The Day in The Life of A Trainee Legal Advisor

Have you finished your LPC, SQE or BTC exams? Wondering what other avenues there are to a career in law? You should consider becoming a Trainee Legal Advisor!

Q. What is a Legal Advisor?

Legal Advisors (previously known as ‘clerks’) are lawyers based in the Magistrates Courts across England and Wales. Magistrates are members of the public with no legal qualifications and so a Legal Advisor’s primary role is to provide advice on the law, practice and procedure. Additionally, Legal Advisors are responsible for ‘resulting’ (which is just a posh way of saying writing up the outcome of a hearing and checking any Court Orders!) As a Trainee, you would specialise in either Criminal Law or Family Law.

Q. What Does Your Typical Day Look Like?

There isn’t really one typical day as it depends on what type of Court I am in!

For example, if I’m in a Trial Court then my day can usually look like this: -

1. 8am - Look over my Court list for the day. From there, I can identify any new offences or defences I’ve not come across and research these. I will also make notes on the types of directions I need to have to hand for the Magistrates.

   
   

2. 9.30am – Go into Court and speak to the Prosecutor to figure out a plan of action for the day (letting us work out a priority list). Where there are Defence Solicitors available, asking for updates and new changes such as late guilty pleas or last-minute applications etc.

   
   

3. 9.45am - Magistrates should be available for a pre-court briefing. That essentially means a quick run through the list and gives me a chance to introduce myself as I probably haven’t met them before.

   
   

4. 10am - Court should start.  

   
   

Q. What Are The Typical Hours?

Again, there are no fixed hours. Sometimes I can be in Court until 3.30pm and some days I don’t finish until 7pm!

Q. What Do You Like About Your Job?

Aspects I enjoy:

Autonomy – The job gives me a lot of responsibility and autonomy. You won’t find a manager micro-managing you. It’s up to you and your Magistrates to run the Court the way you want to that day.

Variety – No two days are the same, that’s what keeps it interesting, and I am always learning.

Aspects I don’t particularly enjoy:

Uncertainty – Where there is variety, there is unpredictability. It’s quite hard for me to make plans in an evening because I never know whether there is going to be a last-minute rota change or any unexpected work that needs to be done that day.

Paperwork – There is a lot of administrative/paperwork to complete so don’t think your day is done once the Court finishes. That’s when you will start resulting and preparing for your next day!

Q. So How Do I Apply?

You should keep an eye for vacancies online, there is usually set recruitment campaign at certain times across the year.

When you apply, you will be asked to write a 500-word personal statement outlining how you meet the Civil Service competencies. Then there is an interview, this is where they assess you alongside the Civil Service behaviours. They love strength and competency questions and so do use the STAR method for your examples! 💬