City lawyers - I am about to become one of you. Please advise me!

Ask ask ask for work. Go round and knock on more senior lawyers' doors and say "is there anything I can help you with?" - go and see people rather than email them.

Good to hear, Chubfuddler.

Stella there is no reason why you shouldn't make partner just because you had ML very very early on in your career, particularly if you are done as far as babies are concerned. I am. Full steam ahead on career now.

I'm with chub here.. Had my first while on the gdl and second during tc. Took a yr mat leave, about to qualify and am being kept on. Will i make partner? Prob not. Have i committed career suicide? No. Do i feel for my colleagues in their early 30s hoping to make partner, not daring to get pg but worried about their bio clock? Yes.

I'm with chub here.. Had my first while on the gdl and second during tc. Took a yr mat leave, about to qualify and am being kept on. Will i make partner? Prob not. Have i committed career suicide? No. Do i feel for my colleagues in their early 30s hoping to make partner, not daring to get pg but worried about their bio clock? Yes.

I'm on the dark side, so I'd say always remember to pay your barrister! I'm saying that whilst chasing fees from 2010...

On a serious note, I used to work at one of the magic circle firms. I'd say do work for as many people as you can - I did some work responding to a capacity email, and ended up doing a talk on antitrust in the pharmaceutical industry (something I knew nothing about) with one of the top competition lawyers in the country. It opened my eyes to a whole new area of law I'd never considered. I totally agree with being nice to admin staff, reception, post room, cleaners - everyone really! Firstly you might need a favour someday, and secondly if you behave like a snob then chances are someone will see you and rightly conclude you have no people skills.

Take a notebook everywhere, work out what style documents are presented in (eg do partners always send out memos with headings in bold type, are client names italics?) - make your document look like your supervisors so they can just tweak it and send your work out as theirs. Smile lots even when you're exhausted.

Good luck (and if you hate it, come to the dark side..)

A friend of mine always had her passport ready and a change of clothes packed just in case. You do not want to miss out on trips because you are not ready. The advice on admin staff extends also to court staff and ushers in particular.

Do not be drawn into office politics. Say nothing about a colleague you are not prepared to say to their face. Do not discuss clients out of work - it will bite you on the ass - see recent news story about JK Rowling's ex solicitors.

I agree that the most important thing is that if you make a mistake, tell someone. It doesn't have to be your supervisor or the partner on the deal, any friendly mid/senior associate is enough to start with as then can then either suggest some solutions or come with you & hand hold.
If you're at a commercial firm, then accept that most of your seats and where you qualify are likely to be in commercial departments. Yes, they may have a family dept or an employment dept but everyone will be after that seat (partly because its perceived to be easy; partly because some will have woken up to the fact that they've taken the job due to the salary on offer not due to the area of law they're interested in).
Re pregnancy, I think you either need to do it immediately upon qualification or a few years down the line. If you do it immediately upon qualification, then its less obvious than if you're 1yr PQE as the dept aren't used to having you there or you working all hours so, when you get back and insist on having to leave every Wednesday at 5pm to do pick up, it may be more acceptable than someone trying to change what people are used to them doing. Also, read the maternity policy carefully. Remember that your contract actually terminates at the end of your TC and you then sign another one as an NQ, even if staying on at the same firm. And for second pregnancies, they may expect you to come back for X amount of time before going back again.
Good luck!
It can be a fantastic career but its very hard work at times and juggling it with children is challenging (to say the least!).

Also always ask what the deadline is and if you can't meet it, let your supervisor know asap.

Take responsibility for what you have been asked to do and follow up if you get no response from your supervisor.

Attention to detail is everything. Check everything you do once for sense and once for typos.

Find out if trainees are expected to sub for unexpected taxi fares if e.g. returning from an external meeting with a partner/senior associate. Happened all the time at my old firm (Magic Circle).

Also find out exactly what information and library resources your firm offers, whether that's PSLs, access to Practical Law Company or whatever and make sure you know how to use them appropriately and effectively.

Approx salaries here

rollonfriday.com/InsideInfo/CityFirms/tabid/68/Default.aspx

Me too, lowra It's so far removed from my bog standard job and sounds so exciting/terrifying.

I'm addicted to this thread

What salary would a newly qualified city lawyer earn then?

YY to all the above, especially the client secondment.

Networking is v important - a partner on your side will get you everything. Seats and NQ jobs ARE done "off market" despite what grad rec claim. If a partner doesn't like you then don't even think if qualifying in his team, as you'll never get good work.

