Some lawyers prefer to teach rather than practice in the mainstream of the legal profession. The level of academic qualifications required varies depending on the level at which you wish to teach. University lecturers usually have a first class or upper second class LLB or BA, and the majority will also have a Masters degree and a professional qualification. However, law is also taught in colleges of further education, both separately and as part of other courses, and in these cases the academic requirements for teachers may not be so high.
Professional colleges, such as the College of Law and the Inns of Court School of Law in England and Wales and the Institute of Professional Legal Studies in Northern Ireland, also employ teachers. In these there will be greater emphasis on the teachers' understanding of the requirements of the profession which the student is to enter.
The universities advertise their vacancies in the national press, and details of vacancies can be obtained directly from the colleges or departments. In the case of colleges of further education, information can be obtained from the Local Education Authority in the area in which the college is situated. Some colleges advertise posts in professional magazines, such as the Law Society's Gazette and the Journal of the Law Society of Scotland.
If you want to teach law, you will need more than a good degree. You must have a genuine interest in the subject area you are going to teach, as well as a wish to communicate your enthusiasm to others. Certainly, at higher levels of education you will need an interest in ideas for their own sake, as well as an ability to lecture and write. Many people think of teaching as an easy option which gives secure employment and long holidays. However, teaching has its own problems (such as keeping up to date with the subject material) and you should make sure before you set out that you know the genuine advantages and disadvantages of the job.
The pressures of teaching are usually less than those experienced by barristers and advocates and solicitors but they do exist. Many teachers have to be prepared to teach for five hours a day and, like any stand-up comic, they can die on their audience! Also, the jobs, while relatively secure and pensioned, usually pay only two-thirds as much as is earned by solicitors or barristers and advocates with comparable experience. Like all jobs, teaching has its boring moments, and most teachers dread the annual round of setting examinations and marking papers.
Teachers probably have greater control than barristers and advocates or solicitors over the way they spend their days, and they also have the advantage that their skills can more readily be transferred to other countries outside the UK.
Company Secretaries and Chartered Secretaries
The role of a company secretary is one recognized in legislation, which requires that company secretaries of public limited companies be professionally qualified. This places the company secretary in a unique position vis-a-vis the board of directors. The company secretary is the officer who is ostensibly the company's chief administrator. However, a company secretary's actual function will vary from company to company.
Company secretaries, whether of public or private companies, deal with aspects of management which relate to the company as a legal entity. They keep the company records, make the company's tax returns, advise the board of directors of their legal obligations and arrange company meetings, collect information for the meetings and record their decisions. In many companies, the company secretary will have a direct legal or financial function and will possibly also be involved in personnel management. Company secretaries are administrators who assist in management, planning and the general running of the company.
As the responsibilities and needs of the job have grown, the role has been established on a more professional basis. Many company secretaries in private companies have legal qualifications and many others, particularly in larger organizations, are members of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, which holds exams in June and December of each year leading to the qualification of Chartered Secretary. Opportunities for chartered secretaries are considerable, as the skills they have are required by many organizations and there is plenty of scope for specialization and moving into general management and administration at the highest level. Full details of the training and qualifications of chartered secretaries are available from the Institute.
Patent Agents
The government runs the Patent Office as part of the Department of Trade and Industry. This deals with about 40,000 applications per year from inventors who want a patent granted for their invention. The grant of a patent means that an inventor can stop people using his or her invention without permission for 20 years. The growing complexity of the system of registration, added to the fact that inventors are now more commonly companies than private individuals, has led to the growth of a small profession of people whose primary function is to act on behalf of inventors in registering their inventions both with the UK Patent Office and abroad.
The work of a patent agent involves drafting and revising patent specifications and license agreements. A patent agent will often be asked to advice on the validity of patents or on whether a patent or trademark is being infringed. It is not at all uncommon for patent agents to bring proceedings on behalf of clients where there has been an infringement, and some will even appear for clients in the Patent Court, on appeals from decisions of the Patent Office, rather than engage barristers to do so.
To be a patent agent requires a rather unusual blend of skills: legal, linguistic and technical. Most patent agents have a degree in a science subject and receive in-house training at work. For those who make the grade it can be both interesting and financially rewarding. Further details can be obtained from the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents.
