Ultimately, more and more city firms realise that career changers are a huge advantage to them due to the wide range of skills and experience they bring. They’re also much more likely to ‘stay the course’ long term as they know what other jobs are like.

In my trainee intake alone, almost a third were career changers, but it does depend a bit on which firms you choose… I had to learn by trial and error but from my own experience I know that firms like Simmons & Simmons, Travers Smith, Pinsent Masons and Bird & Bird are all definitely keen on career changers.

Best of luck!

I noticed that you specified City Law firm. Although that is good ambition, you might also want to try other firms rather than pigeon-hole yourself. To get into law it is important to keep an open mind.

Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it. You’ll be judged based on the strength of your candidacy, not based on your age.

Pupil barristers are in a slightly different category, because frequently (not always but frequently), even if they get pupillage in their 30s, they have been working continuously in the legal industry for years before that (paralegals, academics, the odd ex-solicitor), so aren’t pure career changers in the way that OP is.

Speaking with career changer trainees, or those simply coming to law slightly later than a ‘fresh’ grad, one of the biggest challenges seems to be engaging with their ‘cohort’ (given the seat shifting and so naturally being most directly connected with individuals who are younger / have, so far, had a different life experience). A training programme can be hard work and so making an effort to form those bonds (whatever age, background, or experience the individuals) for moral support is important.

However, from a professional performance perspective, some of the best trainees / juniors I’ve worked with are those who come to the law having experienced a (different) professional environment, are driven to make their career change work / to succeed, and have made a conscious decision that law is for them. The technical ability comes with time: frankly, a grad fresh out of uni might know the ‘academic version’ of law, but can’t yet apply it in a client ready manner and aren’t themselves at all differentiated from or ‘better’ than non-law converters. Take the plunge, work hard, and – I’m sure – you’ll excel (and your colleagues who have been qualified for some time will be sure to welcome a different perspective).

However, as in the comments above, the biggest challenges (other than the cohort relationships) will likely be: demonstrating (with evidence) that you’re committed and have properly considered the career change; accessing the application process which is often set up for penultimate year undergrads; and – very openly – accepting that you will be directly supervised (pretty much throughout your entire ‘associate level’ legal career) by people who are younger (but more experienced) than you.

On a practical level, firms do all have a different vibe. Therefore, going to some open days / speaking to lawyers at firms in which you’re interested is probably going to be important to find the right fitting firm for you and getting a steer on how to present your decision at interview (eg using the Aspiring Solicitors contacts if you don’t have your own). Good luck with whichever route you choose!

Like others echoed as long as you’re fine with some supervisors or seniors being younger than you, then you’ll be fine.

If anything that added experience and life experience would be very helpful.

This brings me to the next point, which relates to what a previous commenter said about career changers finding it hard to adapt to being managed by a younger person and behave like ‘bellends’. I cannot comment on the individuals they refer to, but objectively, you will be joining a very conservative and hierarchical organisation where people will not be used to working with and managing people of different ages, experiences and life stages. I imagine a career changer might make a younger ‘senior’ feel uncomfortable just by being more experienced in life and the non-technical aspects of work, additionally, a career changer, particularly an older one, will not stand for being treated like sh*t, and will stand up for themselves, or question a seniors decision, I imagine to a younger senior this might constitute ‘bellend’ behaviour. If you have a lot of pride or are not hugely self-aware of how your behaviour might be taken in the environment that you’re in, you might struggle and alienate people and this might be a deal breaker. I can tell you from personal experience that it can be hard and isolating to be very different to those around you.

Furthermore, I’d just like to mention that I, like one of the above commenters, don’t think that law firms (esp large ones) particularly care what industry experience you have. That’s not to say it’s not valuable, but don’t expect to leverage it much until you’re quite senior. I think this might become a problem if you think you’ve been hired for your marketing experience and will qualify into the relevant department to leverage your expertise, however, this might not happen.

Lastly, to end on a positive. I personally think (obvs I’m biased) that career changers bring a lot to a law firm and I’d love to have more career changer colleagues. Also, it will put you to an advantage eventually, because you have a USP that 95% of your colleagues won’t have, and when you start facing clients, this will show. Also, in a commercial law firm, you’d get to meet some really interesting and impressive clients and will probably be involved in very interesting work (even if the bit you’re doing is not interesting), and it might provide a good stepping stone to something better.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

Some firms are more receptive to career-changers than others. Establishment firms, so to speak, are a bit sniffy. Upstart firms are more likely to be open minded and provide the sort of platform that allows someone to demonstrate the confidence and commercial acumen gained from a previous career. They’re typically less hierarchical, too, which might make it easier to be several rungs down from where people of your age typically would be.

Anecdotally I’ve heard that US firm trainees tend to be noticeably older and more experienced, but whether that lifestyle is for you, bearing in mind it’ll be years before you commence, is another question. You’d be sacrificing what remains of your youth and postponing having children so don’t take that step lightly.

At the Bar there are many pupil barristers who start in their 30s having done something else beforehand.

The trick is to market yourself and show how you have transferable skills.

Given you have been in marketing, this shouldn’t be a problem.

Go for it- and good luck!

My only advice is just don’t be a dick. The firm I am at has had a few trainees who have started in their late 30s who have really struggled to adapt to being supervised by someone younger than them and they have been complete bellends throughout (shock horror – they weren’t retained).