Trainee solicitor

Infobox Occupation
name= PAGENAME


caption= 16th century painting of a civil law notary, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys
official_names=
type= Profession
activity_sector= Law
competencies= Interpersonal skills, analytical mind, critical thinking, commercial sense
formation= Legal Practice Course (and possibly Common Professional Examination)
employment_field= Law firm, government, in-house
related_occupation= Solicitor, pupil barrister, barrister, judge
average_salary= HK$14,000-50,000 (Hong Kong)
£36,500 [http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=133791&d=415&h=417&f=416] (United Kingdom)

In the United Kingdom, Australia and Hong Kong and certain other common law jurisdictions, a trainee solicitor is a prospective lawyer undergoing professional training at a law firm to qualify as a fully-fledged solicitor. This period of training is known as a training contract and usually lasts for two years.

The barrister's equivalent would be twelve months' pupillage under a pupilmaster, in barristers' chambers.

Route

Before they are eligible, the trainee must first have an undergraduate degree in law, or another degree and later taken a conversion course (i.e. the Common Professional Examination), and then completed the Legal Practice Course.

On successful completion of the training contract, the trainee will qualify and be admitted as a solicitor.

Trainee solicitors and training contracts were formerly known as articled clerks and articles of clerkship, respectively.

References

* [http://www.lawsociety.org.uk The Law Society of England & Wales]