If only I could give him cake; The Handover

So this is my last week in the wonderful world of Property; on Monday I am moving to Insolvency. I am sure I will be meeting my own DodgyDebtors but in the mean time I have to negotiate The Handover.

If only I could give him cake.......

I had an informal handover chat with the trainee who will be moving into my seat today and discovered that he is as clueless about Property as I am about Insolvency (and if anyone reading this wants to tweet me some insolvency cribs notes, they would be much appreciated) The purpose of said meeting was to handover some of my more complicated files: The First Registration. The Reciprocal Leases and the dreaded Overage Twins. However when mentioning the words freehold transfer made him glaze over, I decided that this was probably futile so showed him my filing system. (he was very impressed: alphabetised and everything......)

Given my successors apparent lack of property know how, the smoothness of The Handover is likely to be based on the quality of my briefing notes and trainee competitiveness is getting the better of me! I'm not suggesting I deliberately mislead him but neither do I want to give him law-by-numbers. The notes I was left at the start of my seat were so succinct all I knew was the names of the files (I am not convinced this was cunning rather than incompetency..... not too bright was the trainee before me) and I spent my first 2 weeks reading said files only for the work to backlog.

I had a bit of a head start too - my LPC commercial leases course was excellent. No knowledge and I would have been floundering. So, do I take pity on the next in line? after all, it's not my fault he chose to study Shari'a law instead of property (honestly, he did)

On the other hand I know my department is uncharacteristically busy at the moment so silly questions asked because of my notes will reflect badly on the both of us. I do have a tendency to go the extra mile for people, more out of over organisation rather than kindness. Not writing the best handover notes ever would grate against my natural instincts.....

Really my indecision is my lawyerly competitiveness showing through. I am reluctant to pass up a chance to shine by comparison (judge me if you wish but you know you would be thinking the same) and even though its 18 months from now the competition for NQ jobs never really goes away. The other trainees are similarly perplexed; it features in our lunch time chats. I feel like I would be missing a trick if I handed the files over on a plate but I'm can't quite stomach being devious......

Its a dilemma: shall I be Cunning or Kind?

Demisting the windows: Commercial awareness and how to get it

Commercial awareness has become almost the holy grail of on the list of potential attributes. It is on nearly all training contract application forms one way or another and, perhaps unsurprisingly, commercial awareness and how to show it is the number 1 question I have been asked by trainees-in-waiting. As such an integral quality for successful candidates, you would expect it to be drilled into to students, like advocacy skills or money laundering. This doesn't appear to be the case: I have not come across a 'commercial awareness' topic on a degree or LPC. Bringing the topic up with the lawyers at my Firm resulted in a lot of waffle and speaking in circles without really defining the issue. Conclusion: no-one reeeally knows what it is......

Put simply 'commercial awareness' is a buzz word (dare I say it, concocted by the marketing department in the sky - also responsible for 'know your client' and ) for a business common sense. In today's legal market, especially with the legal services act on the horizon, lawyers need to do a lot more than just law. Just doing the work is not enough anymore and forms are realising this fairly quickly. Business sense is not traditionally something the legal profession are particularly renowned for and it the more seasoned in the profession can be quite stubborn to coerce into this way of thinking (as an example, our well established private client department have had to employ a customer relations director as some of the more mature fee earners refuse to do any work away from their desks. A client meeting at the client's office - out of the question!). So, firms are making sure the new recruits at least are on board.

A good way to identify what it is all about is to break down how lawyers make money (after all, being commercially aware has to have something to do with money, right?). To make money, the lawyer must have work, he must complete this work in such a way that his fees exceed his costs and he must ensure those fees are paid. Part 2 is about the work and how it is done. Part 3 is credit control, again something fee earners are not that good at - talking about money is almost a taboo amongst many of the legal profession. It may baffle you that lawyers are often reluctant to chase up payment but when you get into practice you will see it all too often. For this reason I am sure the concept of billing and fees will be the subject of a very early training session for new trainees, so I won't cover it here. (Tip - in an interview, if you get the opportunity in business context, mentioning that it is important for lawyers to get their fees paid may get you extra brownie points. It won't get you the job but if you are doing everything else right it could shift the balance in your favour). Step 1 is what we are talking about.

This may be a surprise to some lawyers but the work doesn't arrive on its own. It won't magically appear in your Head of Department's hands, complete with it's own file and briefing note. You don't keep clients just because they gave you work once and multimillion pound instructions don't walk through the front door and plonk themselves on your desk. Trainees-in-waiting take note - understanding where the work comes from is what commercial awareness is all about.

