Gabrielle L.
About me
| Gabrielle L. | |
| Law | |
| Law | |
| Undergraduate | |
| 2012 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Trainee solicitor | |
| Clifford Chance | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Legal services | |
| 2013 | |
| £39000 | |
| £45500 |
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A day in the life of a Trainee solicitor in the United Kingdom
Courses taken since graduation
LPC
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I hope to successfully qualify as a solicitor in 2015. I have enjoyed all of my departments so far and I am not yet decided as to which area of practice I would like to qualify into.
My advice to students considering work
Try to gain at least a small amount of work experience during the first year of your degree e.g. by attending open days. This will help you decide the sector, and potentially the organisation, in which you wish to work. It will also look impressive on any future work experience/job applications.
It is helpful to also have other interesting experiences which do not need to be related to your chosen career e.g. non-curricular activities or work experience in a different sector. Being able to talk about these experiences and how the skills you have gained through those experiences was very useful for my application form and at interview.
What I do
I assist other lawyers on matters which can include: drafting documents (such as loan agreements or bond prospectuses), corresponding with the client/ overseas offices/ other side (usually by email or conference call), assisting with transaction management (such as organising a physical signing), carrying out research into a certain area of law or completing administrative duties (such as putting together a court bundle).
What I like most
I like working as a team with others in the firm, including lawyers from overseas offices, on a variety of high profile matters. I find the variety and fast pace of the work exciting and I enjoy that I am stretched intellectually in my job. I also enjoy being given significant responsibility on some matters, for example being the key contact for liaising with the client and overseas offices, and being able to progress tasks independently.
What I like least
My hours are usually 9.30am to 6.30pm but during busy periods it is not unusual to work significantly later. Saying this, most practice areas are good at giving trainees days off in lieu as compensation for working hard on a matter.
Next steps...
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