Law
Your skills and the employment market
As well as legal knowledge you will have developed
many skills of interest to potential employers. Law
graduates usually have excellent communication skills
both oral and written and the ability to state a case.
Problem solving, fact-gathering and expressing yourself
clearly are important in every job. You may also have
picked up IT skills or presenting skills during your time in
university.
There are many new areas in Ireland in which a
background in law will be very useful. Regulatory
bodies, civil service and others all require researchers,
administrators etc., to help work within new legislation.
These areas include (but are not limited to):
Freedom of Information
Personal Injuries and Accidents Board
Com.Reg. and other regulators
Ombudsman
Refugee Legal Service / Human Rights Commission
Citizens Advice
Corporate Compliance/Governance
What past graduates have done
It is always interesting to know what fellow graduates
have done after obtaining their degree at NUI, Galway
(taken from recent graduate surveys).
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Legal assistant, various
Risk Operations, GECAS-Shannon
Legal Interpretation Services, Galway
Internship-Legal, European Parliament-Brussels
Internship in the Law Agency Department
(JobBridge), Galway County Council
Legal Research Intern, Law Reform Commission
Trainee Tax Consultant, PWC-Dublin
Internship-Researcher, The Hague-Netherlands
Legal Researcher, RTE Dublin
Legal Executive, Ivor Fitzpatrick and Co Dublin
Clerical Officer, The Injuries Board Dublin
Internship, Legal Dept Coca Cola Louth
Legal Intern, Dept of Justice Dublin
Legal Researcher, Attorney General Office Dublin
Contracts and Arbitration Manager, Quigg Golden
Belfast
Trainee Solicitor, various offices.
Appeals Caseworker, Refugee Legal Centre, UK
Company Secretary Assistant, Deacy and Associates
Compliance Assistant, Interpolis, Dublin
Possible Career Opportunities
Legal Adviser
Paralegal Work
Legal Executive
Journalist
Information
Officer
Garda
Solicitor
Legal Secretary
Mediator
Civil Service
Insurance
Underwriter
Human Resources
Barrister
Law Librarian
Legal Researcher
Arbitrator
Company
Secretary
Tax Consultant
Note: Further qualifications may be needed for certain
positions.
Although many Law graduates go on to become Trainee
Solicitors, as you can see from the table above this is not
the only option available to you. Some alternative careers
where law would be useful are:
Legal Executive: Assists in the operation of general and
special legal matters with solicitors, barristers, in the
Courts of Ireland, and within other areas of commercial
and legal practice. Employed in private practice, legal
departments of banks, public and local authorities or in
industry.
Insurance Underwriter: Responsible for deciding if
requests for insurance cover should be accepted.
Calculation of possible risk and legal implications is a
major part of this role.
Employed by insurance
companies, brokers, health insurance.
Tax Consultant: A law, accountancy or business degree
is the most common entry route. Enter as trainee
accountants, trainee tax consultants or qualified solicitors
or barristers.
Adviser:
Consumer rights, Housing, Money,
Community, Probation and Welfare all have a legal
element.
Company Secretary: Advise clients of compliance
obligations, assist clients meet statutory filing obligations,
liase with Companies Registration Office, interpret
legislation, draft minutes.
Lecturer: A career in academia involves research,
teaching and administration and usually requires a PhD
level qualification.
Up to 40% of graduate employment opportunities are
open to graduates of all disciplines. In most cases,
however you will need further postgraduate study or
professional training.
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Further Study Opportunities
Resources in the Careers Information Room
For certain career choices, employers may look for
candidates with further qualifications and training. Some
of the courses chosen by Law / Legal Studies graduates
in the past at NUI Galway were:
We have valuable information resources, experienced
careers advisers and information staff to help with your
queries.
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Reference materials that may be of interest include:
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LL.B. Degree (note: the majority of students taking
Legal Studies in their BA, elect to take the LLB at
NUI Galway)
PGDip/Master of Arts (Production & Direction)
Master of Arts (Journalism)
Master of Business Studies (Electronic Commerce)
MSc (Strategy Innovation & People Management)
LLM Human Rights
LLM Public Law
LLM Law Technology and Governance
See the full range of postgraduate programmes on offer at
www.nuigalway.ie/courses
Some of the other courses that Law / Legal Studies
graduates undertook were:
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FE1 Preparatory Course, GCD
Public Relations, SPCD
MA Politics, UCD
Masters in Business Management, UL
FE1 exams, Law Society of Ireland-Dublin
Masters in HR Management, UCD
Masters in International Law, Edinburgh
Masters in European Law, Leiden University
New York Bar Programme, Friary Law-Dublin
Masters in Mgmt & Corporate Government, Ulster
LLM-Intellectual Property, Queen Mary London
Barrister at Law, Kings Inns
Masters International Maritime Law, Swansea
MSc in Corporate Responsibility, QUB
www.nuigalway.ie/careers also has sections on studying
in Ireland and studying abroad with useful links for many
countries worldwide.
The website www.postgradireland.com contains useful
information on postgraduate courses in Ireland,
www.prospects.ac.uk is an excellent site for researching
opportunities in the UK and http://ec.europa.eu/ploteus/
covers the EU.
Deciding on your Career
Choosing a career involves more than just finding out
what is open to you. Knowledge about yourself is vital to
the process. It is valuable to start by looking at your
strengths, weaknesses, interests, abilities and skills in
order to relate career options to you.
NUI Galway students and recent graduates can arrange an
appointment with one of our staff, browse through the
careers library.
There are resources available on our website for help
deciding ‘what next?’ including Psychometric Tests at:
www.nuigalway.ie/careers/students/careerinfo.html .
Files:
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Law
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International Development file
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Human Rights file
Reference books:
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Targetjobs Law (UK)
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Student Survival Guide to Law School in the US
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Inside Look at Law Firms
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Training Contracts & Pupillage Handbook
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Inside Buzz Top Law Firms (UK)
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Vault Guide to Top Law Firms
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What can I do with a Law Degree
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Passing the National Admissions Test for Law
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Conversion & Vocational Law (UK)
Useful websites
We have found that the following websites contain
relevant and interesting information on opportunities
using Law.
Ireland
 www.nuigalway.ie/law/
 Law Society www.lawsociety.ie
 Law Library www.lawlibrary.ie/
 Hon. Soc. of Kings Inns www.kingsinns.ie/
 Active Link www.activelink.ie
UK
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www.lawcabs.ac.uk (applications for CPE, LPC)
www.lawcareers.net/lcn.asp
The Law Society www.lawsociety.org.uk/
TargetJobs Law http://targetjobs.co.uk/law
Abroad
 Legal500 www.legal500.com
 United Nations Human Rights
www.ohchr.org/english/
 Law Student Center www.hg.org/students.html
General student/graduate websites
 Career Development Centre, degree opportunities:
www.nuigalway.ie/careers/students/degreeopp.html
 Gradireland www.gradireland.com
 Prospects UK Law profile
www.prospects.ac.uk/options_law_your_skills.htm
 www.jobs.ac.uk [academic jobs, fellowships etc UK,
Europe and worldwide]