I am a rising senior in the US, and I want to be a lawyer. However, I, like pretty much every other American thinking about law school, have been a little bit put off by the prospect of hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and no guarantee of gainful employment afterwards. To make matters worse, I don’t really want to do Big Law - I would much prefer some type of public service law (public defense/prosecution), which is notoriously undervalued and low-paid (in addition to harboring massive case loads and hours every bit as long as Big Law).
However, I am a dual citizen of the UK and I have good SAT/SATII scores. If I get an undergrad degree in law from a UK school (Aberdeen and Glasgow look particularly attractive), and then live in the UK permanently, are the prospects somewhat better? I know that I would have much less debt, and I have heard that, even if I do a non-law undergrad degree, I can do a (relatively) inexpensive “law conversion course”, followed by a “legal practice course” (my main source being this article - http://abovethelaw.com/2012/01/letter-from-london-can-jobless-u-s-law-grads-find-work-in-britain/).
To put it bluntly, this seems far too good to be true. (The only major drawback I can think of is the possibility of Britain leaving the EU and turning into a hellhole overnight :D.) Can anyone offer me advice/burst my bubble on this? Did Britain have an American-type lawyer glut? Are public-interest lawyers as badly off over there as in the States? Thanks in advance!
I can’t answer as to the state of the law profession in the UK, but not incurring hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt sounds like a good plan to me, esp. if you are a dual citizen and can live/work there. There is much to be said for access to affordable - and quality! - education and free health care!!
The legal profession in the UK is divided into barristers, who appear in court, and solicitors, who deal directly with clients.
The Legal Practice course referred to in that link is to qualify you as a solicitor. You would be involved with defence by representing a client in interviews with police, but not (usually) in court. More info here: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/law-careers/
It sounds as though you might want to be a barrister, if you would like to work for the Crown Prosecution Service or defend clients on Legal Aid - more info here: http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/
Also, legal aid funding has been slashed in recent years, which does have an impact on pay for criminal law work. Prosecution is a bit more secure.