Example employment dissertation topic 4:

An analysis of the changing nature of employment within the legal profession within the United Kingdom.

The rise of solicitor advocates, the growth of personal injury lawyers and the recent government pronouncement that it will be possible for 16 year olds to undertake apprenticeships (without university) to qualify within the law has raised a number of questions. Using these changes as its contextual backdrop this dissertation evaluates the views of persons who have completed the Bar Practitioners Training Course or Bar Vocational Course over the last five years. In so doing it seeks to answer whether the experiences of those, many of whom are still waiting for a pupillage, and who could already be ‘in court’ as a solicitor advocate, suggest that a career at the Bar is becoming, despite the cost of qualification, a less appealing career option for those intent on pursuing a legal career.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Knott, P. (2010). ‘Becoming a lawyer: Entry level training for the legal profession’. Nottingham Law Journal, vol. 19(1), pp. 42.
• Wilson, A. (2012). Future workforce demand in the legal services sector. Warwick: Warwick Institute for Employment Research.
• Zimdars, A. (2010). ‘The profile of pupil barristers at the Bar of England and Wales 2004-2008’. International Journal of the Legal Profession, vol. 17(2), pp. 117-134.