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.

I didn't know about ILEX until I was in a law firm and there were legal executives there.

I also want to add that the experience and vac schemes I did were pre baby and before my masters . I took a year off after my degree and did a few random jobs . So I was aware of the long hours and didn’t mind them. But since having a baby things have changed and I wouldn’t even apply for positions at the same firms where I did experience or vac schemes at because I’m a mother now so things have changed . So the aim of this post wasn’t me asking mumsnet for careers advice I could have asked my uni, it was asking for career advice as it relates to being a mum as well.

@kirinm

I didn't know about ILEX until I was in a law firm and there were legal executives there.

Atleats you understand my point . After I found out about CILEX I was already doing my llm but if I knew prior I could have just done that . I had never heard about it even through my law school. It was through independent research !

@Motherofking, have you looked at the Government Legal Department at all? (I know it's been mentioned by pp.) It could be a really good option for you in terms of getting quality work and reasonable hours. The pay is not bad and the pension is (or was when I last looked) excellent. They would fund the LPC.

www.gov.uk/guidance/government-legal-service-gls-legal-trainee-scheme-how-to-apply

@JumperandJacket yes thanks . I applied two years ago but was not successful but I will try again. I had actually forgotten about that as an option so I’m happy it’s been brought up on here.

Gosh this thread has absolutely turned nasty. I’m all for people being direct and honest with OP so she knows what she’s going into, but to belittle and criticise everything she says. It’s actually disgusting.

I funded the GDL and LPC myself. I didn’t have a TC, nor did anyone in my class. About a third of my class ended up getting TCs. Some got them quickly, some applied for years and years.

I ended up qualifying in an area I didn’t even consider until I was forced to do a seat in it and loved it. I was promoted twice in a space of 4 years and am really good at what I do.

Did I have any idea of what I was doing when I finished the GDL? Hell no. I just knew I wanted to be a lawyer and working in the city sounded sexy.

It really is normal to figure it out as you go along. That is of course the point of doing seats during your TC. It’s all a learning experience and OP will learn on her own.

For now, her priority is the route she wants to take and the sort of firm she should apply to. This thread has been massively derailed by posters being really pedantic about what she actually studied (it was obvious from early on she did the GDL topped up to a masters!) as well as using her lack of knowledge of law firms against her. Who honestly knew all this detail when still studying…?

@lentilsforever

Everyone I know has their training contracts lined up whilst finishing up studying

I didn't and nor did most of the paralegals I worked with. Maybe, just maybe, your second hand experience doesn't represent the industry as a whole. WHO KNEW.

OP, I think you've been given a bit of a hard time on here too. I have no experience of Law, but I had my DS relatively young (23) too, at the start of my career. In hindsight, I actually think this can be a good thing- but I would personally advise you, having already had a DC, to consider working in a more family friendly career. My DM was a teacher, for example, and it worked well with school holidays etc. There was also more scope to go part time if necessary. My chosen field was not family friendly, and as a result, my career never really went anywhere as you can't, imho, always have it all. (I accept though that there may have been other reasons.)
I would just say don't set yourself up to fail. If you know that very long hours will be needed in a particular job, but you can't, or don't want to, commit to that (for very good reason I would say), go for something which is more suitable, and which you can really succeed in.

I would personally advise you, having already had a DC, to consider working in a more family friendly career

Completely agree with this, unless you can teach law, work for the GDL as a couple of pp's have suggested or qualify and then go into a PSL role early on where the hours are more regular and you can work from home easily.

@PRsecrets thanks . One good thing from some of the comments on this thread is that is has shown me the misconception i had. So it’s clear that regardless of whichever firm I chose there is a potential of working long hours especially as a junior lawyer . I will use this information wisely when applying to firms

@GrasssInPocket

So there are no dyslexic (for example) lawyers anywhere?

In view of the amount of reading and drafting involved, which - for someone with dyslexia - would be a daily chore, I think this would be an unlikely choice of career. Happy to be proven wrong, but I say this as the parent of a severely dyslexic DC. Engineering, on the other hand, ...

