A day in the life of a solicitor - the reality
Guest written by Law with Sophie

If you're interested in becoming a solicitor, you're probably already aware of the basics – that a solicitor is a qualified professional who represents the legal interests of clients (either individuals in their own capacity, or individuals representing a client organisation).

But until you actually witness solicitors at work, it can be pretty difficult to ascertain what the actual day-to-day involves – and therefore decide whether it could be the career path for you.

Specific tasks will vary, depending on the practice area the solicitor works in – but there are many aspects of a solicitor's role that are common across the board, regardless of seniority, practice area, size of firm or other.

To help you get some insider insight, here's what most solicitors actually get up to, day-to-day - as written by a solicitor!

• Meetings and calls with clients – to obtain new instructions, or to progress existing matters
• Advising on the law and the possible courses of action for clients – normally via email, or in person
• Drafting the legal documents required to bring about a desired course of action and circulating these to other parties, for review or comment
• Negotiating legal documents with counterparties, by providing or reviewing comments and considering specific legal points
• Researching points of law that arise in the course of client matters
• Filing documents with official bodies, such as the Land Registry and court
• Presenting arguments at court – known as advocacy – usually in the lower ('junior') courts
• Attending to administrative issues, such as file opening, billing and invoicing for work, etc.
• Business development, such as nurturing existing client relationships or pitching for new work

One factor which might also affect what a solicitor's day looks like, is the type of organisation they work at.

Solicitors can either work at a law firm (which is known as 'private practice') or as part of the legal function of an organisation (which is known as 'in-house'). When you work in-house, your 'clients' are effectively internal stakeholders (such as directors of the business). But you also instruct law firms as outside counsel, to provide specialist advice. So private practice lawyers' clients will often actually be the in-house legal teams!

This means that a point of consideration for many, through their legal careers, is whether they'd like to work in-house or in private practice. This could also be a key factor for aspiring solicitors to consider, as qualifying in-house has a bit more flexibility in terms of permissible routes compared to private practice.

This blog is guest written by Law with Sophie, it is part of a six-part series on Becoming a Solicitor, helping you consider whether it is the right career move for you.

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Last updated May 2022