New Year, New Goals: Considering a Career in Law for 2025?

Perhaps it’s time to think about your current goals for 2025 or create some, to help you get ready for succeeding in your future aim of becoming a Lawyer. There are many things you can do whether you are in high school, sixth form, or university, etc. We have written a separate blog about certain things you can do to help you become a Lawyer, but in this blog, we will look at how to set out a goal the correct way to be on the road to becoming a lawyer.

How should I set out my goals?

Try and have a SMART goal. This stands for your goal being Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. Looking into these parameters helps ensure that your objectives are accessible and can be done within a certain time frame. Furthermore, this makes sure you prevent yourself from using any guesswork or generalities when setting a goal. Let’s have a look at a SMART goal in more detail:

For a goal to work well and be successful, it needs to be specific. This answers questions such as: ‘What needs to happen at the end of my goal?’ ‘What steps/process do I need to take to be successful?’ and, lastly, ‘Who is responsible for my goal?’ Try and be as precise as possible. A vague goal is unlikely to be successful and unachievable.

A specific goal is a good start, but it also needs to be measurable to ensure that you can track its progression: is there a certain number of things you want to achieve/get better at within the goal?

Next, this might seem obvious, but the goal has to be achievable. Goals should not be something unrealistic. Always give yourself an internal reality check: “Can I achieve this goal”?  Is my goal something that I can control and be responsible for?

Now, is your goal relevant? Why are you setting this goal? What is the long-term impact of this goal? Eg: how does my goal help me achieve a career in law?

Lastly, what is your time plan for your goal? When do you want your goal to be achieved? This is one of the most important steps. During the progress of your goal, you can refer to your time set and see if this needs to be extended.

What is an example of a smart goal?

Let’s look at two examples. I want to apply to 10 work experience placements at 10 different law firms by the end of next year; to help me gain experience and work out what type of Law I am interested in, which helps my long-term aim of applying for future jobs at a Law firm.

Let’s look at a non-law-related one, which a lot of people face! I want to buy less takeaway food for lunch when I am at work. Instead of doing this 4 days a week, I want to do this 2 times a week and the other 2 days bring sandwiches from home. I want to be achieving this by the end of next month.

Setting goals to help achieve a career in Law is necessary to see how well you are progressing on your path.