Most solicitors are employed in private firms, undertaking general or specialist legal work, ranging in size from one solicitor high street practices to multi-national City practices. Solicitors are for most people the first contact with the legal profession. The guaranteed place scheme is available to students throughout their course of study at Aberystwyth. A barrister in private practice at the Bar is self-employed, working out of a set of Chambers, and may be based in London or in one of the cities or large towns in England and Wales. Barristers specialise in offering legal advice in difficult cases and in preparing, and presenting, cases for trial.
Advocacy is an essential aspect of a barrister's training and skill.
Many barristers do not practise privately, but work in such areas as business, politics, journalism and universities. Law graduates who intend to qualify as barristers must join an Inn of Court and, on graduation and having passed the necessary selection tests, take the Bar's one-year vocational course. A pupil barrister earns practical experience with a well-established barrister. On completion of pupillage, a barrister seeks work in private practice at the Bar or elsewhere. The Law Department at Aberystwyth has strong links with the Bar, particularly with Gray's Inn where our students can attend dinners and moots at concessionary rates, and our law students can join a society within the department to assist in furthering their links with the Bar.