Work is generated from two streams: existing and new clients. These work streams are different and effective management of both is required to maintain sufficient work flow. Existing clients need good service - after all, if your lawyer isn't giving you what you want, you will go somewhere else. Equally, if a firm you have tried once really impressed you, you are going to keep giving them work. The client relationship is paramount. This may seem simple but as Mr Bizzle has experienced it doesn't always translate into practice.

This is only half the battle. A great client care system will retain clients once you have worked for them but if potential clients don't know you exist it doesn't mean much.

A law firm needs to have a presence in the market, its lawyers need to network, tender and generally schmooze it's way into instructions. Essentially it needs to have a good marketing strategy. Often law firms will have a marketing department that governs this but lawyers need to know how to promote themselves and their firms so that opportunities aren't missed. It is often described as 'winning' new instructions. This is a good way of looking at it - it is a competition and should be approached in that way. What can you do to beat everyone else to the finish?

Identifying (and grasping!) opportunities is also important. As an example (and totttalllyyy blowing my own trumpet here) after a chat with a fellow trainee who comes from a family of GPs, I realised there was a gap in the legal market in the South West following the NHS reforms. I did a bit of research and presented the idea to a partner who agreed. This was taken to the next step and now there is going to be a marketing drive at NHS bodies. Yay for me! (I can't take all the glory; our projects team had already got a couple of instructions, they just hadn't thought to involve other departments. Cross selling in my Firm is notoriously terrible.)

Keeping abreast of developments is a big component of getting new work. If a law firm can get a reputation in an area before anyone else they are more likely to be the go-to-firm for that type of work. This requires an eagle eye on the market and an understanding of how you fit into it. BINGO! Commercial awareness!

Now you know what it is, you just have to be able to show it. Not as difficult as it sounds. Think about what you do every day and you will already be using these skills. Bar staff: your bar will run special deals or themed nights to draw in the punters = knowledge of the market. Society committee members: you run the society to deliver what your members want = client care. Even doing the research for an assignment means you are keeping up with legal developments. It really isn't as elusive as it seems.

So, trainees-in-waiting, I have demisted the windows for you; commercial awareness isn't so much of a mystery. It isn't even that hard when you think about it. Maybe the seeming ignorance of the subject was really a front for keeping you in the dark to test how savvy you all are. Well, I have just given you some of the answers.... I look forward to seeing what the next buzz word attribute they throw your way!!!

La Paloma Del Diabolo (The Devil Pigeon)

Today I was once again bested by my nemesis; La Paloma Del Diabolo, more commonly known as the Devil Pigeon.

The humble pigeon is a creature of pestilence generally. It is called a rat with wings but really carries more chances of disease than the average rat. It also much more stupid; you will often see a pigeon with a mangled foot or broken wing - how often do you see a lame rat? The average pigeon will annoy commuters, cooing around their ankles tempting a chance kick only to hop out of reach at the last minute. They will crowd those trying to get a bit of fresh air with their lunch, the one time you would not want to be surrounded by pigeons. They cover all available space with grey guano, ruining the vista for everyone. They are nothing but pests. La Paloma Del Diabolo is in a league of its own.

I had to power walk to have a hope of catching my train (I decided to try to catch an earlier train than usual to avoid the half term squeeze. South West Trains have decided that the half 6 train only needs 3 carriages instead of the usual 6 for this week. No idea why, its ridiculous). I wore flats, heels stashed in my shoulder bag, to give me a little extra pace. Unfortunately the traffic lights were against me and the train was pulling into the station as I crossed the overpass. La Paloma was waiting.

La Paloma is the pigeon who craps on your shoulder on the way to the biggest meeting of your year. It is the bird that tempts the favourite pet to run out in front of the speeding teenager that second too late to swerve. It is the one that carries the bubonic plague only to infect a rat as a smear campaign. And this Devil Pigeon was waiting underneath the overpass for me.

As I jogged lightly and classily (read ran like a crazy person) La Paloma Del Diabolo waited. Waited until I had reached ultimate velocity to scuttle out in front of me. It didn't fly away, no, it stopped, looked me in the eye and shifted so that it was directly under my foot. Me, my laptop, polystyrene cup full of branded coffee and the rest of my life (handbag) went a*se over tit over Devil Pigeon. I used my latent rugby skills (I played once upon a teen) and dived, saving my laptop and avoiding a coffee coloured disaster. Pencil Skirts were not designed for such a move. My Pencil Skirt shredded itself.

