Hello!
Thought I’d ask people to potentially save me from wasting further resources and time pursuing something unrealistic; it would be great to hear your thoughts.
I received BCC in my A-levels and went on to study law at a non-RG university. It also isn’t one of the well-regarded non-RG universities. I achieved a first and went on to do an LLM at a RG university. It was based mainly on criminal and human rights law; at the time, I fancied myself as a criminal barrister. I achieved a distinction on the LLM.
Whilst doing the LLM, I did the C Vis arbitration moot, and really enjoyed (to my surprise) the commercial law aspects and the more practical business considerations in the competition scenario. This made me set on practising commercial law, and my aspirations completely changed.
I graduated from the LLM in 2020, and following Covid had lots of family problems and my career went on hold and I spent three years as a paralegal.
Still wanting to pursue a practice in commercial law after the family issues were over, I applied, and was successful in receiving a place on the BCL at Oxford. I’m due to start this October. I’m planning on picking commercial electives.
Situations where I take on large amounts of responsibility quickly appeal to me, and am generally happier when I'm working extremely hard. US firms therefore appeal to me because of this and my interest in commercial law and working on big deals.
I'm worried, however, that the hours I'll spend on research and writing applications might be wasted if the bad A-levels, subpar undergrad and so long having passed since my undergrad degree will amount to a hard barrier to entry.
Given this profile, and considering I’m now 26, is there still a possibility of a job in the City?
Any advice would be very welcome!
Thought I’d ask people to potentially save me from wasting further resources and time pursuing something unrealistic; it would be great to hear your thoughts.
I received BCC in my A-levels and went on to study law at a non-RG university. It also isn’t one of the well-regarded non-RG universities. I achieved a first and went on to do an LLM at a RG university. It was based mainly on criminal and human rights law; at the time, I fancied myself as a criminal barrister. I achieved a distinction on the LLM.
Whilst doing the LLM, I did the C Vis arbitration moot, and really enjoyed (to my surprise) the commercial law aspects and the more practical business considerations in the competition scenario. This made me set on practising commercial law, and my aspirations completely changed.
I graduated from the LLM in 2020, and following Covid had lots of family problems and my career went on hold and I spent three years as a paralegal.
Still wanting to pursue a practice in commercial law after the family issues were over, I applied, and was successful in receiving a place on the BCL at Oxford. I’m due to start this October. I’m planning on picking commercial electives.
Situations where I take on large amounts of responsibility quickly appeal to me, and am generally happier when I'm working extremely hard. US firms therefore appeal to me because of this and my interest in commercial law and working on big deals.
I'm worried, however, that the hours I'll spend on research and writing applications might be wasted if the bad A-levels, subpar undergrad and so long having passed since my undergrad degree will amount to a hard barrier to entry.
Given this profile, and considering I’m now 26, is there still a possibility of a job in the City?
Any advice would be very welcome!
