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• Trainee solicitor: Sophie

Trainee solicitor: Sophie

This Case Study belongs to Commercial solicitor.

Sophie earned a degree in law from the University of Bristol in 2007. She pursued the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at the College of Law, London in 2008. She is now in the second year of a training contract with a large corporate law firm in London.

I knew since secondary school that I wanted to work in business. My parents run their own company, which I helped out with during school holidays. While I loved finding out more about what made the business work, I didn’t want the burdens of owning a small company myself. I also wanted a solid set of qualifications. I looked into accountancy at first and did a work experience placement at a major business services firm. However, I found it a bit dry and wanted to be able to use words more.

I chose a law degree even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a lawyer. I followed advice from my sixth form tutor who said a law degree would be well regarded by employers even if I decided not to follow a legal career. However, during the course, I found myself really enjoying the subject, and I did work experience with a small high street firm. By then, I knew I wanted to work in a commercial or corporate practice area with a larger firm. Following some open days and visiting a law careers fair, I applied to several vacation schemes with corporate firms. My current firm offered me a place. I had a fantastic two weeks, at the end of which they interviewed me for, and offered me, a training contract.

It took me a while to realise just how different real practice is from the law you study on a law course. Knowing about the client and their business sector is just as important as any law you know - although your supervisor will soon pick up on any deficiencies in your legal knowledge!

I did my first seat in insurance, where there is a lot of litigation. This is not really where I want to work once I qualify. I also did work in commercial property, which is a major practice area for the firm. I am now in banking. While it is a rough time to be in this sector following the onset of the credit crunch and the recession, this also makes it fascinating. There is much more emphasis these days on client service. We have to offer a lot more for the money and justify all costs to some clients, who would have waived our invoices through far more easily in earlier times.

The hours can be long with this work, but it usually means you are working on something big and exciting. I wouldn’t want to sacrifice it for an easier life. Seeing some corporate areas trying to keep their revenues strong, I think they would give anything to be overworked again.

You also have to be realistic about doing what is needed for the team and the client. I have spent hours bundling documents and performing due diligence on a few occasions. It is essential to make an effort to build a positive relationship with your supervisor and be clear about what you want to get out of each seat. Your efforts should be appreciated, and you should get more interesting work once you have proved yourself.

With about 75 trainees in the firm at any one time, there is a good feeling of camaraderie. I have others to provide moral support and people to have a drink with after work. We also have a mentor - someone who follows you throughout your training contract. They have a longer term view of trainee development than each supervisor.

For the future, I would like to qualify into one of the corporate areas - assuming things look brighter in a year or so. From there, I am not sure. One of the things I like about this career is that there are quite a few options once I have gained post-qualification experience.

Case Study sourced by Tim Bradshaw of College of Law, 23 October 2009.