Course curriculum

    1. Overview of legal career options

    2. Solicitors v barristers

    3. In-house v private practice

    4. Large firms v small firms

    5. Large v small graduate intakes

    6. Structured graduate programmes v standalone roles

    7. Cash v culture

    8. Identifying the right career for you

    9. Researching roles

    1. Routes to qualifying as a lawyer

    2. The Solicitors' Qualifying Examination

    3. Solicitor apprenticeships

    4. The Bar Practice Course (for aspiring barristers)

    5. Pupilage (for aspiring barristers)

    1. Private practice high street lawyer (with James Winfield)

    2. Private practice City lawyer (with Jake Schogger)

    3. Partner at a large global law firm (with Greg Campbell: Partner at O'Melveny and previously Gibson Dunn)

    1. What is a training contract?

    2. Key skills required of trainee solicitors

    3. Key training contract challenges

    4. The benefits of a training contract

    5. What to consider when choosing your seats

    1. Overview of common trainee tasks

    2. E-guide to what trainees do

    3. Due diligence: a trainee's role

    4. Due diligence: issues to look out for

    5. Document review: a trainee's role

    6. Non-chargeable work

    7. QUIZ ~ what do trainees actually do?

    1. Paralegals v legal assistants

    2. Paralegal in a transactional team (with Poppy Turnbull)

    3. Paralegal in a contentious team (with Poppy Turnbull)

    1. In-house at a global corporation (with Serena Tierney)

    2. In-house at a tech start-up (with James Richardson)

    3. In-house at a football club (with Amy Parkinson)

    4. In-house at a law firm (with Mia Siddique)

    5. In-house paralegal role (with Poppy Turnbull)

    1. Founding and running a small law firm (with Gretchen Lennon)

    2. Founding and running a large law firm (with Andrew Thompson)

    3. Freelance legal consulting for a firm (with Henry Nelson-Case)

    4. Freelance legal consulting independently (with Gretchen Lennon)

    1. Working offshore (with James Kinsley)

    2. Working abroad (with Tessa-Jade Heise)

    1. Barrister (with Tessa-Jade Heise)

    2. Solicitor's agents and solicitor advocates (with Tessa-Jade Heise)

    3. Arbitration (with Tessa-Jade Heise)

    4. Judge (with Francesca Yardley)

    1. Government Legal Department (with Katy Troop)

    2. Notary Public (with Alice Toop)

    3. Patent attorney (with Iain Russell)

    4. Lecturing (with Sam MacNamara)

    5. W&I insurer (with James Richardson)

    6. Other law firm departments

    7. Alternative legal careers

    1. Training contracts Q&A

    2. Recommended resources

    3. Commercial Law Handbook

    4. Training Contract Handbook

    5. LinkedIn networking group

Introduction to commercial law

  • 59 lessons
  • 5.5 hours of video content

Why is this the best resource on careers in commercial law?

In short, because the course was developed and delivered by an ex-Magic Circle commercial lawyer, with almost a decade of experience working as a lawyer across eight practice areas, as well as a range of leading senior lawyers.

  • Provides detailed insights into dozens of different legal careers, including what they involve, how to get into them, and what makes them enjoyable.

  • Insights come from real first-hand experience, supplemented by expert contributions from a range of senior City lawyers.

  • Explains - in granular detail - what common trainee tasks involve and why certain skills are essential, helping you to clearly picture what life as a trainee is like.

  • Includes content from our best-selling Commercial Law Handbook and Training Contract Handbook.

  • Animated videos to explain concepts more clearly and improve the learning experience.

Instructor

Judge and employee incentives specialists Francesca Yardley

Francesca Yardley started her career at Linklaters, where she worked for nearly 8 years, and was promoted to Managing Associate. She then moved in-house, first as the General Counsel of ice cream manufacturer R&R Ice Cream plc, then as General Counsel of Hambro Perks. She continues to work as a freelance employee incentives lawyer, whilst sitting as a judge in the Employment Tribunal and for mental health cases. Outside of law, Fran has taken on various commercial roles (including non-executive directorships) and run the software business she co-founded, Threads.

Partner, O'Melveny & Myers Greg Campbell

Greg is a partner in the Corporate Finance and Restructuring practices of O’Melveny’s London office, having previously been a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and an associate at Cleary Gottlieb. He is a highly experienced leveraged-finance, special situations and restructuring lawyer, with a focus on high impact cross-border matters. He has over 25 years’ experience advising borrowers, sponsors, lenders, creditors, and investors, and has been recognised as a leading practitioner by Chambers UK. He also advises on financial services compliance and regulatory issues including anti-money laundering and sanctions-related matters.

