Submit an application to take the Preliminary Examination, if you are not a university graduate. The application can be downloaded from the Law Society website (see Resources 1). It must be submitted to the Law Society of Ireland by February 1 in order to take the March 2-3 exam. Together with the application, you must include 430 euros in the form of a check, money order or bank draft. Results will be returned by mail, not by telephone, within two weeks.
Apply to take the FE-1, or Final Examination. You may take this exam either in the spring or fall upon passing the Preliminary Examination. The exam offers eight papers, covering company law, constitutional law, law of contract, criminal law, European Union law, equity, real property and law of tort. Papers from past exams are available through the Law Society (see Resources). You must submit 110 euros for each paper you wish to sit together with the application, to the Law Society of Ireland, to the address listed on the application. The exam is offered both in Dublin and Cork. Applications are due approximately two months before the date of the exam. Within three weeks following the exam, the Law Society will mail (not email) results to the candidates.
Secure a training contract. Upon passing the FE-1, candidates must pursue a 24-month training contract. First, candidates must obtain permission to begin the training from the Law Society. This permission relies on references confirming good character and a clear criminal record. It may or may not include an interview.
Attend the PPC I and pass the course examinations. Before serving as a trainee solicitor, you must enroll in this Professional Practice course, offered by the Law Society in Dublin or in Cork. The PPC I typically runs from September to April. Only afterwards do you begin the training contract as a trainee solicitor.
Spend 11 months as a trainee solicitor, gaining experience in two main fields. The first field is simply litigation; the second includes conveyancing and landlord and tenant law. In addition, the trainee may select two further fields from a long list of specialties, including: wills, probate and administration of estates, commercial law, corporate law, insolvency law, criminal law and procedure, employment law, European Union law, family law, intellectual property law, pensions law, planning and environmental law, revenue or taxation law.
Attend the PPC II and receive passing marks on the course examinations. This course lasts 12 weeks and usually begins in April. It covers such subjects as professional practice, conduct and management as well as a number of electives.
Complete the 24-month apprenticeship. This may take anywhere from six to 10 months, depending on whether the candidate has received credit for work undertaken prior to the PPC I. When the apprenticeship is completed, the Law Society will send the candidate an application to be entered on the Roll of Solicitors. This final step confers full rights to practice upon the new solicitor.