Interestingly I have an ex-colleague who is a very well regarded lawyer in big city firm and she is dyslexic. I will admit I was also surprised and commented to my husband about it. But dyslexia means a lot more than not being able to spell properly and if your mind works differently to most, you will bring skills to the workplace that others won't.

@Mydogdoesntlisten

OP, I think you've been given a bit of a hard time on here too. I have no experience of Law, but I had my DS relatively young (23) too, at the start of my career. In hindsight, I actually think this can be a good thing- but I would personally advise you, having already had a DC, to consider working in a more family friendly career. My DM was a teacher, for example, and it worked well with school holidays etc. There was also more scope to go part time if necessary. My chosen field was not family friendly, and as a result, my career never really went anywhere as you can't, imho, always have it all. (I accept though that there may have been other reasons.) I would just say don't set yourself up to fail. If you know that very long hours will be needed in a particular job, but you can't, or don't want to, commit to that (for very good reason I would say), go for something which is more suitable, and which you can really succeed in.

Thank u very helpful . I will have to think about it clearly before making any decisions

@GrasssInPocket I also think as a parent of a dyslexic child you shouldn’t put your child into a box and assume they won’t be able to achieve certain careers due to the job tasks . Everyone’s mind is different even if they are dyslexic

[quote Motherofking]@GrasssInPocket I also think as a parent of a dyslexic child you shouldn’t put your child into a box and assume they won’t be able to achieve certain careers due to the job tasks . Everyone’s mind is different even if they are dyslexic[/quote]
I know that and I certainly haven't put her in a "box" - I also know that she masks her difficulties extremely well, so much so that she got into a grammar school and managed just fine for the first couple of years ...we didn't even discover she was dyslexic until shortly before her GCSEs. She is currently involved in a marketing role that relies heavily on promotion via social media, but her posts give very little indication of her dyslexia because she checks them all very carefully before submitting them. But the thought of pursuing a career that depends on being able to read and write large quantities to a high standard day in, day out is anathema to her. I'm sure that if she really wanted to do it, she could, and would find ways to get around the various problems - just as she has all her life. But she's far happier making the most of the things she's good at, all of which involve creativity and problem-solving.

@GrasssInPocket that sounds great

Also does anyone know how to delete old posts on here ? I’m new here so I don’t know how to

@Motherofking

Also does anyone know how to delete old posts on here ? I’m new here so I don’t know how to

All you can do is use the report button on the post and ask Mumsnet if they will delete it for you.

@Motherofking

Also does anyone know how to delete old posts on here ? I’m new here so I don’t know how to

You'd need to ask mumsnet. Just report whatever post you want to be deleted.

There’s law firms and there’s law firms. London magic circle that need top academics from certain Unis and require long hours.
In the regions at smaller firms norm is to be a paralegal and fund own lpc and hope you are offered a training contract a few years down line. I know people who have been plugging away for years.
If you don’t want long hours then a smaller firm or local authority may suit. Obviously money isn’t in same league but it’s what a lot do.

You should have waited till you had completed your training and then had a child. Especially as you are so young. It will be hard work whatever you do now.

You can also change your username in Settings before starting a thread if you don't want people to recognise you from previous threads. If that's why you're asking about deleting posts.

I have read some of your previous threads at the time you posted them (not by searching you). I don't think people are raising your wider circumstances to judge or criticise you, but out of concern for you. I know I felt concerned reading about some of what's been going on for you.

@Viviennemary

You should have waited till you had completed your training and then had a child. Especially as you are so young. It will be hard work whatever you do now.

Well that was the goal but things happen. Either way I’m very blessed. I’ll just have to find a way to make it work and make a few sacrifices

@wewereliars

OP people who want to practice employment law do not talk about working in " global law firms" and why on earth would they? Employment law is different in every country.

"Global" law firms are covering corporate, banking, finance, international transactions, shipping etc which span jurisdictions.

Global law firms do cover employment law but almost exclusively for employer side. They represent multinational corporations looking to have one firm manage their employment advice across multiple jurisdictions.

It's big business but you're very much not supporting the little man!

@ftw163532 okay thank u I wasn’t aware I could do that.