Not enjoying my law Training Contract...
Just started my TC at a city law firm and I'm hating it. Anyone feeling the same way about their TC? Do you enjoy the work or just the money?
Original post by x6789998212x
Just started my TC at a city law firm and I'm hating it. Anyone feeling the same way about their TC? Do you enjoy the work or just the money?
What do you hate about it? Is it the work, the people, etc? Sometimes I wonder if anyone actually enjoys it ...
(edited 4 years ago)
Reply 3
Mainly the hours but also not finding the work particularly interesting.
Reply 4
Thanks for this! Can I ask what STB stands for. I'm guessing it stands for Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett 
(edited 4 years ago)
Reply 5
This is the worst possible time to be starting a Training Contract. Stick with it - things will get better when you are back in the office!!!
The best parts of being a trainee at a city firm are that you get to attend good face-to-face training; you have camaraderie with the other trainees; you can ask a question of your supervisor any time; you get to overhear how your supervisor deals with calls. All of that has gone out of the window while people work from home.
It doesn't help that most lawyers are poor at managing people. Many supervisors do not put enough effort into the supervision role, as traditionally supervision in city law firms was very "hands off" - i.e. you just sit in an office with someone and learn by osmosis.
Basically, working from home gives you all of the "bad bits" of being a trainee - without a lot of the "good bits".
The best parts of being a trainee at a city firm are that you get to attend good face-to-face training; you have camaraderie with the other trainees; you can ask a question of your supervisor any time; you get to overhear how your supervisor deals with calls. All of that has gone out of the window while people work from home.
It doesn't help that most lawyers are poor at managing people. Many supervisors do not put enough effort into the supervision role, as traditionally supervision in city law firms was very "hands off" - i.e. you just sit in an office with someone and learn by osmosis.
Basically, working from home gives you all of the "bad bits" of being a trainee - without a lot of the "good bits".
Reply 6
Give it to me
Original post by 101Anon
I have also started my TC at a city firm recently and dread logging in every day. Would love to leave after the TC but have no clue what I would do.
I am also a first year trainee in the same situation. Not enjoying my TC at all and feel like I have made a terrible mistake and will have wasted 4 years of my life by the time I have qualified, but I have no idea what else to do. I can't apply to graduate schemes because I'm too far removed from university, but I don't have non-legal experience that would allow me to apply to other roles. I wish I had chosen a career path that allowed more flexibility. The only "alternative" path is to go in house, and that wouldn't even be possible until a few years post qualification and there's no guarantee that it would even be more enjoyable/interesting. I feel trapped. I feel so sick and anxious whenever I think about my future.
This is interesting. What do you think about Real Estate? I am considering it as at least it apparently offers a decent work life balance, but I've heard that it gets boring and repetitive and makes potentially going in house harder down the line because companies want corporate lawyers.
Reply 8
If you are in your first seat then give it a little bit of time. What area of law do you want to practice in? Corporate/commercial is better paid but less fulfilling in my opinion. Have you considered picking up pro bono work alongside it (I appreciate you will be working long hours) and then when you finish your training contract you will have a better CV to go into an area of law you want to do?
If you want to get out of law then look at doing a seat as a secondment with another company. That way you can build up your commercial experience to leave.
It is important to note that as a generation we are educated by people of an older generation and that a companies expectations of employees is vastly different to what a lot of them experienced. So there aren't really any high paying jobs with a good work/life balance anymore. We are expected to do more work for less pay (when you factor in inflation and a lot of people will be doing the equivalent of two peoples work load for one persons pay). And most jobs have so much regulation and auditing that you will spend a lot of time do admin and bound to a desk (nothing like Suits). This is not specific to law. It is a decision for you to make about what you want out of life and find a job that fits in with that, but there will always be a trade off and you need to find the one that you are comfortable; if you decide that you want the money then your job will become more bearable and if you decide that you want a life then your take home pay will become more bearable.
If you want to get out of law then look at doing a seat as a secondment with another company. That way you can build up your commercial experience to leave.
