Legal apprenticeship: any tips on trying to find a trainee solicitor job

Anyone here applying to the big firms this year, if so what firms are you trying??

Applied to the usuals, although quelle surprise a lot of the usuals are not taking on any trainees this year. Have a couple of interviews coming up in January.

No rejection letters yet though so checking the post is the latest fun-filled activity I'm indulging in Has anyone had any rejections yet?

Have a couple of interviews coming up in January.

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Already? These aren't with the big firms, are they? or are you just being optimistic about securing such interviews??

Ehm no. Although optimism is a pre-requisite I think in these situations. One for Maples and one for a medium-sized local.

Attention FE-1 Students

Three day work experience placement in leading Dublin law firm available

A leading Irish Legal firm requires a dependable individual to cover general office, bank and post duties for a three day period from Monday 7th December to Wednesday 9th December.

There will also be an opportunity to experience the workings of the Court Service, Property Registration Authority and Companies Registration Office.

The ideal candidate will have experience in an office environment, have strong attention to detail, be punctual, well-organised and presentable.

Please forward CV and cover note to [email protected]

taprjeangirl said:

Ehm no. Although optimism is a pre-requisite I think in these situations. One for Maples and one for a medium-sized local.

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Well done on the interviews, hope they go well for you. Do you mind me asking did your medium-size local firm have a recruitment programme as well?

My friends son just got his regrets from Goodbodys this morning. He has an interview for tuesday with AH Cox so all is not lost yet.

Hi folks,

Anyone heard anything from the usual big name suspects in Cork?..... PFO's, interviews or otherwise?

Trying to find a contract to get into course for 2010.. after many years of banging my head against a brick wall decided to go for law... have a lot of experience of solicitors practices and therefore many aspects of the job - I was not sure about, however I am so desperate to get out of my current job that I decided to give the law thing my best shot for 2009, of course what a year to decide in the midst of a recession.

Have sent out CVs but any replies so far state that they are not taking on with the recession, I offered to work for free to one solicitor and he said she wouldnt' be comfortable hiring someone for free

The only thing I can find to comfort myself is that even in the boom times it was hard to get an app where you didn't have contacts etc...

There are 100% firms still hiring apps as I know of at least 3 firms that have taken on apps.

SuSo said:

I offered to work for free to one solicitor and he said she wouldnt' be comfortable hiring someone for free

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Though it may not seem so right now, this is a good thing. I know many solicitors who take the same principled position.

"Though it may not seem so right now, this is a good thing. I know many solicitors who take the same principled position. "

Thanks.... I know you are probably right. It does strike me of someone of good and upstanding character, this made me want to work for her more - but she was not in the position to hire someone due to recession, though busy, watching the finances. If I was going to work for free for someone, it would be for someone like that!

Hey I was wondering if anyone knows anything about training withas solicitor? if anyone has first hand knowledge or knows of some reliable info i'd appreciate it by a PM

thanks in advance

I'v officially given up on the law thing. Any prospective law/FE1 students out there who are not sure if being a solicitor is for them, run a mile now, and do something different. I have had a lot of exposure to the industry in work that I have been involved in and I am sorry to say that being a solicitor involves a lot of confrontation, some aggression and you can leave your sympathies, objectivities and empathies at the door. To be honest, its not a glamourous job, nor does it have much "status" anymore, considering that the Law Soc allow 600 + people to qualify every year. Who by the way haven't a hope of getting jobs. Have offically become completely disillisioned and am finally sick of being in limbo, sending out cv after cv hoping someone will take me on and sign my papers to let me start Blackhall this year. You have no control over your own life. To be fair to prospective trainer solicitors, there are no incentives from the Law Soc that would encourage them to take on a trainee, why would any solicitor take on a trainee in their right mind and the moment - and have to pay them 300 a week to get ****ed in Blackhall. The Law Soc is one big joke.

Right with you SuSo, I am officially giving up, and hatching a plan B as I speak. Sick of putting my life on hold for this, especially when I see the solicitors I work with are miserable! There's more to life. Screw this. After four years of FE1 struggle and hopeless apprenticeship search, i'm done.

ellieg82 said:

Right with you SuSo, I am officially giving up, and hatching a plan B as I speak. Sick of putting my life on hold for this, especially when I see the solicitors I work with are miserable! There's more to life. Screw this. After four years of FE1 struggle and hopeless apprenticeship search, i'm done.

