The level of commitment needed to become a lawyer means that many people know they want to do it from pretty early on in their secondary education. After all, you’re not going to do all that study if you’re not focussed on the end goal, are you? That said, there are also plenty of other careers in legal services that, arguably, do not take such a significant commitment.

Generally you need a degree to become a lawyer and you need good A level results to get into a university law degree course. There are other ways of becoming qualified as a lawyer which tend to take longer and are more unusual. It’s also worth remembering that French is a useful language if your plan is to return to Guernsey and practise law. Guernsey’s legal system still has strong links with its Norman past.

You don’t necessarily have to choose a Law degree at university. It is possible to do a one-year conversion course following your degree. This conversion course covers the fundamental areas of law that you are expected to cover by the Law Society and Inns of Court.  You need to keep in mind that qualifying in Guernsey is going to take extra work. Once recognised as a qualified lawyer in the UK you need to pass the bar exams in Guernsey and legal exams at Caen University in France.

If you are interested in the legal profession but don’t think being a lawyer is for you, then there are other options. There are plenty of support functions for non-qualified staff. For instance expert legal secretaries are worth their weight in gold, and there are also conveyancing assistants and a range of other support functions that any business needs such as accountants. You could opt for a marketing career, promoting the services of a law firm or perhaps your interests lie with human resources, an area which is expanding all the time within Guernsey law firms.

Paralegals are people who tend to have some form of legal training perhaps up to a degree or higher level but are not yet formally qualified.

In all career aspects, a ‘can do’ attitude with a flexible approach is vital. Law is an industry that believes in rewarding hard work and most firms offer employees a range of benefits from health insurance to study support and a pension scheme.

It’s an industry with a long history and a proud tradition in Guernsey and many feel privileged to continue to keep it at the hub of business activity in the island.

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