Any lawyers in the GLD here?

[GLDadvice]

I’m an 8pqe solicitor (litigation), currently working at a US firm in London having trained and spent the first 5 years of my career in a magic circle firm.

Ive got 2 small children (4 and 2) and I just don’t think I want to do this anymore. Partnership doesn’t appeal (other than the £!) and I’ve always been interested in the GLD. There are a few G6 roles advertised atm and seriously considering it.

Can anyone give me some insights into the job, especially anyone who moved from private practice (especially after a solid chunk in PP)? Would I regret it?

Thank you Ginfa that’s refreshing to hear.

Hi, posting on here rather than creating a new thread to hopefully have someone reply.

I just wanted to inquire about part time working/flexible working/home working. Is it possible to ask from the start? Or is this a big no? How many days are you expected to be in the office from 01 April?

No problem with part time and flexible workinf from day one. Current expectation is 60 per cent of time in your local gld office

Thank you @Ginfa this is very helpful! I’m just going through the pre employment checks and have my departmental meeting this week. Excited but also nervous to join GLD. I qualified and have been working at a law centre for 2 years so this is a big career change for me personally. Hoping it’s a positive one!

I am ex GLD.
I left towards the end of the training programme, and whilst I'm grateful to them for the opportunity of completing my training, I also couldn't wait to leave.

I enjoyed their advisory work, but found the litigation department I was in thoroughly depressing. There was a lot of pressure on me for doing long hours, as although I didn't personally have a billable hour target, my team did, and we were several staff members down. If I couldn't keep up with the qualified solicitors I was made to feel I was letting everyone down. For that department, I was so busy I couldn't even attend the leaving drinks for me and the other trainee.

We were told that upon qualification, all that years trainees would be moved to a department which I REALLY didnt want (from an ethical side) for a minimum of 2 years.

I left to join the private Bar, and whilst my hours of work certainly didn't decrease, my increased job satisfaction meant I didn't care.

@JohnMajorJohn That doesn’t sound like a great or supportive experience. That’s worrying! What were the billable targets like? I was hoping to join GLD for a better and more flexible work life balance with a 2 year old whilst still getting the experience and developing a meaningful career. At a law centre, the work life balance is great but you’re wearing multiple hats as well as being a lawyer also it’s not as secure

I think there are some big differences between advisory and litigation roles. For the former there are no billable targets. Advisory teams are slightly better resourced which reduces pressures overall. I have only ever done advisory roles so am biased but I think advisory tends to be seen as more prestigious and so litigation teams lose people to advisory teams.

I can't remember, it was over a decade ago. They probably weren't unrealistic, but given the official line was 'no targets' and there were a lot of training things to attend, it was tricky.

The way it was worked out was the target was calculated at the beginning of a period of time and then not adjusted for staff changes.

So if there were 15 lawyers with targets of 70 units a day for example, and 1 trainee, all fine! If 5 people were off sick/left, the target for the remaining goes up to 105, but if the trainee is included it's 95 average. More pressure = more people off sick and then the target goes up further.

That was just one department I was in though. I worked in a couple of advisory departments which were much more pleasant (and suited me) but I knew it would be at least 2 years before I could move into advisory permanently, and possibly far longer.

If coming at it for pupillage, you spend 6m in Chambers (which is supposed to be your 2nd 6). That was wonderful, though the prohibition on doing court work was deeply frustrating.

I could definitely have made a career in advisory there and enjoyed it, but my heart was in court work. As a PP said, there is a big divide between the two divisions.

In advisory you may be advising government ministers, helping create secondary legislation etc. In litigation, you may be working on large and complex cases, or you may be processing large volumes of court paperwork for failed asylum applications. Some work is far more glamorous, intellectually challenging and pleasant than others. There is a vast range of opportunities. The culture just wasn't for me.