Please be brutally honest, should I give up on becoming a solicitor at a MC/Top Uk law firm

[Futurelawyer51]

My second-year results came in today, and I was gearing up to apply to law firms come September; however, I received a shockingly bad result that I feel might have brought my law career to an end before it started.

I have extenuating circumstances for this grade as my younger brother was going through mental health issues and I was informed the day before the exam; however, the mark I got was so bad I don't even know if that even matters at all.

Any advice on my next steps and how badly this will impact my future based on the 2:1 requirement will be greatly appreciated.
What sort of firms should I look to and would any accept the 48% I got in this individual module?

Please be brutally honest as well. I need to hear the truth .

My results to date are attached below:

Year 1:
Constitutional and Administrative Law- 68%
Criminal Law- 65%
The Law of Contract- 64%
Legal Foundations- 60%
Overall Year 1: 64%

Year 2:
Equality and Diversity- 72%
The Law of Torts: 65%
European Union Law- 62%
Land Law- 61%
(AFFECTED MODULE) Equity and Trusts- 48%
Overall Year 2: 61%

 

[biglaworbust]

Hello fellow exeter student, the problem questions on that equity exam were tricky weren't they lol. But in all seriousness I'm sure that you'll be fine. The rest of your other marks are good and you literally have a reason for why Equity went poorly. And in any case, even if some bozo on here tells you that you are doomed and all is done, don't listen to them, keep working hard, send off high quality applications and don't count yourself out

 

[RANDOTRON]

My second-year results came in today, and I was gearing up to apply to law firms come September; however, I received a shockingly bad result that I feel might have brought my law career to an end before it started.

I have extenuating circumstances for this grade as my younger brother was going through mental health issues and I was informed the day before the exam; however, the mark I got was so bad I don't even know if that even matters at all.

Any advice on my next steps and how badly this will impact my future based on the 2:1 requirement will be greatly appreciated.
What sort of firms should I look to and would any accept the 48% I got in this individual module?

Please be brutally honest as well. I need to hear the truth .

My results to date are attached below:

Year 1:
Constitutional and Administrative Law- 68%
Criminal Law- 65%
The Law of Contract- 64%
Legal Foundations- 60%
Overall Year 1: 64%

Year 2:
Equality and Diversity- 72%
The Law of Torts: 65%
European Union Law- 62%
Land Law- 61%
(AFFECTED MODULE) Equity and Trusts- 48%
Overall Year 2: 61%

Hi there, thought I'd give my two-cents on this.

Firstly, your law career hasn't ended – your grades are fine. Your extenuating circumstance does matter, so do mention it in your application.

Secondly, please don't beat yourself up or count yourself out. If anything, believe in yourself. Grades are only one of many other factors that graduate recruitment take in account. As @biglaworbust said, delivering high quality application is far more important – really figure out what your story is for why you want to pursue a career in law. If you haven't already, I would also suggest you look to build out your resume by doing extracurricular activities (eg, commercial awareness competitions, student organisations, extra courses (eg, TCLA Academy)). This demonstrates your capabilities beyond academia, which will only make you a stronger candidate.

Finally, you won't know what will happen until you try, or as the saying goes "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take".

Perhaps @Jessica Booker can give a better insight into this than I can. In any case, you can do this – I believe in you! 👍

 

[Jessica Booker]

My second-year results came in today, and I was gearing up to apply to law firms come September; however, I received a shockingly bad result that I feel might have brought my law career to an end before it started.

I have extenuating circumstances for this grade as my younger brother was going through mental health issues and I was informed the day before the exam; however, the mark I got was so bad I don't even know if that even matters at all.

Any advice on my next steps and how badly this will impact my future based on the 2:1 requirement will be greatly appreciated.
What sort of firms should I look to and would any accept the 48% I got in this individual module?

Please be brutally honest as well. I need to hear the truth .

My results to date are attached below:

Year 1:
Constitutional and Administrative Law- 68%
Criminal Law- 65%
The Law of Contract- 64%
Legal Foundations- 60%
Overall Year 1: 64%

Year 2:
Equality and Diversity- 72%
The Law of Torts: 65%
European Union Law- 62%
Land Law- 61%
(AFFECTED MODULE) Equity and Trusts- 48%
Overall Year 2: 61%

It is clearly a one off grade and as you mention you have extenuating circumstances to it, providing evidence of that will clearly explain the reason the grade was off.

I personally wouldn’t worry about this at all. I don’t think your applications will be unsuccessful based on this alone.

I have seen people succeed with a similar profile grade with no extenuating circumstances, so I am pretty sure you will be okay.

One step you could take is to try and get an academic reference from your university now that may say or insinuate this was an anomalous due to the extenuating circumstances and attach it to applications.