The train passed me still trying to pick up my life from the gum covered floor. Thus I had to wait an hour for the next overcrowded train, flashing my underwear through my disintegrating skirt. Needless to say my dignity was as tattered as my clothes.

And La Paloma? Once I had fallen, its plan complete, it fluttered away, unscathed.

I can only say this was karma for taking pleasure in @legalbizzle's lack of holiday enjoyment this morning. That or La Paloma Del Diabolo has a vendetta against me.

This is a warning for all of you - La Paloma Del Diabolo is out there. Waiting.

P.S those of you who are thinking 'Paloma? That means dove in Spanish, that's why so many women are called that' you are right to an extent. Spanish doesn't differentiate between pigeons and doves, they are both paloma. SO all you Paloma's might be fooled into thinking you are named after the bird of peace. Another ploy of La Palomo Del Diabolo - your name means flying rat. Ha.

The demise of the last loan; LPC funding now even more limited

I read today (courtesy of @vicmoffatt) that Natwest has withdrawn the 'LPC' loan, the last of its kind. It is still being advertised on the Natwest website if you know where to look, but I am sure JLD would not have announced it without a reliable source.  Nearly every student I knew on the LPC had an equivalent loan to help with fees or living costs. It was considered the normal way to fund the course. What are future LPC students going to do without it?

The Natwest loan was up to £25k when studying for a professional course such as the LPC,  with repayments delayed for up to a year following study and interest rates lower than a 'standard' loan. According to the JLD the nearest finance available now is a loan of up to £10k at normal interest rates where the interest accrued during study is paid by a government department. Not really much of an alternative when the average LPC fees are now £10k minimum.

This is seriously bad news for students. There is no way that I would have been able to afford the LPC straight from uni without my loan (from Natwest, would you believe) AND I had a job AND my fees were paid for.  I was one of the lucky ones. Others without this backing took the loan as a means of paying fees. What student, after 3 years at uni, has a spare £10k minimum lying around? 

My experience of LPC finance was a few years ago now. I missed top up fees so now students face an average student debt 3 times larger than mine. The cost of living has gone up as have LPC fees. The battle for training contracts has got harder and in the current financial crisis retention on qualification is reducing. If students have to face such a steep funding hurdle into uncertainty why bother?

Some will say this is a good thing. Such a large cash hoop to jump through will weed out the students who aren't really serious about the profession and help reduce graduate numbers. The quality of students will be much better, pass rates higher and the legal world will benefit as a result. After all, if they REALLY want it, surely they will find a way?

I do not think, unfortunately, that this will be the reality. For students of a more affluent background, lack of support will not be a problem. Affluence is no guarantee of quality. There was a girl on my LPC for whom daddy paid so that she might follow in his footsteps and become a high powered lawyer. She is now, 2 years later, studying to become a teacher. She wasn't a bad student per se but she isn't a lawyer and her failed foray  into lawyerdom was not hindered by LPC fees. Obviously not all wealthy students are the same but never the less the lack of funding options will not stop students like her enrolling.

It would have, however, stopped my criminal lawyer friend, arguably the most determined and passionate of all my fellow LPCer's and whose maximum loan funded his GDL and LPC. It would have stopped another of my fellow students, a single mum aiming for a career in legal aid family law. The legal aid market is an important part of the justice system but has understandably lower resources available for LPC fees when compared to commercial competitors. The loan withdrawal is going to hit the pool of budding legal aid lawyers hard.

It would have stopped me, at least for a couple of years until I had worked long enough to be able to afford it. I was not one of the surplus - I had a training contract. My firm were even willing to pay for my fees. The cost of living was just too big for me to tackle it on my own. My parents are not poor but they were supporting both my sister and I through uni. The biggest credit limit I could get was a £500 student credit card, I would have been laughed out the door had I tried to apply for a normal loan to cover the cost. It is probably (I hope!) harder after the financial crisis. The other question at the back of my mind is niggling - would my firm have waited?

What we have potentially is a class (or at least an affluence) barrier. Those with money to spare, go ahead. Those without, go find it. It is easy to see how those not 110% determined (not necessarily lacking) would be deterred by this financial hurdle. The LPC would be populated only by those with training contracts that pay and enough money to live on or those with enough money full stop. Why should those without have to jump through financial hoops?