Fintech Lawyer (Legal Director) Amy Parkinson

Amy Parkinson trained at Eversheds, where - during her training contract - she spent 6 months in-house at Manchester United FC, and another 6 months in Hong Kong. She was later seconded to Fiserv and Worldpay, before leaving Eversheds as a senior associate after 7.5 years. She is now a Legal Director at tech-focused boutique law firm Founders Law, where she specialises in fintech law.

Commercial Law Academy Founder & Ex-Freshfields Lawyer Jake Schogger

Jake Schogger is a best-selling commercial awareness author, ex-Magic Circle lawyer, and the founder and CEO of Commercial Law Academy. He also co-founded SQE revision platform Law Student Academy. He trained at Freshfields, then spent years at a boutique law firm advising start-ups and scale-ups on a range of corporate, commercial and employment matters. He has also worked extensively as a career coach, and continues to deliver employability and skills presentations at leading universities and law firms across the UK. Connect with Jake on LinkedIn via www.linkedin.com/in/jakeschogger

Ex-Head of IP at Telefonica Serena Tierney

Serena Tierney is a leading intellectual property and data privacy lawyer. She was previously Head of IP at Telefonica O2 and at City firm Bircham Dyson Bell, as well as a partner at Veale Wasbrough Vizards. She has also worked at Diageo and Wragge & Co, and now works as a senior consultant at boutique start-up-focused law firm Ignition Law.

Leading media lawyer / co-founder of Lee & Thompson Andrew Thompson

Andrew Thompson co-founded Lee & Thompson with Robert Lee in 1983 and today is a consultant with the firm. In the early years of his career his key clients were independent record labels. In time, most of these were acquired by the major record companies and Andrew’s focus switched more to the representation of recording artists, songwriters and other artistic talent. He became one of the stand out figures in the music business, acting for many household names, and was rated by Chambers and Partners in 2022 as a Senior Statesman in Music Law. Andrew also has extensive experience within the sports world. He was heavily involved in the re-structuring of Moto GP and he has had a high profile in the development of more complex arrangements for the exploitation of image rights on behalf of footballers and other sports talent. For our full interview with Andrew, check out https://www.commerciallaw.academy/courses/alternative-careers

Head of Legal (insurtech) James Richardson

James Richardson trained at Hogan Lovells, where he qualified into the insurance team and practiced for three years before leaving the City. He also ran a side hustle that produces revision guides for law students during this time - Law Answered - which he sold in 2022. After Hogan Lovells, James worked as a W&I insurer, before moving into a Head of Legal role at insurtech start-up Cuvva.

Law firm founder Gretchen Lennon

Gretchen Lennon trained at leading US law firm White & Case, where she worked for more than 6 years, specialising in employment law. She then took a career break and moved from the UK to the Swiss Alps, where she ended up managing a ski resort! She subsequently starting practicing again, but as a freelance legal consultant at various organisations. She then founded her own law firm, Lennon Legal, in 2015.

Patent Attorney Iain Russell

Iain Russell studied science at university, then decided to qualify as a patent attorney. After working for a number of leading patent firms, he founded Russell IP in 2019. On the side, Iain has created resources to help trainee patent attorneys to pass the UK patent drafting examination.

Notary Public / Legal Business Owner Alice Toop

Alice chose not to go into City law, despite coming top of her year at Warwick University. Instead, she trained as a solicitor at Steele Raymond in Bournemouth, before qualifying as a construction, commercial and contentious probate litigation lawyer. She subsequently studied the Notarial Practice Course, and now runs her own Notary Public practice alongside her role as a solicitor.

In-house, Womble Bond Dickinson Mia Siddique

Mia run's the hugely popular "Legally Possible" channels on Instagram and TikTok, with 30,000+ followers. She studied at a non-Russell Group university and went on to train as a solicitor Womble Bond Dickinson. She then qualified into an in-house role at Womble Bond Dickinson, in the Risk and Best Practice Team.

Barrister Tessa Jade-Heise

Tessa Jade-Heise completed the Bar Practice Course after university, then worked worked as a county court advocate/Solicitor's Agent through LPC Law. She subsequently secured pupilage and worked for a while as a barrister, before moving to the Netherlands and working for Dutch law firm Bierens Law (on English legal matters). In 2024, she resumed her work as a barrister and now specialises in civil, commercial, insolvency, and international private law.

