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’m not sure the ops typos or grammar is really the major issue here to be fair.

@lentilsforever

Op

Why did you do a masters in law?

BPP say it is most appropriate for those

* Our Master of Laws (LLM) offers a unique experience and education for professionals needing highly relevant expertise in key areas of law, along with practice of particular relevance to the modern financial and business world.*

Ie those already practising and looking to specialise

Yes this is confusing me too. The op appears confused as to what it is, it is not the gdl to masters. Doing rhe gdl would have been the natural route to take,

I’m a senior lawyer in a city law firm. I was privately educated as well. My online and phone messages do not reflect how I speak or write in real life, so posters are focussing on the wrong thing.

I also agree with Bluntness. It’s so so hard to get a TC. I funded the GDL and LPC myself, and it took years and years of applying before I got one. It is so so competitive out there. That’s not to say you’re incapable OP, but you just need to be realistic about your chances of getting one when you didn’t go to a Russell Group university and have a C grade at A-Level.

Regional firms are your best bet, as is working as a paralegal in those firms in the hope they are impressed by your work and offer you a TC.

That said, don’t be put off by applying to the larger firms, but don’t get your hopes up.

I think OP’s comments about the GDL are a red herring as she misunderstood somebody suggesting she consider the GLD.

@MurielSpriggs and @Lemonsyellow I know how to write . I have secured vacation schemes and jobs in the past. I got an A in English GCSE and got a distinction in my masters. I would not have achieved this if i did not know how to write . I have explained already that i am busy with my toddler and doing multiple at once whilst reading this thread. Mumsnet is not a job application.

If you really want to be a lawyer and an active parent, I'd strongly suggest doing CILEX and going to work for a local authority legal department. Many of them will give flexibility and decent parental leave packages etc, and are more willing to give legal execs good case work.

@JumperandJacket again, I am running a few errands and busy with my toddler whilst reading this post so i am distracted. I have explained this already

@PiglingBlonde Thank you. I will look into the Cilex route as an option .

@GraceandFrankie Thank you i appreciate your opinion. I will look into that option

?? I’m not criticising you, OP. Just explaining to PP why the subject of GDL came up.

@Bluntness100 The GDL does not offer funding so i chose the LLM as i was able to get funding

@CampagVelocet

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.

I'm a lawyer and I don't agree. Mainly because this is a social forum so more informal type is to be expected. But also because it isn't actually that helpful to OP's main problem. Also when in busy practice sometimes people do miss the odd spelling and unless it is in an important document like a contract, and provided their meaning is understood, it isn't a bar to success. I do take your point with applications and important documents but I doubt OP is taking care to read and re read her posts on here in the same way. I am certainly not treating it the same as advice. I'm not billing it for a start

@CampagVelocet By masters i am talking about the LLM. As i mentioned being pregnant during the course changed my plans. There are many training contracts i would have applied for pre baby that i wont even consider now . Since having a child i have had to do more research on work life balance where as before this was not an issue. This is why i am writing this post to gain more information

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

It would be very difficult, too difficult. It’s not just a matter of using a spellcheck to fix any written mistakes. It’s that the whole volume of reading would be too much - it would take too long, and you would be too slow. I know a highly qualified professional - not a lawyer - with a degree from Oxford, who was unable to take up some jobs because she couldn’t read the hundreds of pages of complex information fast enough for her to appear as an expert in court, for example.

@Newmumatlast Thank you. I agree

[quote 3WildOnes]@HotPeppasauce2 to an extent but from my observations my lawyer friends seem to work longer hours than the accountants, doctors… and have fewer options to work part time.
She also specifically states she wants to see a lot of her children. I’m not sure law is compatible with that. I do have one friend who works part time working with asylum seekers but it is rubbish pay and she still needs a nanny as not 9-5, I think her nanny costs more than she earns but she loves her job and has a very high earning husband.[/quote]
Sorry I was not clear. I was agreeing with you but I was just saying many full time jobs such as law and nursing (wards) is really demanding if you a single parent juggling everything. So yes law definitely would be intense.

[quote Motherofking]@Bluntness100 The GDL does not offer funding so i chose the LLM as i was able to get funding[/quote]
Ah ok that makes sense. But you understand that it’s not the “gdl to masters” right?

As said, I think you need to spend some time researching your options. Applying for paralegal jobs is a great first step in, you can then also maybe look to see if you want to self fund the gdl for part time study as you work.

Someone will correct here but I don’t think you’re able to do the lpc if you’ve only done the llm, as it is not a qualifying course, you still need to do the gdl. This would impact your ability to apply for training contracts.

Let's be honest. The posters that have picked upon OPS grammar are the ones that usually do it anyway regardless of OPS career choice.

It's not about that because I often see that type of bitchy/hierarchy comment on MN. Its quite belittling!

Ah ha, just spotted that OP’s first degree was in history, hence the GDL questions.

How did you get accepted onto the LLM without a law degree or equivalent?

@NotPersephone

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

I actually have a dyslexic SQE candidate at the moment. He got a first in law at university but the volume of reading and proofreading required in practice is undeniably harder on him and takes too long. (Clients pay by the hour).

Generally I suspect it’s not the right career - in the same way people afraid of heights don’t become window cleaners.

I think this is overly harsh. I know plenty of fantastic lawyers with dyslexia. Similarly with other additional needs others might at first blush say isnt suited to law - adhd, autism/aspergers and so on. Undeniably makes some things tougher but doesnt make it the wrong career choice

@wewereliars I am a dyslexic barrister. I know other barristers with dyslexic, other additional needs and disabilities. Massive push by the Bar Council for the Bar to become more diverse and inclusive.

Even with various technologies, I still will make mistakes in written work from time to time. The solicitors who instruct me do not mind - I am sure I would not be instructed by those who was really important for.

All of us have strengths and weaknesses. One of my friends is autistic. His english is perfect. His attention to detail is phenomenal. He is a brilliant commercial barrister. He scraped through Criminal Advocacy at Bar school, could just not get his head round it. He knew he was always going to go into an area which required high levels of analytic skills. I always knew I would go into an area with higher levels of advocacy and probably less paperwork.

OP on the children front, I spend a fortune on childcare. I have always had a Nanny because of the irregularity of my hours. I am fortunate to be in an area where I earn enough money to cover this (although in the early years there was no spare money).

@HotPeppasauce2

*Firstly, ‘alot’ isn't a word. *

People like this need to wind their necks in!

She wants to be a solicitor- written communication is important!

@JumperandJacket

How did you get accepted onto the LLM without a law degree or equivalent?

Yes I am also unsure about this. BPP says you require these qualifications to study it, and the op doesn’t seem to meet any of the criteria.

Law degree (including criminology and criminal justice studies)
(minimum 2.2); or
A degree with some legal/regulatory content and relevance to the
programme (minimum 2.2); or
Non-law degree (minimum 2.2) and a pass in the GDL/PDGL or CPE; or
Non-law degree (minimum 2.2) and appropriate/relevant professional
experience; or
Non-graduates with appropriate professional experience will also be
considered

@PiglingBlonde

If you really want to be a lawyer and an active parent, I'd strongly suggest doing CILEX and going to work for a local authority legal department. Many of them will give flexibility and decent parental leave packages etc, and are more willing to give legal execs good case work.

This is good advice in my experience.