how difficult is it for newly qualified solicitors?

L

LB25

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Is finding work as a new qualified solicitor as hard as everyone is making out? I'm about to embark down the long and expensive route of an apprenticeship and I need to know what I'm letting myself in for, nobody seems to have anything positive to say about law these days! fairly depressing when you've studied it for 5 years. I'm not getting any younger though and if its as bad as people say I'll get out now while I still can...
 
It will take you around 3 years to qualify and by that stage the job market could have improved or it could have got worse. There is no one that can be certain either way and only you can decide whether it is a risk worth taking.

The legal profession is experiencing difficulties at present but so is alot of areas of the economy. Don't be swayed by the dooms day proclaimers from within the profession.
 
it's a tough call for you, i know you have spent time going someway down the route to becoming a solicitor but it is unfort very bad timing! it is now and never has been easy to get an apprenticeship, no matter what people say it has always been virtually impossible, i'm qualified 7 years and when i got my apprenticeship it as the only hope i had of getting one so thankfully it worked out. the difference between then & now is that at least if you got one,worked through it coming out the other end was alot more hopefull than it is now.work for all solicitors esp those in the conveyancing and commercial areas has ground to a very slow crawl,it's not dead yet but it's struggling, how long it will last is the big Q!! by the time you get through the apprenticeship process it might have picked up,problem is they are letting too many people qualify with too little demand for jobs. Firms are now not rehiring if people are leaving, certainly there are v little jobs around for solicitors full stop let alone newly qualified, your PQE is now nearly as important as gettin an apprenticeship & unfort the day for apprentices being kept on after the apprenticeship, for the moment, is gone. if it's what you really want to do then just ride the storm but if you're not sure then maybe you should deversify, you can always come back to it at a later stage. Best of luck with your decisison.
 
Im a newly qualified Solicitor. I have a job for the next 3 months and thereafter I dont know whats going to happen. I regret my decision to do law. If you 'love the law' or have family connections, stick with it and life will sort itself out.

But if you are like me, you just want to do a job to pay for your life, you arent 'connected', my advice is do something else. I come from an extended family including pharmacists, civil engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, physios, carpetners, chefs, draughtsmen, among others(big family!!) and I can honestly say I am the least paid of the lot. Like, im a qualified solicitor!! Sure, at family functions etc im called upon to do the readings and take centre stage. I had one of the best leaving certs in my area and there is no doubting the prestige attached to the job title, but i feel like a fraud. I would say I work hard, except for right now!!, im good with clients, i love interacting with them and being somebody that can sort **** out. But it really isnt worth it. All I have to show for it is a clapped out car, an €800 overdarft and €18,500.00 loan. My parents have been excellent all my life, but getting fees paid or even getting a loan from them wasnt an option. You will find with a lot of your colleagues, they are from an upper middle class background and as such they will be supported and have the luxury of not worrying about money. I would count some very good friends in this bracket. If you have financial backing, more power to you! Im not a communist!! But if you need to pay for your life and you would like to see some of the world in your early 20s, explore other options.

If you are satsified that you will be supported financially, for the next three years, at the very least, keep trucking and I wish you every success.
 
I have a lot of friends at various stages in the profession - some qualified, some nearly qualified and not knowing if they'll still have a job, some looking for an apprenticeship. I reckon at the moment more-so than ever it's all about who you know. You need contacts to get in somewhere. It's not quite the job for life as it used to be. Know a good few people who have even trained and qualified and now realise that it's not something they want to continue.
 
Thanks for the replies. Most have just backed up what I already fear about going into the profession. I have no legal contacts, I have a good academic background and work experience but I am not from a wealthy background (quite the opposite) and having any outside financial support during an apprenticeship (even if I found one!) is out of the question. Added to this I am already 3k in debt since university. I really don't think I can afford it.
I just wish I knew where to turn now!
 
Surely not all solicitors are going down the traditional route, I would have thought there were alot more options these days in IT companies etc?
 
I also had no legal contacts when I qualified as a solicitor. Indeed, I moved to a town 100 miles from home, where I knew nobody. I am still there.

I worked an apprenticeship without pay, working part time in a petrol station at night for beer money, and living at home with parents. I got a loan to pay the cost of getting through the Law Society. Actually, if I am perfectly honest I got a loan so I could keep partying while at the Law Society. And I would not want to overdo the poormouth - being a card carrying member of the middle class.

When newly qualified my salary was such that my bank manager basically laughed when I suggested getting a mortgage.

The practice of law is certainly not as lucrative as it used to be. The work is harder. Clients expectations are higher. Competitive pressure is a constant. But if you enjoy the work, are good at it and stick at it, and if you also have good social skills and an ability to deal with clients on all levels, then you will do fine in the long run. Just don't expect to be making good money before your mid-thirties.

If you want to have a fulfiling career in the law, it is important that you enjoy helping people. If you have served an apprenticeship and have not enjoyed it, perhaps think twice. But don't let early-career economic hardship blight your views.
 
legalhawk said:
it's a tough call for you, i know you have spent time going someway down the route to becoming a solicitor but it is unfort very bad timing! it is now and never has been easy to get an apprenticeship, no matter what people say it has always been virtually impossible, i'm qualified 7 years and when i got my apprenticeship it as the only hope i had of getting one so thankfully it worked out. the difference between then & now is that at least if you got one,worked through it coming out the other end was alot more hopefull than it is now.work for all solicitors esp those in the conveyancing and commercial areas has ground to a very slow crawl,it's not dead yet but it's struggling, how long it will last is the big Q!! by the time you get through the apprenticeship process it might have picked up,problem is they are letting too many people qualify with too little demand for jobs. Firms are now not rehiring if people are leaving, certainly there are v little jobs around for solicitors full stop let alone newly qualified, your PQE is now nearly as important as gettin an apprenticeship & unfort the day for apprentices being kept on after the apprenticeship, for the moment, is gone. if it's what you really want to do then just ride the storm but if you're not sure then maybe you should deversify, you can always come back to it at a later stage. Best of luck with your decisison.
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I don't want to sound old fashioned or cranky. Is concise, correct, properly punctuated and grammatical English not a requirement for a trained solicitor? I know this is not as bad as the frequent poster who uses 'teh' for 'the', but it would seem that the level of written English has reached a low point among those whose profession requires a reasonable level of the written language.

I wish the original poster all the best in securing a training in case I come across as unduly negative.
 
Just to accentuate the negative sorry but it's necessary, I was told recently that a large Dublin Legal Firm has put 100 of its staff on protective notice, this includes PA, paralegals and Solicitors.
 
Gearoid i'm not even going to waste my time entertaining you, this is a discussion forum, just because i'm a solicitor doesn't mean i have to write in precise english at all times, contrary to some people's belief we are human after all, instead of getting a dig at the legal profession you might stay off a thread that you clearly can't contribute to!!
 
legalhawk said:
Gearoid i'm not even going to waste my time entertaining you, this is a discussion forum, just because i'm a solicitor doesn't mean i have to write in precise english at all times, contrary to some people's belief we are human after all, instead of getting a dig at the legal profession you might stay off a thread that you clearly can't contribute to!!
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Come on guys take it outside -ain't nothing worse than a handbags at six paces thread warfare!
 
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