The other potential problem is the influence of training contracts provided by alternative business model law firms on LPC entries. With national brands likely to have more investment available for training will LPCs be full of Tesco Law trainees-in-waiting ready to marginalise small firms into non-existence? (if you believe Mr QualitySolicitors Craig Holt). Do lawyers really want this?

Something really needs to be done about this and fast. The LPC application season is fast approaching. 3rd year law students have arguably more important things to worry about like dissertations and finals than how they are going to pay for fees come September.

I do not have the answer. Perhaps law students ought to protest about this (it seems to be in vogue at the moment). Although against who I have not yet decided..... any suggestions?

Air conditioning is one of the horsemen of the apocalypse

I am of the school of thought that if you are sick, you don't go to work. However, I have noticed that in this age of redundancy, no guarantees of trainee retention and huge workloads that I am the odd one out. None of my fellow trainees have taken a sick day. In fact one trouping trainee had a car crash recently - not his fault - where he ended up nose down in a ditch with a written off car and he was merely late for work. And apologised for it.

I realise that my sick stats are going to go against me if ever anyone was to look at them. This does not deter me from taking the odd day off if, as I am currently, I am dying of the death lurgy, and these are the reasons why:

1. LAWYERS DO GET SICK.This may surprise some of you. There is no point denying it. Lawyers are human (shock horror) and do succumb to illness from time to time. No amount of deadlines, coffee or denial is going to change this.

2. I do not work well if I'm not well. This is not rocket science, I just don't function at full capacity if I'm clogged with death lurgy. It will undoubtedly take me twice as long to draft a document if my nose is mimicking Niagara falls or am cross eyed from the tiny dwarf in my brain resurfacing my neurons with a sledgehammer. This either costs the client more or makes the department figures look bad. Any work I do manage to complete is not going to be my best and so does not represent my firm well. All in all, bad.

3. It takes at least three times longer to get better without rest. This may not be true of all people but for the majority to recover sleep is a necessity. I spent 16 hours asleep last night, instead of my usual 6. This is not possible in most law firms and in those special city firms who (i have heard rumours) have beds in the office, I don't think that was the point. Now lets do the math: 1 day off or 3 days at half speed........ hmmm the day off has it.

4. Air conditioning is a modern horseman of the apocalypse. If ever the plague was to return in force, air conditioning would be its field general. Every time someone struggles into work with the flu, their germs are sucked up into the air vents and spewed out all over the building. Soon there are sick bods all over the office and the epidemic lasts months. I don't want to add to this self perpetuating problem if I can help it nor do I wish the death lurgy on anyone!

5. When else do you get to watch Jeremy Kyle? Ok this one is a joke. I am only blogging because even though I have to keep stopping as the screen is making me dizzy (another reason I am not at work) the drudge of day time tv is making me worried for my intelligence: 'I'm sleeping with my step-mum and Dad's ok with it' and 'I'm think my kid is a crack dealer'. Seriously, on earlier today. Why would I put myself through it unless I genuinely thought I needed it?

Now I know all this will make you think there is no way I'd be going into the office unless I was better and ready to work but that's where you'd be wrong. Yes, today I did not go to work, but this was mainly due to the dizzy factor (see above) and my need to be in running distance of  porcelain. Tomorrow, when the sleep has done its work I will be returning, death lurgy or not. It has become almost a badge of honour to struggle in with the grim reaper on your shoulder and I am not one to be bested, even if I don't agree in principle.

Sexism in the South West: no I don't like Spring Rolls!

It has taken me sometime to think about this blog as what happened is (a) quite un-pc (b) controversial and (c) supposedly offensive.  I have decided it would be best to simply state exactly what happened:

It's a Tuesday evening. It has been a long day at work.The firm or more correctly the Private Client Dept is hosting a very important seminar to potential referrers i.e. IFAs, valuers, accountants, pen pushers who deal with numbers and have been let out into the world for the evening.You get the idea. The first speaker 'Partner-who-wrote-the-book-about-IHT'(he actually did write The Book apparently) is droning on about wills or something and gives the following advice:

"advisors should monitor executor appointment when the married couple have nominated each other. In later life this may become inappropriate, especially in the case of the woman"

and without further clarification moves on. Odd comment you might think, without clarification. Maybe its something to do with the fact that women live longer, tend to be the younger person in a relationship and therefore are more likely to be the bereaved than the recently deceased? I decide to give him the benefit of the doubt and go back to pretending to be listening to worked through tax calculations (seriously who enjoys this stuff?!!)

