What A-levels do you need to be a lawyer?

Jan 13, 2023

Written By Zara Arif

If you know that you want to be a lawyer before you start sixth form or college, it can seem like the hardest part of your career related decision making is over. However, as most universities don’t have a formal requirement of A-levels to take for law courses, it can be harder than you think to choose the A-levels that are best for you and your career.

Is A-level choice important?

A-level choice is not the be all and end all. As mentioned above, a lot of universities only ask for an essay-based subject such as English Literature or History. Despite this, it is possible to apply to law with a combination of essay and science subjects.

Universities and future employers will be looking for you to have developed the skills a lawyer needs, rather than have sat exams in specific subjects. For this reason, the most important thing is to choose the subjects which you genuinely enjoy and think you can get the best grades in as you are the person who will be studying them for two years.

Bear in mind that some universities don’t accept A-levels in certain subjects, such as General Studies, Critical Thinking and Global Perspectives. It’s worth checking the websites of the universities you’re applying to.

What skills does a lawyer need?

So, what skills does a lawyer need and which A-levels can help to develop these? Law is a wide-ranging field and can cover everything from criminal matters to commercial and financial issues. For this reason, a variety of A-levels from Psychology to Economics can help you pick up some basic knowledge that might be relevant to your career as a lawyer.

In terms of skills, a good lawyer requires attention to detail, precision and analytical skills. Most A-levels will help to develop these, but English, History and Politics in particular, are popular with students who apply to study law at university. This is because they involve the analysis of large amounts of detailed information.

Should you take humanities or STEM subjects?

One assumption that a lot of people have is that to become a lawyer, you must only do humanities subjects. However, STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) are equally as valuable as essay writing and research skills. This is particularly true with the rising use of technology such as AI in the legal profession.

For this reason, people with a science background are often a welcome addition to a law firm and will most likely be increasingly sought out by employers. A STEM degree is even a requirement to qualify as a patent attorney.

Furthermore, STEM subjects also teach you how to look at data and statistics and draw conclusions which is what lawyers do for their clients on a daily basis.

Is an A-Level in Law necessary?

A big question that a lot of students who want to become lawyers have when choosing their A-levels is whether they have to or even should take Law.

Law A-level is by no means compulsory and people who have done it before university don’t necessarily have an advantage over those who haven’t. While it will provide you with a foundation knowledge of what you will cover in the first year of an undergraduate course, these things will be covered again in more specific and necessary detail once you are at university. This ensures that everyone is on the same level.

Each university will provide you with textbooks and lectures that will give you the essentials of everything you need to from the very basics. For this reason, if you are keen to get an insight into Law before you commit to studying it at degree level, it can be a good option for an A-level but it is definitely not a prerequisite.

Becoming a Lawyer