I’ve done a non-law degree - am I at a disadvantage?

No.

You’ll find that many solicitors didn’t actually study law at university.

What’s more - many firms actively target non-law degree candidates. Some firms even run non-law degree specific events, such as for STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) candidates.

Firms typically value the research, analytical, attention to detail, and written communication skills that any degree develops.

Whilst it’s arguable that a law student can draw upon their degree to explain their motivation for law and even a specific module within their law degree to substantiate their interest in a firm’s practice area, a law degree is very different to actually practising law and may not be sufficient alone to convince a firm of a candidate’s commitment to a career in law.

Both a law and a non-law candidate will probably need to show their motivation and commitment to a legal career by obtaining legal work experience, attending insight events at firms, meeting firms at law fairs and ideally getting onto a vacation scheme. In addition, they’ll need to be able to articulate their interest in the firm they’re applying to by carefully researching the firm and demonstrating how they have the skills needed to be a trainee.

Finally, most firms run assessment processes that don’t require any prior legal education.

So you can see that having/not having a law degree isn’t important to getting onto a vacation scheme or being offered a training contract.