The female trainees look glancingly over to the one female IFA in the room. She is writing a note to her colleague but doesn't look annoyed. The rest of the room hasn't even noticed. Everything continues as normal.

The other two speakers finish and we move on to question time. Step into the ring, Wrote-the-book. Up goes the hand of female IFA's colleague... no one sees the danger:

Colleague: "Sorry to revisit, but when you were talking about monitoring the appointment of executors, why is it especially important in the case of the woman?"

WTB: " Well very often it is the husband who deals with the finances and women find it difficult to deal with that sort of thing. Much more so when bereaved. It might be better to appoint someone more suited"

No kidding. Actually said that. Unsurprisingly female IFA complained. Although not to the point where she didn't want to instruct us (!)

I am not really what you would call a feminist.I don't really understand the point. I know there are still a lot of inequalities between men and women and traditionally I would currently be married with 2 rugrats and a sproglet on the way. I also know that men and women ARE different and every person has their individual non-gender specific strengths and weaknesses. I actually see any inequality as a challenge,  motivation to prove that I can hold my own in a man's world. Give me some shoulder pads, Lady Thatcher, eat your heart out!

But that was too far. I did a maths A Level thank you very much and have been Treasurer for several different societies (my brain may have been a little too pickled to do proper accounts but we didn't go overdrawn!!). I may even go as far as to say that if women had been in charge of the Banks the economy may have been saved (due to the immense amount of shopping that would have been happening with bonuses that big!)

I thought it was the most inappropriate comment I would hear in that environment.

Until later in the evening when the head of Private Client asked me if I wanted him to put one of the rather phallic canapes I was serving in my mouth. Twice.

If this is how all of the men in Private Client act something tells me I wont be heading there any time soon!!!

Gym Bunny Epidemic Hits Lawyers

There is a peer pressure in my firm. It bubbles under the surface, from partner to post room and pushes even the most unsuspecting to rearrange their calendars to satisfy it. It inhabits the basement floor of the office and even is promoted as a 'perk' of working for the firm.

It is known as THE GYM.

I have never been particularly active, sports wise. My brief induction into the world of running gave me third degree burns (don't you dare tell me they were just blisters!!) and I am far too competitive for team sports. In uni the gym was that place I walked past on the way to the students union. As I researched career options, it never occurred to me that this would be an issue. In fact, in choosing the law I thought the drinking skills I acquired my local rugby club and cultured through uni would be my strong point. I think I may have been mistaken.

While investigating the 'Gym Bunny Epidemic' (ie they multiply like rabbits) I have discovered that post work drinks were rife before the move to 'The Modern Office on the Outskirts' so vogue with regional firms of a certain size. The old city centre location meant that long (boozy) lunches were a weekly occurrence rather than a special treat and no Friday was complete without a trip to the pub round the corner. Now instead of a sneaky pint at the end of a long day, the masses sweat it out in a circuits class or go running. No more discussion about which establishment to frequent at lunchtime but which form of exercise will be taken. Social events are much more likely to be one of the seemingly hundreds of sports leagues rather than payday drinks. At a recent open evening for Law Students the ability to talk to Partners and Supervisors while working out was cited as a bonus!

I would like to know when this transition occurred. It seems to have snuck up on me. But, not one to be left behind the times, I have faced my fitness short comings and I too have started gym going. Given my hectic life as a trainee it has been rather difficult to fit in but I have persevered. (for the last 2 weeks anyway...........)

Today, I took it one stage further. I visited with the Personal Trainer. The Personal Trainer is the a major contaminant in the Gym Bunny Epidemic. His enthusiasm is infectious and somehow he makes what I would consider a torture session a viable work out program. I can see how people get drawn in to this world of 'healthy' eating and exercise.

However, having visited the Personal Trainer and getting my custom built personalised fitness and diet regime I noticed the Gym Bunny Epidemic in full force. Following my rules I got out my rivita-and-ham snack bang on 11am as instructed. And suddenly noticed the alarming amounts of crispy-rye-wafer-and-sliced-pork elevenses that had also appeared around the office. This is not something I have noted previously as at 10.45am you would normally find me agonising over the cake selection in the Cafe.... but it was somewhat alarming

It has occurred to me that this mass eating exercising culture exhibits all the outwards signs of organised religion. There are the 10 commandments (thou shalt not where shoes with marking soles), sins (Carbs!!) and penance for temptation. The Personal Trainer attempts to convert those who have strayed and rewards the faithful with dedicated one on one sessions. The fully devoted look on those smoking in the bike sheds with the compassion and pity only the enlightened can bestow. But instead of the world war, prejudice and early Sunday mornings the results of Gym Bunnyism are better stamina, smaller waistlines and a longer life. 

