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Roadmap for NQ's
Roadmap for NQ’s –Tips for Navigating the Start of your Legal Career
The lengthy commitment to academics, the painstaking research and numerous job applications, securing a training contract and the building of experience to qualify are all crucial steps to becoming a solicitor. However, now as an NQ Solicitor, or soon to be NQ, the real decisions and work will begin! You are unlikely to find yourself at such an important junction in your career again, unless you retrain in another area of law or change career.
In this blog I will be giving some insights into qualifying, and for those NQs fortunate to already have already secured their favoured position, some tips on starting your new role.
1. Practice Area
Some trainee solicitors know exactly what practice area they want to qualify into. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a position available with your current firm or even with other law firms. Generally, as you approach qualification, you are likely to know what NQ roles will be available within your firm, but it is always worth beginning an external search for other potential roles, particularly if you’re seeking to qualify into one of the more popular areas such as Disputes, Employment or Corporate. You should also consider what, if any, compromises that you are prepared to make to find the right role; for instance, salary expectations, downsizing to a smaller firm or relocation. It’s also worth preparing a plan B, particularly if you’re seeking to qualify into a popular practice area, by thinking about a second choice. This doesn’t have to mean a complete sacrifice and you can often combine experience in different seats to find a suitable role. For instance, you may be ideally looking for a Commercial Disputes role, but you also completed a Private Client seat, which you enjoyed. These can be combined to give you options within Contested Probate. Ultimately, there are usually various opportunities, and it is worth exploring a number to get the right start to your career.
2. Personal Development
Upon qualifying, it’s crucial to keep the same mindset that you adopted through your academic studies – the commitment to consistent and ongoing learning. It’s important to continue to focus on your development. A common mistake is not to ask enough questions - whilst you should take initiative and use your intuition on certain matters, it’s also crucial to make use of colleague’s knowledge and advice. This can be from seniors, but also other NQs and you shouldn’t be opposed to learning what you can from either. Humility and a keenness to expand your knowledge will only serve you in the long run. Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses and gaps in your knowledge will also help as you can then ensure you are focusing your efforts on key areas of development.
3. Adapting to a new role
Transitioning from a trainee to an NQ, you will receive less supervision in your day-to-day matters. Therefore, learn to adapt your approach to working, whether you’ve moved to a new team and firm or are remaining in the team/firm where you trained. You should familiarise yourself with a new team and your new responsibilities, which will almost certainly mean a larger caseload. Understanding the expectations and demands of your new position is crucial, including when it comes to delegating work to other team members where appropriate.
4.Standing Out
Whether you are seeking to secure a coveted position with your current firm or trying to make your mark on a new team, standing out is a key component for NQ’s. This doesn’t mean you need to be the first in and the last out of the office every day. However, you can focus on areas such as working on building a client base, researching a particular topic or latest legal update, networking, and even providing support to more junior members of the team - all are valuable and will be recognised by your colleagues and seniors.
5.Mentors
As touched on in the last point, mentoring juniors is valuable to your ongoing development as a lawyer. You should also work on finding a senior mentor – someone you admire whose advice you will value. You can show an interest in how they work and the knowledge they possess, ask them if they are happy sharing their insights or practices and be sure to follow up with them, showing an appreciation. As a general rule, if someone is passionate about what they do, they will likely be happy to share how they do it, so it is a great way to expand your own knowledge and find new ways to tackle the various facets of legal work.
6.Reputation
Your professional reputation as viewed by both your colleagues and clients is really important - it can influence the rest of your legal career. Ensure you stick to your word, own up to mistakes and learn from them, be open and collaborative with colleagues, and ensure that you fulfil your commitments to clients to the best of your ability. As quoted by Benjamin Franklin “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation and only one bad one to lose it.”
If you are due to qualify and are seeking some more options or even just a chat about your situation and the NQ market, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. ■
Will Webster
Chadwick Nott
(t) 0117 945 1634
(m) 0773 370 0509
