So you finally acquired that elusive Training Contract…
You’ve been out and bought yourself a new suit; your shoes are shiny and your ‘terribly fashionable’ student beard has been shaven off.
You’ve even overcome that panic attack that set in when you realised that lazing in bed and watching 4OD is no longer going to be the extent of your plans for the afternoon.
Then when walking into the HQ of a leading law firm about to begin full time work it dawns…. no one has actually ever told you what being a trainee is all about.
Well I have just concluded my first year as a trainee, and what can I say.
The biggest difference between education and work is the focus switches from ‘book law’ to ‘practical law’, and more importantly how the law interacts with real commercial situations.
You may be surprised to learn that not everyone is as interested as you in the obiter opinion of Lord Denning in what has become your favourite House of Lords Judgment. Clients are instead more concerned about the practicalities of our legal system, and our job is not to bore them with the ‘letter of the law’ but to assist them in weaving their way through a myriad of regulations and Judgments etc. to allow them to achieve their particular objective.
This often involves weighing up the available options with the client and considering the advantages and disadvantages to a client of a particular course of action.
Here at Michelmores trainees are supposed to be heard and not just seen and thus your opinion on these decisions will be sought and valued. Thankfully, however, you will not be making the decisions on your own just yet. There is a huge support network available and I know how terribly cliché it sounds but, there really is an ‘open door’ policy across all levels of the firm (well actually it’s an open plan office but you know what I mean).
This is what has made my time here so enjoyable, and meant that every day I feel I am becoming more and more ready for the training wheels to be taken off, and for life as a qualified solicitor to begin.
For more information on working at Michelmores as a trainee please do leave a comment below or alternatively please contact our HR department on careers@michelmores.com, who would be happy to answer any queries.