They almost had me. Then I discovered that my twice weekly post work glass of rose was forbidden and I suddenly came to my senses. What was I thinking??!! Closest to conversion I have ever been......  

Hopping Season

It is desk hopping season in the world of the Trainee. The process where the next 6 months of training life will be finalised.  It is, of course, hugely important to those in the seats and not of much concern to anyone else in the process as long as there is someone to give the donkey work to when it has all been sorted out.

This process has been going on in my firm since before Christmas. I unfortunately forgot about the deadline for submitting our seat choices, due to snow, the VAT deadline and executed documents seemingly dotted about the country. In my defence being called hourly by snowed in clients wanting to complete to avoid the £15k it would cost them if we waited for the thaw is a bit distracting. That and being the only fee earner in my department at the end of the month (yes, a trainee in charge of billing!!!). The late hour that I finally was reminded (half way out the door on Christmas eve) lead to me selecting 4 seats off the top of my head and promptly forgetting what they were. Such is life.

Not knowing what I had let myself in for was actually a blessing. For some reason the seat organisation has taken over a month to finalise so my ignorance was bliss. I have seen the other trainees sweat, drink, lie and generally fret over what is happening. There have been rumours abounding due to the indiscretion of the supervisors and heads of departments. Couple this with the R word (redundancies... announced first week back in January) and the trainees are being pushed closer to their traditional role as career alcoholics!

Today was D day (well actually, 2 weeks ago was D day. Then last week was postponed D day. This is D day: the afterthought. The troops would have got scurvy if they were waiting to land this long) and I have had a total of 4 seats. I started the day thinking I had the dreaded Family Seat. I have always shied away from anything to do with crying women (yes guys cry too, but that, for some reason, doesn't bother me nearly as much as a mascara goop covered eyes. I think this is because I personally cannot cry in public and any other woman reminds me of this fact) since I chose law. Couple that with the children in this area of the country mostly having children themselves and you can appreciate my less than enthusiastic view of that department. I had resigned myself to that seat (mostly from being told that none of my selections, whatever they were, being available) and was happily (debatable) researching family law.

I then had a call down to HR where about to pop (baby not head) HR manager told me that I was actually in line for Property Lit. This made me happy. I wanted a litigation seat and although it wasn't a large step away (I am in property right now) at least I knew something about it. And I had the added bonus of being offered the elusive 'first choice next time' to butter me along. Really they just had to offer me anything but Family and I would have snapped it up. As it was I (shrewdly it seems) played the nonchalant, will put my all into it but would have preferred something else, I understand the business need, model trainee.

I also was told that there had been a shake up of seats (due to lack of interest the Family seat was withdrawn - no one else wants it either) but this wasn't final so to keep it schtum. Disgruntled SIT (self important trainee) actually emailed the rest of the trainees explaining what had happened to her choices. I believe this is due to her 2 choice technique (first years get four choices as 2nd years are allocated first. SIT only put two choices, obviously because the rules don't apply to her) hadn't paid off and she did not get anything she wanted. So of course everyone else had to know.

Anyway, next I know someone else preferred property lit so I was then offered Commercial Lit with apologies. No apologies needed, this was almost my perfect choice and I couldn't have asked for better. Especially after the last 4 months of property doldrums. One very happy Miss TS.

Almost immediately the phone rang again. Ready to Pop. It had to be something worse, had they changed their minds and want me, Miss TS (flexible) to willingly give up almost perfect seat in commercial lit to torture in Family? No, they wanted to offer me my (apparent) first choice - Insolvency. Almost next door to commercial lit location wise, but with added interest (I was hooked when helping family following the winding up of one of their tenants. Creditors meetings are like commercial soap operas). One very very happy, please don't jinx it, Miss TS.

I was promised an announcement today. I want it in writing (understandable given the roundabout of seat hopping and the perfection of the choice I have got right now) but the email never pinged its way to me. So, now, sat at home blogging away on my first blog (my idea of therapy!) I am in the boat with all the other trainees. I STILL DON'T KNOW! so much for blissful ignorance.