 

[OB]

My second-year results came in today, and I was gearing up to apply to law firms come September; however, I received a shockingly bad result that I feel might have brought my law career to an end before it started.

I have extenuating circumstances for this grade as my younger brother was going through mental health issues and I was informed the day before the exam; however, the mark I got was so bad I don't even know if that even matters at all.

Any advice on my next steps and how badly this will impact my future based on the 2:1 requirement will be greatly appreciated.
What sort of firms should I look to and would any accept the 48% I got in this individual module?

Please be brutally honest as well. I need to hear the truth .

My results to date are attached below:

Year 1:
Constitutional and Administrative Law- 68%
Criminal Law- 65%
The Law of Contract- 64%
Legal Foundations- 60%
Overall Year 1: 64%

Year 2:
Equality and Diversity- 72%
The Law of Torts: 65%
European Union Law- 62%
Land Law- 61%
(AFFECTED MODULE) Equity and Trusts- 48%
Overall Year 2: 61%

I graduated with a 59% overall (borderline 2:1 as classified by my uni) and got a TC at a top UK firm so don't lose hope at all. You also have final year to boost your average and that will be easier now you have learnt from mistakes in previous years. Some firms might pick out that grade and question you on it (I've had questions like this from firms such as Stephenson Harwood) but you have valid reasons to back it up. Maybe also focus on an answer of how to improve from this too to show you're making active efforts to improve

 

[InvesmentBanker]

My second-year results came in today, and I was gearing up to apply to law firms come September; however, I received a shockingly bad result that I feel might have brought my law career to an end before it started.

I have extenuating circumstances for this grade as my younger brother was going through mental health issues and I was informed the day before the exam; however, the mark I got was so bad I don't even know if that even matters at all.

Any advice on my next steps and how badly this will impact my future based on the 2:1 requirement will be greatly appreciated.
What sort of firms should I look to and would any accept the 48% I got in this individual module?

Please be brutally honest as well. I need to hear the truth .

My results to date are attached below:

Year 1:
Constitutional and Administrative Law- 68%
Criminal Law- 65%
The Law of Contract- 64%
Legal Foundations- 60%
Overall Year 1: 64%

Year 2:
Equality and Diversity- 72%
The Law of Torts: 65%
European Union Law- 62%
Land Law- 61%
(AFFECTED MODULE) Equity and Trusts- 48%
Overall Year 2: 61%

No harm in trying 💪 also your grades are decent

 

[aspiringcatsolicitor]

Coming from another exeter student, you should be fine. Your results are definitely solid and you can't let this deter you. Keep pushing out those applications.

Hello fellow exeter student, the problem questions on that equity exam were tricky weren't they lol. But in all seriousness I'm sure that you'll be fine. The rest of your other marks are good and you literally have a reason for why Equity went poorly. And in any case, even if some bozo on here tells you that you are doomed and all is done, don't listen to them, keep working hard, send off high quality applications and don't count yourself out

 

[FM302989]

I got a low 50 in equity & trusts, graduated from Exe a few years back and am 2 months off qualifying. Nobody has ever mentioned it but instead Partners/interviewers have commented that my grades are exceptional. Also, you don't necessarily need to put all of your module marks in your CV

What I would say is you can get genuinely good training from firms that aren't necessarily MC/SC/US firms so broaden your search into areas of law you're interested in

 

[Kubed]

Your other marks are strong, so I don't think one lower mark precludes you from applying and being successful at the vast majority of firms. As others have said, focus on producing high quality applications - really figure out the things that differentiate you from others as this is what will get you through the applications successfully.

 

[Sierra]

It is clearly a one off grade and as you mention you have extenuating circumstances to it, providing evidence of that will clearly explain the reason the grade was off.

I personally wouldn’t worry about this at all. I don’t think your applications will be unsuccessful based on this alone.

I have seen people succeed with a similar profile grade with no extenuating circumstances, so I am pretty sure you will be okay.

One step you could take is to try and get an academic reference from your university now that may say or insinuate this was an anomalous due to the extenuating circumstances and attach it to applications.

Definitely agree with Jess. Your overall grades are still good.

In my experience of interviewing with a good number of mc/us/int'l firms, with your profile, they generally won't raise that subject in your interview and will focus on your strengths and experience.

But, in the event that they do ask you about it, do not give any excuses or beat around the bush (they can see through that).

Instead, make sure to address why you got that grade (e.g. it was a difficult subject, you didn't manage your time well because you were doing too many things, undergoing stress). Then, make sure to uplift the conversation by saying that you managed to tackle this and highlight your learning points from the experience and how you have done so. And then right after that, give one clear example to show how you have changed/or your plan to improve on this.

That will bring the conversation right back to your strengths, and will have addressed/move on from that question on your blip.