Solicitor Careers Advice

[friedfishandplantain]

Just wondering if there are any city/ex-city lawyers on here.

I'm due to start a training contract with a well known American law firm in London. It specialises in financial work. Usual stuff like PE, MA, Regulatory, Disputes work too. I don't have any lawyers in the family as I've come from a state comp in Blackpool via a law degree from Cambridge. So I am asking on here.

I already know that it's very long hours and very hard work, I know that. That's what I signed up for. But looking ahead, what areas of work offer good exit options? I look at the lives that some of the more senior women at my future firm, and I'm not sure I want that from my life.

Which areas of law would enable good exit options to working in-house? or in a different field perhaps. Which private practice areas have better hours than others? I'm trying to find my niche so I can pick training contract seats.

Thank you so much.

Renewables
commercial contracts
financial services

seem to have a good amount of in house options when I am looking around (I’m not in any of those fields, I’m in employment)

Regulatory, employment/pensions. Real Estate if they have it. Not m&A, banking, disputes. But it is more important to work out what interests you rather than plan an exit before you even start.

@friedfishandplantain OP are you a recent Cambridge graduate or maybe even current student? Ask in your alumni circles.

I’m not sure this is for you

Great, thanks for the encouragement @WednesdaysPlaits

@Delphigirl Thank you, yes definitely. I know two seats that I’m interested in, just thinking of what other options might be a good idea to try and do if possible

@eggsbenedict23 good idea

@TooOldForThisNonsense thank you

Ignore @WednesdaysPlaits

I'm an in house lawyer. You need a good base in commercial contracts, and nouse.

We do a bit of everything. Aa long as you've got the basics and are willing to roll your sleeves up you will be able to transition to in house work.

Well done on the TC. Commercial
contracts, data protection. You might love it! It’s hard work but fun too. Try to get a client secondment- that helps you experience the other side and opens options. Can be possible while training but more
likely as a 1/2 PQE.

Corporate had the worst and employment had the best working hours. I found property extremely boring and repetitive but you might not do that in a US law firm. Try to get an international or client secondment for your third or fourth seat. As PPs said, you need great commercial contracts experience. We are also employing more lawyers with warranty and indemnity insurance experience.

Alternatives to going in house would be moving into corporate management as head of operations or similar, working as a professional support lawyer or going freelance as a consultant.

Another vote for contract. I’ve also seen quite a few in house jobs looking for IP experience too.

Congratulations OP. You may enjoy it when you get into it anyway.

"Professional Support Lawyers" are more usually called Knowledge Lawyers these days, with a fast-growing subset now having other titles related to Innovation, Practice Development and Legal Operations.

This is for OP's benefit if browsing Linked In or recruitment sites to see what sort of jobs more experienced female lawyers do.

Don't over-think this OP. Congratulations on your TC. The important thing at this stage is to work out what practice areas interest you and play to your strengths. Your seats are unlikely to be set in stone from day one- in addition to you possibly being allowed to change options they may well have to be flexed to respond to the needs of the business. Just get stuck in and talk to as many people as possible. It's also fairly easy to move practice areas by joining a different firm after qualification- you'll be very marketable having had the US firm training.

Classic M&A work is not very life-friendly as it requires intense bursts of long hours to get deals across the line to strict timetables dictated by the client. But it is a good thing to experience nonetheless.

I was at one very top firm (not a US firm) and later moved firms and after that set up on my own (and I have two solicitor children and also 2 other children who are currently trainee solicitors).
In your training seats you probably may not have a vast amount of choice of subjects but will ultimately when you qualify be very likely to have to do one of those areas so if you have any choice of those seats pick carefully.

Areas like commercial contracts, IP,, competition law, data protection, employment law are fairly useful in-house and in smaller commercial firms or if you set up on your own.

The US firm may not do much of those areas but the main thing is you have got a TC (well done) and if you get a choice of seats over your time think carefully which to take. You probably do not want seat 1 to be the one where you will later practice as most of us are not much good in the first six months so time your choices carefully (if you have any choice). Or you might love it and stay for life - until you try something you don't know. Work can be so interesting at times that it is as fun as hobbies and outside work for me which is probably why at my age I still love it.