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.

[quote Motherofking]@lentilsforever my partner will be supporting his child regardless of the relationship. This has nothing to do with this thread. I am currently in therapy however if my relationship ends then that has nothing to do with my goals . I will still go on to achieve the career I want to.[/quote]
It was more that given you describe yourself as resenting your partner and how horrid and bullying he is to you

Ypu wouldn’t want him funding your studies

But if you have taken out lots of student loans instead, then that’s a positive

Basically op
I feel for you

@lentilsforever no where did I say he funded my studies . I did that myself and with loans . I’ve been studying for years even before him. So this has nothing to do with him . His only contribution is looking after our child .

[quote Motherofking]@lentilsforever no where did I say he funded my studies . I did that myself and with loans . I’ve been studying for years even before him. So this has nothing to do with him . His only contribution is looking after our child .[/quote]
Good luck OP
All the best

Paralegal - sensible decision

@lentilsforever again commenting on things you have no idea on. I never said I’m going to be a paralegal long term. It’s only a way to gain qualifying work experience that will allow me to qualify as a lawyer . But you wouldn’t even know what I’m talking about . I don’t think you should be commenting on threads that you are clueless on. I appreciated the advice of those who work in law or knows someone who does as they were able to give me advice. You on the other hand have been utterly useless .

@lentilsforever The irony is that your telling me on how much money I wasted but what about you? You don’t need a degree to be an accountant but you went to get a history degree . I can also say money wasted on your history degree that your on even using . Hilarious

That your not using *

Oh good heavens OP!

Good luck!

I would suggest cilex as a good way to earn and qualify at the same time. It's well regarded in the kind of work you want to do.

There are adult level apprenticeships as well in local authority in house teams have you considered those? They're not brilliantly paid but there is an income, better chance of staying on at the end and not adding to your debt

I’m a solicitor and I totally get the point @lentilsforever is trying to make. So as someone working in the law I think you need to get pretty savvy about it and quickly. It boggles my mind that despite claiming to have some hard to get and impressive experience at magic circle firms you haven’t heard of most basic resources or seem to have a clue where to go to find things out. Most law schools, including BPP have departments and staff there ready and waiting to guide you through the process of seeking employment/work experience.

If you are successful in gaining a paralegal post I do hope you show a bit more self sufficiency otherwise you won’t last long that’s for sure.

I qualified the standard route (as in LLB / LPC / TC) as a single parent and borrowed all the money. It was hard but I managed it.

It's obviously hard work and I don't think the hours are child friendly but it IS do-able.

I should add that BPP lecturers are all former practising solicitors so they are an excellent source as far as insight into different law firms go.

@Rollaroundtheclock

I’m a solicitor and I totally get the point *@lentilsforever* is trying to make. So as someone working in the law I think you need to get pretty savvy about it and quickly. It boggles my mind that despite claiming to have some hard to get and impressive experience at magic circle firms you haven’t heard of most basic resources or seem to have a clue where to go to find things out. Most law schools, including BPP have departments and staff there ready and waiting to guide you through the process of seeking employment/work experience.

If you are successful in gaining a paralegal post I do hope you show a bit more self sufficiency otherwise you won’t last long that’s for sure.

Yes I have, I have done a lot of my own research. Don’t act like you knew every single detail about your profession before you entered . There’s a difference between reading things online and speaking to people who have more experience working there . So I have learnt a lot from this thread . I have not had time to sort out my career options with bpp as i was focused solely on passing the llm , raising my child and everything was in limbo due to covid. However now that is done I am in the process of trying to get advice from them. I only came to mumsnet to get advice from other mums who may have done the training contract or qualified in law with small children. I didn’t come to mumsnet as my only source of research .

@Rollaroundtheclock

I should add that BPP lecturers are all former practising solicitors so they are an excellent source as far as insight into different law firms go.

Exactly I’m surprised she hasn’t built up a relationship with tutors to ask for their thoughts and guidance

@Rollaroundtheclock

I meant to say… brace yourself! But too late

@Rollaroundtheclock yes I’ve spoken to some of them in the past but never asked about family friendly routes . What makes it difficult is that I have no seen them in over a year as everything moved online

Not*

I don’t want to go into too much detail but during my masters it was intense . The course was intense , my pregnancy was high risk and lockdown happened where everything moved online , I also was in hospital alone and had no extended family help with my son. I had to study alone with a newborn . Anyways the point I’m trying make is I was not in the frame of mine were I was thinking about things long term yet . In that moment I was really just trying to finish the llm and pass it under the circumstances I was under. Therefore as I have recently finished the course I have had more time to do more research and look into career routes in detail. This would have not been the case if my circumstances were different .

@lentilsforever honestly if OP can’t cope with this god help them in interviews/in the office/dealing with the competitiveness that comes with getting ahead in the early days of this particular career. I’m not saying it’s how things should be but you need a thick skin and a bit of oomph about you that’s for sure.

Frame of mind*

There are a lot of lawyers and non lawyers speaking about this on the assumption that everyone in law knows the routes open to qualifications, the firms they want to be at, the area they want to qualify into. That might be right for some people. I can guarantee that isn't right for everyone. Maybe having a child and lots of other responsibilities is a factor who know but it's so unnecessary to be so condescending to the OP.

I applied for one TC and got it. I didn't know any firms until I started working in one and came across others in my working life. I've no idea how magic circle firms work as I've never worked for one or been interested in working for one. I didn't know what chargeable hours were until I started in a firm and given that they effectively control your life, it's weird that they aren't explained at least on the LPC.

She came here for advice and most of what she's got has been attempts to challenge her qualifications and suggest she doesn't know enough about the process to convince you that she would be able to succeed in interviews.

It's such an odd nasty way of responding to someone. And the old 'here we go' comment when the OP decides to respond to the snarky posts just comes across as bullying.

@Rollaroundtheclock it’s not about having thick skin. I just needed helpful advice in this post . It’s clear that I needed some guidance which is why I wrote this post however the whole thread has turned into people belittling me over spelling mistakes or telling me what qualification I have and don’t have which is irrelevant.

@kirinm

There are a lot of lawyers and non lawyers speaking about this on the assumption that everyone in law knows the routes open to qualifications, the firms they want to be at, the area they want to qualify into. That might be right for some people. I can guarantee that isn't right for everyone. Maybe having a child and lots of other responsibilities is a factor who know but it's so unnecessary to be so condescending to the OP.

I applied for one TC and got it. I didn't know any firms until I started working in one and came across others in my working life. I've no idea how magic circle firms work as I've never worked for one or been interested in working for one. I didn't know what chargeable hours were until I started in a firm and given that they effectively control your life, it's weird that they aren't explained at least on the LPC.

She came here for advice and most of what she's got has been attempts to challenge her qualifications and suggest she doesn't know enough about the process to convince you that she would be able to succeed in interviews.

It's such an odd nasty way of responding to someone. And the old 'here we go' comment when the OP decides to respond to the snarky posts just comes across as bullying.

Thank you for understanding .

@lentilsforever

Basically op I feel for you

No you don't. You're enjoying having a pop at her in nearly all of your posts. What has her relationship got to do with you and also her decision to be a solicitor? You've searched her to try and belittle her in whatever way you can.

@kirinm I also want to add that a lot of schools don’t really educate students on every single thing. I know a lot of other law students who are not 100% certain on where they are going but have a vague idea. If this wasn’t the case then schools wouldn’t have career services support . Like I thought the only route to being a solicitor was the LPC as that was always taught to me throughout high school and collage . It wasn’t until I did further research I found out about CILEX.