It is important to note that as a generation we are educated by people of an older generation and that a companies expectations of employees is vastly different to what a lot of them experienced. So there aren't really any high paying jobs with a good work/life balance anymore. We are expected to do more work for less pay (when you factor in inflation and a lot of people will be doing the equivalent of two peoples work load for one persons pay). And most jobs have so much regulation and auditing that you will spend a lot of time do admin and bound to a desk (nothing like Suits). This is not specific to law. It is a decision for you to make about what you want out of life and find a job that fits in with that, but there will always be a trade off and you need to find the one that you are comfortable; if you decide that you want the money then your job will become more bearable and if you decide that you want a life then your take home pay will become more bearable.
Reply 9
Original post by geno71
I am also a first year trainee in the same situation. Not enjoying my TC at all and feel like I have made a terrible mistake and will have wasted 4 years of my life by the time I have qualified, but I have no idea what else to do. I can't apply to graduate schemes because I'm too far removed from university, but I don't have non-legal experience that would allow me to apply to other roles. I wish I had chosen a career path that allowed more flexibility. The only "alternative" path is to go in house, and that wouldn't even be possible until a few years post qualification and there's no guarantee that it would even be more enjoyable/interesting. I feel trapped. I feel so sick and anxious whenever I think about my future.
This is interesting. What do you think about Real Estate? I am considering it as at least it apparently offers a decent work life balance, but I've heard that it gets boring and repetitive and makes potentially going in house harder down the line because companies want corporate lawyers.
This is interesting. What do you think about Real Estate? I am considering it as at least it apparently offers a decent work life balance, but I've heard that it gets boring and repetitive and makes potentially going in house harder down the line because companies want corporate lawyers.
Probably less aggressively horrifying than corporate but pretty tedious. Look at this document (called the certificate of title - the standard form of property reporting required on all transactions) - imagine filling these in day and night for the rest of your working life.
https://www.citysolicitors.org.uk/storage/2016/12/CLLS-Land-Law-Committee-Certificate-of-Title-and-Notes-to-users-Seventh-Edition-2016-update.pdf
Original post by geno71
I am also a first year trainee in the same situation. Not enjoying my TC at all and feel like I have made a terrible mistake and will have wasted 4 years of my life by the time I have qualified, but I have no idea what else to do. I can't apply to graduate schemes because I'm too far removed from university, but I don't have non-legal experience that would allow me to apply to other roles. I wish I had chosen a career path that allowed more flexibility. The only "alternative" path is to go in house, and that wouldn't even be possible until a few years post qualification and there's no guarantee that it would even be more enjoyable/interesting. I feel trapped. I feel so sick and anxious whenever I think about my future.
This is interesting. What do you think about Real Estate? I am considering it as at least it apparently offers a decent work life balance, but I've heard that it gets boring and repetitive and makes potentially going in house harder down the line because companies want corporate lawyers.
This is interesting. What do you think about Real Estate? I am considering it as at least it apparently offers a decent work life balance, but I've heard that it gets boring and repetitive and makes potentially going in house harder down the line because companies want corporate lawyers.
When you qualify, go and work in house. And then at some point when they know you're good, jump into another department. Plenty of ex-solicitors at my firm in all kinds of different roles.
Original post by The West Wing
Probably less aggressively horrifying than corporate but pretty tedious. Look at this document (called the certificate of title - the standard form of property reporting required on all transactions) - imagine filling these in day and night for the rest of your working life.
https://www.citysolicitors.org.uk/storage/2016/12/CLLS-Land-Law-Committee-Certificate-of-Title-and-Notes-to-users-Seventh-Edition-2016-update.pdf
https://www.citysolicitors.org.uk/storage/2016/12/CLLS-Land-Law-Committee-Certificate-of-Title-and-Notes-to-users-Seventh-Edition-2016-update.pdf
Looking at forms like that just reminds me how behind the government and law firms are when it comes to technology. In this day and age, forms should be online and it should be possible to autopopulate/use drop downs etc to speed things up.
Reply 12
Original post by AW_1983
Looking at forms like that just reminds me how behind the government and law firms are when it comes to technology. In this day and age, forms should be online and it should be possible to autopopulate/use drop downs etc to speed things up.