Solicitor and content creator Henry Nelson-Case

Henry Nelson-Case is a qualified lawyer, TedX speaker and social media creator known for challenging toxic corporate behaviours and promoting mental health in the workplace. His content posted under the handle @thatcorporatelawyer is relatable to individuals who may have experienced the negative impacts of corporate work place behaviours. With his personal experience as a lawyer in the corporate world and his passion for mental health and well being, Henry aims to create a community of people to talk about their experiences and support each other.

Private client lawyer James Winfield

James Winfield is a private client lawyer with over 19 years’ experience working in high street, regional and national law firms. He advises a variety of clients, including business owners, individuals, families and high net worth individuals. He specialises in wills, lasting powers of attorney, estate administration (probates and intestacies), trusts, Court of Protection matters (enduring power of attorney registrations and deputyships) and inheritance tax planning.

Criminal barrister and solicitor John-Paul MacNamara

John-Paul has been a criminal lawyer for 20 years, working both as a solicitor and a barrister. He has developed an extensive advocacy practice in the Crown Court and Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), and a specific specialism in cases involving allegations of murder and attempted murder, as well as cases involving vulnerable witnesses. In addition, John-Paul is a senior lecturer on the Bar Vocational Studies course at City Law School.

Government Legal Department Katy Troop

Katy trained at Ashurst, before leaving City law to work for the Government Legal Department. She has been there for more than 8 years, most recently working on legal matters involving the Department for Education.

Ex-City lawyer Dominic Kerr

Dominic Kerr trained and qualified at international law firm Macfarlanes, where he practised as a transactional lawyer for four years. He then left law to work as a strategy consultant at a top consulting firm, before moving into technology sales at Sales Force.

Partner (offshore law firm) James Kinsley

James Kinsley is a partner at a leading offshore law firm, with a practice that spans offshore finance and corporate matters involving Cayman, Bermuda, BVI and Jersey. James previously worked as an associate at Allen & Overy in both London and Hong Kong, a senior associate at Clifford Chance in London, at Carey Olsen in Jersey, and at Morgan Stanley in a front office investment banking role.

Course reviews

Hear what subscribers have said about this course

5 star rating

Perfect for non law student navigating the career

Rachel Lawrence

As a non law student who is keen to become exposed to the career, but started with a lack of professional connections in the field, I found this course to be...

Read More

As a non law student who is keen to become exposed to the career, but started with a lack of professional connections in the field, I found this course to be instrumental to the development of my legal proficiency. What I appreciated about this course was the digestible, yet detailed insight into the fundamentals of law, educating me on a variety of important areas an aspiring lawyer should be aware of. Have recommended this course to numerous people.

Read Less
5 star rating

Excellent overview

Netty Yasin

This course gives a great overview of typical trainee tasks and a breakdown of how work varies between practice areas. Super useful for anyone applying for t...

Read More

This course gives a great overview of typical trainee tasks and a breakdown of how work varies between practice areas. Super useful for anyone applying for training contracts!

Read Less
5 star rating

Insightful and easy to understand

Lilla Lengyel

Great for anyone trying to get into the legal industry and understand the basic parts. I really enjoyed the graphics of the videos, which made it easier to f...

Read More

Great for anyone trying to get into the legal industry and understand the basic parts. I really enjoyed the graphics of the videos, which made it easier to follow and understand the content. All in all really insightful and a great resource!

Read Less
5 star rating

Great Introdcution

Salka Mulud Ammi

I really enjoyed this first part, very insightful, it was all I was looking for and needed. Many thanks Jake

I really enjoyed this first part, very insightful, it was all I was looking for and needed. Many thanks Jake

Read Less
5 star rating

Very resourceful and easy to understand

Zahra Othlan

Clear structure and everything you need to know

Clear structure and everything you need to know

Read Less
5 star rating

Review

Jasmine Jed

Vey helpful where the speaker highlights their personal experience as a trainee.

Vey helpful where the speaker highlights their personal experience as a trainee.

Read Less
5 star rating

Fantastic Insight

Theo Lonsdale

Read Less
5 star rating

Very insightful

Madhav Krishna

Read Less
5 star rating

Great introduction

Shakyra Dharma

Went into surprising amount of detail on all the different practice areas and teams within commercial law and how trainee's tasks and skills relate to that, ...

Read More

Went into surprising amount of detail on all the different practice areas and teams within commercial law and how trainee's tasks and skills relate to that, how to answer interview questions and other related information that made the course well rounded, eg considering alternatives careers in commercial law aside from the traditional. I would consider adding transcripts to videos that don't already have them in order to improve accessibility. Overall, invaluable information collated in one place for learners starting their journey.

Read Less

Membership

Access all of our courses with a single, affordable subscription

Learn more