So after six years (or more if you count schooling), the end is in sight. In just under two months my fellow second years and I will be qualifying. Fortunately, we are all in the happy position of being retained by the firm and to be qualifying into our top choice departments. On 5 September 2014, we will no longer be trainees, but ‘Legal Assistants awaiting admission to the Law Society’ – soon to be fully fledged solicitors. What an exciting (if not daunting) prospect?!
Unusually, the majority of my intake is not qualifying into its final seat – in fact, a third of us (me included) are qualifying into the departments where we were sat during the second rotation. This is something which I had initially thought was unlikely. I was not alone in believing that third and fourth seats were the most significant in terms of your options for qualifying and, with a year’s worth of training behind you, being capable of making lasting impressions. How wrong I was! This demonstrates the importance of really giving your ‘all’ throughout your training – particularly as, in reality, your views, based on academic experience, on where you would like to qualify and the areas you will enjoy are likely to be do a complete 180 in practice. I seem to recall attending an interview for a vacation scheme placement at Michelmores in 2010, as a second year law student, and expressing my interest in family and property – quite far removed from my ultimate department, corporate.
I’m sure the next couple of months are going to fly by and before I know it, I’ll be packing up and moving (to my new desk across the floor). This is likely to be my last trainee blog, at least as a trainee – so it’s goodbye from me for now. Good luck to all prospective trainees over the next couple of months – and particularly to our vacation schemers who will be joining us in the next fortnight!
