DIARY OF A BABY LAWYER

INTERVIEW

DIARY OF A BABY LAWYER

Entering into the world of law is a daunting concept in any event, especially during a global pandemic…

By way of introduction, I am a ‘mid twenties’ first year trainee solicitor in sleepy Shropshire attempting to navigate my way into a successful legal career whilst also trying to maintain a stable relationship with my partner, family and friends, renovate a house, get in my 10,000 steps a day and sustain some level of sanity. The purpose of this article is to hopefully resonate with baby lawyers out there in the same position as me and try to keep ‘law talk’ as entertaining as possible.

If I am able to continue with this article on a regular basis (as is the current plan) I shall be of course addressing ongoing and nail biting legal developments as they occur and the impact they may have on us all. However, introductions and general background on me myself and I may be more fitting for initial purposes.

The year is 2020, the world is in ‘lockdown’ due to that terrifying C word we now all loathe to hear. Instead of enjoying the perfectly timed heatwave and making the most out of ‘furlough’, I was in fact sat in my bedroom completing my third year LLB exams virtually. I am one of those people who thrive during the pressure of in person exams and the switch to online assignment based assessments (with only a few days’ notice) was not my first choice. However, they were completed successfully and a glass of bubbles was poured in celebration.

During this lockdown examination period I was facing Training Contract interviews and yes, these were via the beloved Zoom. As an ‘older’ third year student I was praying for success at my first round of training contract applications as I was desperate to finally get my career started. However being sat in my bedroom wearing pyjama bottoms with a shirt and blazer up top, constantly ensuring the Wifi connection was stable and the dog was not barking, was not exactly how I pictured the interview process going. Alas, after a few painstaking weeks of waiting, I finally got THAT call.

I entered my postgraduate University a grand total of once (once again thanks to the pandemic). However surprisingly thoroughly enjoyed the freedom that online learning evoked. Before I knew it, the LPC and LLM were both completed and my Training Contract began.

I am not sure if you can ever prepare for your first day or even first seat. A fresh faced newbie who had never worked in a law firm properly before…

The introduction to ‘time recording’ felt like learning another language but now only a few months in I calculate all of my activities in 6 minute units, including cooking and cleaning! Being thrown into an area of law you may not have any prior knowledge or experience of and trying to prove yourself as capable whilst battling ongoing imposter syndrome was testing. Those first few weeks and months are definitely eye opening.

There is also a certain level of uncertainty looming over you as a trainee, especially one like me who still has not decided definitively what area to specialise in. I therefore recommend welcoming the firm’s recommendations on where to go next and I concur with the idea that you can never know what you want to do unless you get stuck in and try it out in practice.

With the ongoing energy crisis, pandemic aftermath (including ‘party-gate’), hospital scandals and the distant rumble of war, I have no doubts the coming months will offer some exciting and industry altering legal updates to which I shall be trying my best to keep you and I up to date with.

Eleanor Howells

Eleanor Howells is a Trainee Solicitor at Lanyon Bowdler solicitors.