The incentives are not there for them to invest in this - the partnership model of annual profit extraction does not encourage research and development nor does the billable hour model.
Original post by The West Wing
The incentives are not there for them to invest in this - the partnership model of annual profit extraction does not encourage research and development nor does the billable hour model.
The billable hour model is actually one of the things I'm finding frustrating with my TC. I have always been an efficient worker- at uni I would get reading done and write essays in half the time it took my friends, and still get good grades- and it feels like I'm being punished for being efficient because getting things done quickly means I'm billing fewer hours than other trainees, and that's seen as a bad thing.
Reply 14
Original post by geno71
I am also a first year trainee in the same situation. Not enjoying my TC at all and feel like I have made a terrible mistake and will have wasted 4 years of my life by the time I have qualified, but I have no idea what else to do. I can't apply to graduate schemes because I'm too far removed from university, but I don't have non-legal experience that would allow me to apply to other roles. I wish I had chosen a career path that allowed more flexibility. The only "alternative" path is to go in house, and that wouldn't even be possible until a few years post qualification and there's no guarantee that it would even be more enjoyable/interesting. I feel trapped. I feel so sick and anxious whenever I think about my future.
This is interesting. What do you think about Real Estate? I am considering it as at least it apparently offers a decent work life balance, but I've heard that it gets boring and repetitive and makes potentially going in house harder down the line because companies want corporate lawyers.
This is interesting. What do you think about Real Estate? I am considering it as at least it apparently offers a decent work life balance, but I've heard that it gets boring and repetitive and makes potentially going in house harder down the line because companies want corporate lawyers.
would love to know how you got through your tc/ what you are up to now. currently feeling the slump.
Original post by hoseamartinez1
would love to know how you got through your tc/ what you are up to now. currently feeling the slump.
I think most new solicitors are women, so most likely she has quit and become a life coach or counselor of some kind. If male, then he has quit and grown a beard and pony tail, and is running his own artisan food truck at Borough Market, wears a black t-shirt, black apron and black latex gloves whilst selling £12 burgers.
Reply 16
People should please stop obsessing about getting a job at Big Law. I am a barrister, but have also done a stint as a Salaried Partner in Quite Big Law. As a barrister, I prefer being instructed by Medium law or Boutique Law. Why anyone would work for Big law (money apart) baffles me. It's no fun.
I am currently doing a fun case, instructed by Boutique Law. I was laughing with the clever young Associate the other day about his opposite number at Quite Big Law sending him emails at 945pm, while he was in the pub with his mates. "Shall I reply now?", he asked me by email the next morning at about 0930. Nope, I said, let them stew until about 3pm this afternoon and then send a response, which tells them (politely) to get lost, and we'll see them in Court on Friday.
I am currently doing a fun case, instructed by Boutique Law. I was laughing with the clever young Associate the other day about his opposite number at Quite Big Law sending him emails at 945pm, while he was in the pub with his mates. "Shall I reply now?", he asked me by email the next morning at about 0930. Nope, I said, let them stew until about 3pm this afternoon and then send a response, which tells them (politely) to get lost, and we'll see them in Court on Friday.
Original post by hoseamartinez1
would love to know how you got through your tc/ what you are up to now. currently feeling the slump.
Hi! I did actually make it through my TC and ended up staying at the firm I trained at for around a year and a half after qualifying, but ended up moving to the Government Legal Department. I'm definitely liking it a lot more than private practice so far- people are so much nicer, it feels almost strange not being treated with constant disdain by colleagues. Maybe something to consider! I wish I had made the move as soon as I qualified rather than trying to stick it out for so long.
Original post by Trinculo
I think most new solicitors are women, so most likely she has quit and become a life coach or counselor of some kind. If male, then he has quit and grown a beard and pony tail, and is running his own artisan food truck at Borough Market, wears a black t-shirt, black apron and black latex gloves whilst selling £12 burgers.
Nope, I'm still a lawyer. Sorry to disappoint.
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