Training as a solicitor / working full time as a mum

[Motherofking]

I have just completed my Masters in Law, I have done a few vacations schemes and opens days and i am planning to apply for training contracts. I have a 1 and a half year old so no plans to look for training contracts in city law firms , Just international law firms, national and regional firms which offer a better life work balance. Can someone give me tips on how i can manage a full time job and be a full time mum . I will put my son in nursery but i want us to spend alot of time together, i dont want to spend the only hours i have at home cleaning or cooking id rather spend it with him ?

And another question, alot of training contracts give you the job two / three years in advance, For example if i get the job in 2022 my start date will be 2024 or 2025. Would it be a bad idea to get pregnant and have a baby within that gap. I really want another baby especially because once i start my career i dont want to have any more babies. I just want to keep working until i am established enough within my career without any breaks or interruptions.

Firstly, ‘alot’ isn't a word.

I think it depends how old you are already and how much time you actually have to put off having a second child.

Also, in the area you want to work, is there any evidence of age discrimination when employing new starters?

I think I’d also be tempted to time the next child for the gap. But you need to remember that you will need reliable childcare. Have you looked into that?

*Firstly, ‘alot’ isn't a word.
*

People like this need to wind their necks in!

@FallonCarringtonWannabe I am currently 24. Yes I briefly looked into child care I do have family that could help and also have a childminder that I've used before and also nursery but I will need to look into how much overall childcare would cost with an extra child

@HotPeppersauce2

@HotPeppasauce2

*Firstly, ‘alot’ isn't a word. *

People like this need to wind their necks in!

i think the same about people who contribute nothing to a thread.

Op is training in law. It is a common mistake and easy to correct when you know. Personally I cannot for the life of me spell calendar. Every single time i get it wrong in a variety of different ways. Every. Single. Time.

Are you planning on going down the SQE or traditional training contract route? If the latter, have you done the LPC? (It’s not clear if that was the masters you referred to).

Being a trainee with a young child will be challenging. With two even more so. Trainees are expected (in large firms even outside of London which your post suggests you are targeting) to be flexible and work long hours. Reliable childcare will be essential.

Can you and your partner not just share the work, cleaning etc. so you get time at home with he kids? Or with two incomes you could probably afford a cleaner for a few hours a week to free up more time for family?

[quote Motherofking]@FallonCarringtonWannabe I am currently 24. Yes I briefly looked into child care I do have family that could help and also have a childminder that I've used before and also nursery but I will need to look into how much overall childcare would cost with an extra child[/quote]
Hmm so in theory you have time and choices. You're so young Id personally focus on career but understand the thinking changes as you already have a child.

Sort out the childcare options. Not arrange it obviously, but seriously look at all the options in your area that arent family. Leave family options for emergency late nights or when you simply cannot cover when all other options are exhausted. Family childcare might be free but you do pay

Do you have a partner and what will their contributions to family life be as it stands now?

Have you don't the LPC or are you trying for an SQE place? This will make a difference I think-and pretty much all the advice you will get here will be about post LPC traditional TCS.
I think firstly you need to decide what kind of firm you want and what kind of work you're interested in. It will be tough doing a TC with a young child. I was a single mum and newly qualified and that was really hard to organise. Generally a big firm will expect you to work hours outside traditional nursery hours and that would be tough. I think you need to be realistic and if you are set on this course you need to recognise that it will likely be a period where you dont spend a lot of time with your child.

Lots of people work FT with kids. My DH and I both work FT with two kids, however when they were pre-school we both dropped to 4 days/wk in order to spend more time with them.

If your work will be important for the next few years, would your partner be willing to go PT to pick up more of the childcare?

Similarly, if you got pregnant again, you could consider using parental leave and your partner could do a portion of the mat leave?

@HotPeppasauce2

*Firstly, ‘alot’ isn't a word. *

People like this need to wind their necks in!

Agreed. I always find such pedantry so so rude.

