Training Contract offer to Director: 9 years in Law
Like it or loath it, Facebook does have
its moments. This morning I had an ‘on this day’ reminder, that on this day 9
years ago I was offered a Training Contract. The offer of my Training Contract
is one of the memories, alongside my graduation and my wedding day, that I will never forget.
I was 21, had graduated from the University of Cardiff in the July 2008
and had completed all 3 of my summer vacation schemes. It was a Friday and I
had a car full of possessions that had been from University, to my mother’s
house in Abersoch, where I would be spending my summer before moving to Chester
to start my LPC.
I pulled up at the house, my Nissan
Micra full to the brim of the useless stuff university students hoard, as I got
out the car my phone rang. It was the HR manager from Hammonds (now Squire
Patton Boggs), I instantly started to shake, my throat went dry. I had heard
during my vac scheme of ‘the call’ that would come before paper offers and
rejections went out.
I could hear the HR manager smiling on
the phone as she told me that they were offering me a Training Contract. I
could hardly get the words out to thank her, immediately bursting into tears
and falling to my knees on my mums driveway.
For someone not prone to dramatics, let
me give you some context. I along with hundreds of other law students pinning
their hopes on a career in law, had spent the time between studying , on vacation
schemes, drafting application forms and interviewing. Taking on roles of responsibility
(Law Society President), sports teams and extracurricular activities. Polishing
my CV and hounding firms for an opportunity to prove myself. Finally, having completed
my degree and being accepted at the College of Law (now the University of Law)
in Chester, I had just signed an enormous loan agreement to fund my LPC. An
astonishing gamble when I had no means of paying it off when the course was
completed, without a Training Contract.
All that worry, strain and emotional (and real)
investment finally ended with one phone call.
Was it all worth it? Yes. Do I look back at my reaction to that phone call and
think I was over dramatic? No! The shine will never come off that moment, when I
felt a real sense of achievement and payoff. Competition for Training Contracts
was at an all-time level of ferocity, 2008 being the year of the recession when
recruitment was vastly cut back in law firms. I am forever grateful for
Hammonds for the opportunities they gave me.
So what happened next? After completion of
my LPC, like many trainees my contract was deferred a year to 2011. I spent the
next year travelling and working, working out of Mumbai, Milan and Ireland
before taking up a job doing marketing and photography for a magazine. I spent
the final 12 months before my TC started working as a paralegal for Hammonds in
their professional negligence department.
After 4 seats, one of which was spent on
client secondment I qualified into Employment and took a position as an NQ in
North Wales at Gamlins Law. At the time having met my husband in Abersoch and
being a volunteer crew on the RNLI, as much as I loved working in cities, with the
shopping restaurants and city buzz, my heart was on the beach and in the sea.
The adjustment from Global Law firm to
country firm was surprisingly easy, my job satisfaction is enormous and I will
be forever grateful for the fantastic level of training, support and knowledge that
I was able to call on that I had experienced during my Training Contract.
Now 4 years qualified I won the Law
Society Junior Lawyer of the Year in 2016, and I was recently promoted to Director at
Gamlins. The quality of work is excellent and I truly enjoy what I do. I continue to volunteer for the RNLI, as a crew member in Abersoch, where I am now a trainee
Helmsman, spending my evenings and weekends on call, as well as days when I work from home.
Looking back at the last 9 years, I feel
I have learnt a lot, it being a strange position to now be in to be supervising
trainees and assisting with recruitment. It has made me think hard about the
lessons I learnt and advice given to me on the way:
1.
If you have a gap
year, whether intentional or not, make it count. Do something useful and
different. Recruiters hear about ‘when I went
to Australia’ more times than they can count! I learnt solid commercial
skills and got real work experience working in different and unusual environments
2. Vacation Schemes are so important. If you can’t
get one think outside the box, after first year I spent a week working in house
at The Times. It wasn’t an ‘official’ placement, but the work was interesting
and it gave me something to talk about that was a bit different at interview
3. Make connections and don’t fall out with anybody. I am
still in touch with a number of my supervisors from Squires and people I met on secondment.
The legal world is a small world and often you may need their advice and
counsel in years to come.
4. Be competitive, but pay attention to number 3. There
is a fine balance, trust me! Don’t sulk if you don’t get the seat you want,
take every opportunity and make something of it.
5. Don’t just take work from your supervisors, go to them
for feedback, soak up everything they have to say. My supervisors at Squire were passionate about what they did and my aim was to enjoy work as
much as they did.
6. Take risks. I now do interviews for BBC Radio Wales
when called upon for Employment Law related content, I was terrified the first
time and now it’s actually enjoyable
7. Don’t believe a career in law means you have to give
up a passion for travelling. Use your annual leave wisely, save your money and
give yourself the most incredible experiences whilst doing a job you love.
8. You will make mistakes, there will be times all you
want to do is go home or take off round the world. The world will not end if
you make a mistake, mistakes are expected. Learn from them and move on.
9. You don’t know everything when you qualify. The only
difference between being a trainee and an NQ is that you are a day older.
Depending on where you work it might mean lots of responsibility and independence,
or that you are still heavily supervised. You did not become an expert
overnight when your TC ended. Use your support networks, go for help, get
things checked.
10. Enjoy the job. If you hate it you need to work out
why, and whether it really is for you. You might have invested in it heavily
but it shouldn’t mean a life sentence if it is not for you. It is hard, you
will work long hours and it can be emotionally tough, but the satisfaction of
doing the job well for your clients is fantastic, don’t lose sight of that.