Learn how to do certain things brilliantly - IT (like formatting word docs and basics like finding lost documents that didn't get saved properly) can make you into a hero when it's 1am and there are no secretaries around. (Night typists can type but IME didn't have a clue about the rest). If you're working late withi a group on a big deal and want to do something, offer to organise food/drinks.

From what I saw, no-one below senior associate survived mat leave. Not by being forced, but through choice, as building a city career isn't compatible with a young family. Go, do the best you can and if you can bare it, stick it out till 2-3 years PQE. That way you'll get the good grounding and training, and really get to see what sort of a career you want. The world is hen your oyster!

Don't believe all the doom and gloom about families. I had my first whilst doing my LPC and my second at one year PQE. My career is fine.

Sorry, just remembered something else. My boss (who trained with Camerons then went to Freshfields) said (when talking about trainees' attitudes) that if you went to a partner with a question, you were expected to have done some reading, formulated some views and found yourself stuck - not to approach them and ask them to sort it out for you.

Another boss calls it the "herewith pile of crap" approach - i.e. just blurt out a load of information and hope someone else will make sense of it - a lot of clients are keen on this approach :)

I find the same thing when trainees come to me. They've been asked to do some research and their research basically consists of asking me It's incredibly irritating.

I've spent the last 8 years at a magic circle firm (qualified abroad prior to that). Am not returning after my second mat leave (whole other story and more related to DC health issues).

I second everyone else's advice - and would add the really basic advice to take a pen and notepad with you everywhere, and when given instructions, even if they seem really simple, write everything down.

As a superviser I really don't mind questions but I do mind if someone has not taken notes (even when I've suggested they jot a few things down) and then later have ended up in a real muddle because they can't remember all the details.

Re mat leave - I think the key thing is to think about the timing of your second child if you want more than one. Most lawyers at my shop take 6 months but some take a year. The ones on partnership track would probably take no more than 6 months. What took me by surprise was that once I returned after 9 months after ds1 everyone assumed I would disappear at any moment on mat leave again. As it was I had several losses and ended up being back for three years before I went off again.

Good luck!

If you're out of your depth, speak to your supervising associate asap.

Get as much experience as you can. If you make mistakes, own up to them, learn from them and move on - dont try to hide them under the carpet. Show willing, be charming to all, work hard, put in the hours and look hard at what the 5 year associates in that department are doing - are they happy, etc - as that is what you will ultimately be.

IME, lawyers who get pregnant before 3 years PQE tend to hand in their resignation instead of coming back. You can take up to a year but you will need to use your keep in touch days and make sure you keep up to date with changes in your area of law - to be honest its easier to come back earlier rather than later. Lots of law firms have penalties for not coming back where you have to repay part of the maternity package you received - one to remember. Also, think carefully about the area of law you want to qualify into - some are more family friendly (in terms of flexible working) than others.

x-post with HandMini :)

I am nearly 7 PQE and pregnant. My boss already wants to know when I'm coming back. It's all too easy to give up if you're less qualified.

Ooh almost forgot. Do not speak in meetings with clients unless it is clear you are expected to! Had trainees pipe ip unexpectedly and could cheerfully have killed them.

Do the crappy work and the good work will also come your way. Definitely no complaining about the crappy work - a sunny attitude to the person who is delegating you the work often results in more work. No matter what they say you are always competing with the other solicitors for work...

Oh - and if you make a mistake - tell someone ASAP. Do not try to fix it or hide it. Everyone can make a mistake but how you deal with it can make a real difference

^^ This. And all the above.

Not in a City firm, but am a lawyer. Everyone (repeat EVERYONE) makes a mistake as a trainee that will make your bowels turn to water and convince you that you're going to get the sack. It's almost never as bad as you think. If you own up (particularly if you can have already worked out how to try and fix it) you will be remembered as someone who is mature enough to admit when they're wrong.

As to Mat Leave, it very much depends on the firm. I would watch and see what other female lawyers do. I've seen it done both ways. Despite all the legal protection, the "might as well resign" attitude does exist and you can't fight it. If you want to start a family early, try to find an area where that might be possible - no idea where, but probably not corporate! Or look for a firm with a good track record in that regard.

I would add to the "not pregnant during TC" not pregnant before about 4 PQE if you can help it. At that stage, you're properly useful to them. Much before that and (in some firms) you risk being written off as a baby machine.

Choose your speciality wisely. You will see from partner genders in different departments that some (tax, employment, ACT) are slightly more hours/family friendly than others (corporate, finance)