It depends which firms you mean, but at most firms that describe themselves as "international" or "national" (which are usually firms that have several offices across the UK) you will not be working a 9-5 day. The hours will be much longer.

Your hours are largely dictated by clients' hours and in almost any transactional or commercial area, clients will be on tight timetables. If you have a city law firm on the other side then you will be working city hours even if you're not working for a city firm yourself. In litigation, too, you're at the mercy of court deadlines.

I'm 5 years PQE at an "international" firm that has a reputation for providing a good work/life balance as far as law firms go. I tend to work from 8.30 til 5.30, stop to have dinner with my toddler DS and put him to bed, then log on again for an hour or two once he's asleep. If I have a client call during the dinner/bed window then I have to do that. I work 4 days a week but often end up dealing with emails on my day off, normally while DS naps.

As a trainee you will almost certainly have less control over your time than this and it depends what seats you do. In a corporate seat for example you can expect at least a few late nighters (as in working well past midnight).

It is definitely possible to juggle commercial law and parenting, but if you go in aiming to be both a full time mum and having a full time job, you'll be frustrated I think.

I am looking to go down the SQE route. So likely be working 4 days a week and studying one day if offered a place. If i dont not secure a firm that can offer me this then i have considered other routes such as CILEX. I have completed masters in law

@89redballoons thank you for being realistic.

@LannieDuck I could mention this to him as an option.

Lots of people work FT with kids. My DH and I both work FT with two kids, however when they were pre-school we both dropped to 4 days/wk in order to spend more time with them
Not all industries are the same. Full-time can mean very different hours indeed.

@BellsaRinging Thanks i understand . That is why i am not applying for big firms, and will consider taking other legal routes if this one will not allow me to be a present mother . I guess i just want the chance to spend weekends and evenings with my son

My post doesn't seem to have posted OP but I would agree with PP that you wouldn't likely be 9-5. It is much more likely you'll need wraparound care due to hours and you'll not be spending lots of time together as you seem to want. A smaller high street firm or some in-house options may give you that (though depends where inhouse). I wouldn't add to it with another child yet when you are so young so hopefully have time on your side. When you are more senior things should get easier and a bit more flexible

@FallonCarringtonWannabe Yes thats why i dont want to rely fully on family becuase they could be unrealible. But yes my partner lives with us so will be providing financially

I'm a Solicitor and a single mum (had my daughter at 24 when I was still a Trainee). I have been working in the City for over a decade and made partner at two City firms. Can definitely be done, but I have spent a fortune on childcare over the years.

Nowadays it's very difficult to get a training contract without first working as a paralegal for a few years. It can be done, but training contracts are like gold dust.

One option might be to secure a training contract then if/when you get pregnant, ask them to defer it a year. I’m sure most companies would far rather that you start a year later, than with a baby.

My suggestion would actually be to either have your second child get to at least age 1-3 before you start the TC, or to train at somewhere very small and local then try to move up when kids are older.

I don’t think you have to worry about age discrimination in law, it’s one of the few jobs where everyone is seen as young until they’re about forty!

@Newmumatlast yes i would not mind a high street firm or a smaller firm , but they dont offer the SQE training route . So in theory if i get offered a training contract at a larger firm that pays for the SQE route i will take it and after the two years once i qualify if it feel like i cannot balance work / motherhood i will get a job at a high street firm

I did my training contract and worked full time. I also did my LPC part time whilst working full time. I needed wrap around childcare to manage it. I was fortunately in a firm where I'd be finished by 6pm but with that you'd still barely see your child.

I didn't qualify until I was late 20s so I don't think at your age there is no reason why you can't push qualification back a year or two so you get to spend time with your child.

I don't think law works particularly well with family life. At least in my experience.

@Motherofking Actually I found bigger firms treat their trainees better than the small High Street ones. It also very much depends on the seats you choose to do

Have you thought about training within government - eg a local authority or the Government Legal Department?

They are flexible employers and hours are reasonable. You won't earn the £££ you would earn in a large firm though.