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.

Honestly I think it will be tough. I was senior when I had my daughter and so had much more control over my own days but nonetheless found the baby and toddler years hard. As a lawyer the only thing you have to sell is your time so there is always long hours pressure.

Surely for the SQE route, firms will be recruiting for a much quicker start (see eg Kennedy’s here recruiting for 2022 kennedyslaw.com/careers-at-kennedys/early-careers/solicitors-qualifying-exam-sqe-training-programme/)? The gap between recruitment and TC was there for students to do the LPC, not just for a year or two out. Not an expert on SQE though so I may have misunderstood.

I think you need to be a bit clearer about the firms you are interested in. Saying not city but international, national and regional is a bit confusing.

Generally speaking, commercial law tends to involve long hours and this is particularly true for trainees who may have limited control and visibility of their workflow. That’s not to say you can’t do it- most parents work and many work long hours- but you need to be realistic. To maximise time with your DS you’ll need good support in place.

Training contracts are so difficult to obtain (especially if you need them to also pay for the LPC) that I think you need to think about getting an "in" into a firm first via the paralegal route. What is your degree like? (Apologies if you have already answered this, haven't read the whole thread)

I’d apply to good regional firms and try to do more private client work as that tends to give a better work/life balance. Corporate work is always going to be long hours if the firm is decent so you need to think about childcare if you had to work past 6 on a deal.

I’d also shy away from international firms. I worked for an US firm and always had to work late to fit in with the time difference as a lot of our clients were based in the US. I also had to be on calls early if dealing with the Far East or Australia. International firms tend to lead to international work.

@FallonCarringtonWannabe

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.

Yes agreed, but even in law there are plenty of lawyers with small kids who work FT... of course they're mostly men. A lot will depend on how far OP's partner will step up.

The area of law I found that gives the best work/life palace is securitisation (in the housing sector). I have never done it, but had colleagues who did and I was very jealous Don't do litigation (my specialism) if you want a good work/life balance

I think it would be a struggle, the TC more than the job. You are expected to put in a huge amount of time and effort to prove yourself in a competitive market. It's exhausting without kids in the mix. It's doable but you won't have much of a life or see your family too much.

I don’t mean to be harsh when I say this, but training contracts are hard to come by. I applied for 4 years before I finally got one. I have a friend who applied for 7. What is your CV like? How are your A Level grades? What university did you go to? That you have done vacation schemes works really really well in your favour.

I’m in a city international firm, and trainees who have the approach of logging off at 5/6pm don’t make a great impression, especially when everyone else is swamped and the trainee resource isn’t there. I would therefore focus on firms that market themselves as family friendly (eg generous parental leave). I would also make it clear at the beginning of each seat you have a child, so that they know there’s a reason you’re leaving rather than working late. However, it is probable that you will need to log back on in the evening to pick up where you left off.

It’s not at all impossible to be a trainee and a mum, but it will be demanding.

As others said, international and national firms will also be busy and demanding, so regional is probably where you should focus if you want a decent work life balance.

@BlackCatMum

I’d also shy away from international firms. I worked for an US firm and always had to work late to fit in with the time difference as a lot of our clients were based in the US. I also had to be on calls early if dealing with the Far East or Australia. International firms tend to lead to international work.

Definitely avoid US firms! Their culture is much more demanding.

Anyway unless you have a stellar degree from Oxbridge or equivalent it will be very difficult to get a training contract straight away without first getting some "in" into a firm, so do think about this

You mention having another child, but don’t mention a partner in your post. If you have one, they will need to step up - both re parenting and domestic duties - to allow you to focus on your work. It’s especially tough when training, as the pay is pretty bad. Once qualified, you might expect to outsource most of the cooking and cleaning to give you more time with your children.

I don’t know about regional firms, but it’s typical for larger firms to recruit heavily from placement schemes. So typically you’d be applying now for 2022 easter and summer schemes that may lead to a job in September 2024 (LPC starting September 2023). In theory there’s just about room for a baby, but you’d be doing Easter and summer schemes while pregnant. Applying direct to training contract (to firms who offer placement schemes, that is) is going to seriously limit your chances of success.

Every single time i get it wrong in a variety of different ways. Every. Single. Time.

"I" is usually a capital letter, and I thought a sentence was supposed to contain a verb, express a complete idea and make sense standing alone.

I rarely apply the same standards of grammar/language on here as in formal business writing, and a typo of missing a space is pretty easy.

My EH was a solicitor in an international law firm and for years he would work until 10pm every night plus weekends. When you are working with clients you can’t just turn your phone and emails off. He also had a lot of international travel to see clients. Hopefully firms are more understanding of environmental pressures and travel is more considered these days…
Everybody I knew who had a job such a solicitor or banker had a nanny…

Good luck though - it will be hard work but showing your children hard work isn’t a bad thing. I’m a teacher with a grown up daughter and she says that she’s really proud of me. This isn’t a dig at stay at home mums - I’ve done that too and sometimes it’s absolutely the right decision.

I am not a lawyer but a few friends who are. Two quit their jobs to be SAHMs as they didn’t feel they could have a good work life balance. Two others have carried on, they both have nannies and don’t really see their children in the week, just at weekends.

Also bear in mind that many smaller firms won't pay for the LPC

@XelaM Thank you i was not aware of that

@3WildOnes i am amusing these friends work at city firms ?

@Bumpsadaisie Yes that is also a route i am considering

@JumperandJacket Thank u , I have seen that post and have done an internship with the firm and intend to apply

This isn't helpful, but I'd like to say I think it's brilliant that you're having children early. Could you spend the next 5 years having your DC and being at home, then start your career in earnest when they're at school and you're 29/30? Would that work?

Op what do you intend to do between now and starting a training contract? People are usually applying the year before completion, have you applied for any?

The sqe is basically an apprenticeship and can be very low paid. I think you need to be clear on what you want to do, when you’re applying and what you intend to do in the meantime.

@AlbertBridge

This isn't helpful, but I'd like to say I think it's brilliant that you're having children early. Could you spend the next 5 years having your DC and being at home, then start your career in earnest when they're at school and you're 29/30? Would that work?

It’s highly unlikely she’d get a training contract.

@3WildOnes

I am not a lawyer but a few friends who are. Two quit their jobs to be SAHMs as they didn’t feel they could have a good work life balance. Two others have carried on, they both have nannies and don’t really see their children in the week, just at weekends.

I think this will be the case for a lot of full time working mums that are doing an intense job.

I actually agree with the pedantry. OP's writing style (punctuation and grammar) isn't very good. If you're going to be a lawyer, you HAVE to get that right. If you can't write accurately and coherently, clients simply won't trust you; if you're unable to grasp these basics, is your advice really thorough and correct? It may look like nit-picking, but if I receive CVs or training contract applications containing these sorts of errors they go in the bin.