Lawyers and how they qualify
A Lawyer is a person who works within the legal profession.
At T A Matthews our lawyers will have studied for several years to attain their qualifications.
Solicitor
A Solicitor may have studied for a law degree covering areas of law such as land law, criminal law, contract law and the law of tort, following which they will have gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice on a course for one year full time or two years part time. A compulsory training contract or articles taking two years were then fulfilled on a placement within a firm of solicitors. Solicitors will be a member of the Law Society and be regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Legal Executive
The first stage of academic training to become an Associate Legal Executive is made up of ten units in law and practice, such as land law, criminal law and the law of tort, to give a good grounding in all core areas of law. The second stage, Graduate Legal Executive, is set and assessed at honours degree level. For those already holding a qualifying law degree a Graduate Diploma can be achieved as an alternative to the Legal Practice course to complete legal studies. Finally, to become a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, three years of qualifying employment need to be completed. In broad terms qualifying employment includes carrying out work of a legal nature in a law firm or legal department of local government, often concurrently with study, with the final year being achieved after the graduate academic qualification is gained.
Accounts Director
In our Accounts Department the employees responsible for the money we hold for you are supervised by our Accounts Director who has studied through The Institute of Legal Finance and Management.
Legal Secretaries
Our Legal Secretaries will have secretarial qualifications as well as a experience in law.
This blog published by T A Matthews is for information purposes only and is not considered legal advice on any subject matter. The blog should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a solicitor, and readers should consult their own solicitor on any specific legal questions concerning a specific situation.