Notaries
Notaries are public officers who are appointed to draw up, authenticate and certify deeds and documents, such as conveyances and powers of attorney which concern property, or are to take effect, abroad. They are also called upon to certify transactions relating to negotiable instruments (for example, bills of exchange) when there is a foreign element to the transaction. They are appointed by the Court of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury, but with the exception of ecclesiastical notaries, they are not concerned with church matters.
A notary's certificate on any document is important, since it is recognized anywhere in the world. Notaries are often called upon to witness signatures on legal documents, and they are also able to prepare wills and other important legal papers.
There are three types of notary, ecclesiastical notaries who are usually diocesan registrars or legal secretaries to bishops, scrivener notaries and general notaries. Scrivener notaries constitute a very small, separate profession practicing in central London. No other notaries are authorized to practise in that area. They have their own training system, which involves serving an apprenticeship of five years with a practicing notary, and taking exams in English legal subjects, foreign languages and foreign law. One year of their apprenticeship is served abroad. The standard required for those wishing to train as scrivener notaries is high, and the openings are few. Enquiries should be addressed to the Society of Public Notaries of London (see Useful addresses).
General notaries, who are normally also solicitors, can practice in all parts of England and Wales outside central London. Prior to admission they have to sit various examinations set by the Court of Faculties.
In Scotland if you wish to be a public notary you must first be enrolled as a solicitor and then petition the Inner House of the Court of Session. Most practicing newly qualified Scottish solicitors become notaries.
Recruitment Consultants
More and more employers within the legal profession are recognizing the importance of recruiting the right people to work, for them. Making a mistake can prove difficult and costly to solve. As a result, opportunities for recruitment specialists to service the needs of such employers, as well as the needs of job seekers, have increased steadily in recent years.
Case Study:
Tuesday is 31 and a director of a legal recruitment consultancy.
"My route into legal recruitment consultancy was not premeditated. Having started a career in press and public relations for the IT industry, I moved into commercial sales recruitment following relocation to the North West of England. The recruitment business in the sales sector is highly competitive with success coming as much from sheer graft as from knowledge of the market, which is extremely diverse, and I wanted something different.
I began to look for an area in which to specialize, where an in-depth understanding of the recruiters and those seeking placements might reap real rewards. A combination of my law studies at college and research into the North West jobs market led me to join the legal divi-sion of a national recruitment group.
Getting started in the business was not easy. I had to develop a wide knowledge of the requirements and, importantly, the culture of firms of all sizes at the same time as building a candidate-base to match these requirements. Having some personal contacts within the legal profession was certainly an advantage, but in a market dominated by a few agencies and individuals it took a lot of effort to make a name for myself while meeting tough financial targets. Within a short time I had been successful enough to be looking for greater rewards from my employer and join another national agency on a better package. As with any role with a sales element, you buy yourself increasing responsibility and rewards on the basis of the reputation you build.
By this time, a significant proportion of the candidates I was placing came to me through personal recommendation. This is critical for a recruitment consultant, as there are many agencies in the market and advertising for candidates is both hit and miss and expensive. Within a fairly closed business community like the law, word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing. Not only did I find that solicitors would recommend me to friends looking to move, but that many that I had placed in the past had achieved partner level and hence came to me as recruiters.
I moved into a management role within the same company, running a small but profitable office of legal recruitment consultants. For me, management responsibility was a double-edged sword, as I needed to focus on developing others and fulfilling the reporting and planning aspects of my role as well as on fee earning from satisfied clients and candidates. The experience was useful - things were going well but I now knew I wanted to run my own business.
I went into partnership with another successful consultant working in a local agency but starting up the company was very stressful. In the current economic climate prospective backers are, to say the least, extremely cautious. With perseverance and much planning we got it off the ground and now run a very successful consultancy.
I think the key to being an effective and successful legal recruitment consultant is to know your market inside out, to understand what the firms need and what the candidates want, and then have the ability to match like with like. Above all, self-motivation and the ability to persuade and negotiate is the key to this role."