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Yeah, I am off with Plan B as well, approx wasted 4-5 years of my life on trying to be a solicitor also, so sorry Ellie but it is almost comforting to know I am not the only one. Just hope that I can learn from my mistake and save someone else the crap we have put ourselves through. For the past 5 years I have become so depressed at not having control over where my life is going, and not having a career, trying to find an app and trying to advance myself to make myself more appealing to trainers. Spent 3 years in a role that I hoped would give me an edge over the other mountains of apprenticeship cvs coming in the door to a firm when I went back to seeking an apprenticeship, which, realisitically speaking - should have done as the role involved a lot of exposure to the legal industry. But no, I have offered myself for free to solicitors firms to no avail and am officially sick of it.

Also worked in a solicitors office before and got treated very badly, unfortunately the same happened to more of my law friends in solicitors offices, where bullying was common place. I am afraid that that is a possibility for any trainee, and potentially even more so if you are female, as from what I have gathered from my own experiences and exposure to the industry, male trainees are not expected to muck in as much as female, and do "from the bottom" up tasks such as dictaphone typing etc They seem to get respected, if that is possible, a little more - as solicitors offices these days have way too much estrogen floating around, and I think males are treated with a lot more kid-glove as a result. This is merely what I feel I have witnessed from my own experience and stand to correction.

Having said that the more familiar I became with the industry - the less I can say it would be a job that I would like at this stage, but then again that is probably disillisionment with the crap qualification process and the total lack of incentive for trainers to take on apprentices from the useless Law Society. As for solicitors being miserable, I have to by and large agree with that. Correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe in the UK, one can apply to get on the Legal Practitioners Course and then worry about trying to find the traineeship after, which in my opinion if it is the case, sets students on a more even footing, you actually have something to offer a potential trainer, as lets face it - what does a law degree tell you or prepare you for working in a solicitors office? Nothing. Secondly it allows control over your life - you apply for the LPC, you can have a set date as to when you can start - rather than be in limbo for years and years!

Have heard horror stories of poor FE1 graduates slaving in firms for months/years hoping to get app, only to be booted out in favour of Daddy's friends daughter/son etc - so what is the point - I ask you? More time wasting. A friend of mine took a call in a solicitors office from the parent of an FE1 graduate who wanted to pay the solicitors firm to take her daughter on! I suppose I am in the same boat as some poor sod who has gone off and spent years thousands doing a Law Masters, hoping that will give them an edge - newsflash - it probably won't! I am very sorry to all those who may read this and dislike the negativity, but what I would say is if you have any doubts about going the solicitor road and you are not sure it is for you - run a mile. If it is really what you want to do then persevre and persevre, but you may be at that for some time. If you really want it, continue to chase the dream. I guess if you really really want it you can get it, from what I have seen and how hard it is to get an app, I don't want it anymore. So this is for those of you who are not so sure, just take your stumbling upon of this post as a sign to leg it while you can.

I agree with all of the above.

People, if you're wise you'll take note.

Don't waste years of your life as I have. Do something else.

Save yourself!

Wow! The above posts are enlightening, to say the least. Have been feeling pretty much like you since 2004. I have all my FE1s (still have 3 years to enter BHP) and have 8 years legal work experience. I have been in 2 firms where, like you say, the shutters have come down on me to train due to other people's darlings getting the roles ahead of me. I am open of course to accepting that I'm just not good enough too, but I'd rather be told that to my face so I don't keep wasting my time.

Having said that, there is a flicker of hope of a traineeship here in my current in-house department, and as I still have 3 years left on my FE-1s I will pursue that to the bitter end.

Best of luck to both of you in your new directions!

Thanks Trafford, and best of luck to you too and well done for sticking it out. It must really be want you want and obviously you are interested in the area, after 8 years you know exactly what to expect, and like you said you have another 3 years to get there. At least when you qualify you can add your additional 8 years to your CV in someway, should at least enhance your PQA experience and give you an edge.

As for not being good enough, I doubt it, as I am sorry to say that one person I know who had the shutters come down on them (as you described it) this was done so as to accommodate someone else who couldn't even type and had never set foot in a solicitors before. The only comfort may be that cronyism and nepotism does exist in lots of other industries - I guess.

SuSo, Ellie and others - you are dead right to get out now. I qualified in 1999 and my practice closed last November. I've been on the dole since March 2009. I have creditors beating down my door, my mortgage in arrears, had two vexatious cases taken against me by clients trying it on (they lost, but I had to get counsel to assist me), bank pulled overdraft, couldn't get insurance, nothing but abuse and plummeting fees for years. It is a truly awful job, you are qualified for nothing except waffle at the end of the day, and the only people who make money in it are the large conglomerates getting NAMA-type State briefs.

Other than that - forget it.