Legal Desire for Law Students
Everything you need between admission and your first brief
Study notes, a career roadmap across the US, UK and EU, live internship openings and free tools built for students. Made by a legal newsroom that has been publishing student writing for 14 years.
Student toolkit
Free, no sign up needed
Career Roadmap in Law
What to do, and roughly when, from before law school to your first five years
Pick your route
In the US, an undergraduate degree, then the LSAT and a three year JD. In England and Wales, an LLB or any degree plus the PGDL, then the SQE. In most of the EU, an integrated law degree followed by a national bar or notarial exam. Decide the jurisdiction you want to practise in before you choose the degree, because moving between them later is expensive.
Build the foundations
Contracts, torts, constitutional and administrative law, and legal method. Read judgments in full rather than case summaries, start a citation habit in Bluebook or OSCOLA from the first assignment, and join a moot or debating society.
Moot, write, publish
Jessup, Vis, Price Media and the national moot circuits teach more than most classes. Write for law reviews, student journals and legal publications, and keep every piece in a portfolio you can send to a recruiter.
Intern with intent
In the US that means 1L and 2L summer programmes and judicial internships. In the UK, vacation schemes and mini pupillages. In the EU, traineeships including the Court of Justice and the Commission. Go broad early, then narrow to one practice area and go back to the same places.
Qualify and apply
US: sit the bar in your target state and clear the MPRE. England and Wales: SQE1 and SQE2 plus two years of qualifying work experience, or pupillage at the Bar. EU: the national bar exam and supervised traineeship. Apply early and treat your CV as a document that proves things rather than lists them.
Specialise deliberately
Choose a practice area with room to grow, find one senior who will actually mark up your drafts, and build a public body of work: articles, talks, a newsletter. Reputation compounds faster than seniority, and it travels across borders in a way that a job title does not.
Routes and qualifying requirements differ by country and change over time. Always confirm current rules with your bar council, law society or university.
Study Notes & Explainers
Subject notes and practical tips from the Learn Law desk
Rule of Law by A.V. Dicey: Political Theory
14 Jun 2026Montesquieu Separation of Powers Theory 2026
14 Jun 2026Anarchism in Political Theory: Core Principles
13 Jun 2026Welfare State Concept in Political Theory 2026
Law Tips
Internship Opportunities
Internships, training contracts and clerkships from our jobs board
Become a Campus Ambassador
Represent Legal Desire at your law school. Ambassadors get their writing published with a byline, an editor who actually gives feedback, early access to internships and events posted on our board, and a certificate at the end of the term.
In return we ask for something small and real: share opportunities that genuinely help your classmates, tell us what students at your campus need, and contribute a piece or two a term.
It is unpaid, it is not a sales role, and you can stop whenever you like.
Student edition, in your inbox
Internships, competitions, calls for papers and the legal news worth knowing. Free.