goal is to help students move forward with a clearer understanding of their options and next steps.
For many aspiring solicitors, knowing where to start is the first challenge. Helping them understand their options, build confidence and take meaningful action is where careers guidance can have the greatest impact.
Read more about BARBRI’s Careers & Employability support service.
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