While I am not complaining in the slightest - the benefits far outweigh the negatives - there are some common assumptions made about being a trainee solicitor that I am quickly becoming tired of. Some of these are made about lawyers in general but are particularly misconceived when applied to trainees and so I would like to set the record straight about a few of these on behalf of my fellow trainees:
1. Trainees are rich
We are not. There is a slight caveat for the magic circle trainees who get paid 2 to 3 times more than I do, but I suspect the hourly rate is close to minimum wage for some of them. The Law Society minimum trainee wage is currently £16, 650 and normally increases annually to reflect inflation but has been frozen until Sept 2011 to protect us from negative inflation. My salary is closer to £20,000. This is not particularly large, especially when you include my LPC loan repayments. I am definitely not 'Flush' as some people seem to think. So don't get offended when I decline to buy all the drinks or foot the bill at dinner.
2. Trainees are intelligent and well-read
Yes, perhaps you need more than 3 braincells to study law and get a training contract. No, we are not all budding Einsteins. Some lawyers are ridiculously intelligent, others I have met surprised me by stringing a sentence together. This gets more extreme in the trainee populous; we haven't had 10 years in practice to hide our stupidity. It is not a given that I have read Keats (I haven't), understand quantum theory or speak Latin. To be honest, understanding the intricacies of Equity can be challenging enough. This is not to say that I am not interested in these subjects, but simply it is not a prerequisite of traineedom to be walking encyclopedias. So please don't look down on me for not being fully able to participate in a philosophical debate about kantish ethics - be impressed I can at least follow the arguments!
3. Daddy got me here
There is a general misunderstanding that the Old Boy's Network is still rife in the legal profession and that all trainees have exploited their father's or university professor's contacts to get a job. I believe there is an element of this in Chambers and you would be missing a trick not to use contacts if you have them but this isn't how it works for the majority. My parents are teachers and apart from their own high street lawyers, I am the only lawyer they know. I worked hard to get where I am and assuming I was silver spooned a trainee position is insulting.
4. We can (and want to) give you legal advice
Since starting my training contract I have been approached by friends, friends of friends, friends of the family and people I met in the pub to get some cheap easy legal advice. Outside of the fact that usually it is against our code of conduct, no lawyer knows the entirety of the law. Without looking into it further I would be surprised if any but an expert in the field could give you the answer off the top of their head. You are more likely to be fobbed off. I have a bigger problem with being asked for legal input: I am a TRAINEE solicitor - do you really want someone unqualified to give you legal advice? After all, you wouldn't get an apprentice carpenter to build your house. I know it is expensive to get advice from a law firm, but there is a reason. If you don't want to pay go to the Citizen's Advice Bureau, not to me.
and finally:
5. We drink too much.
Erm. I can't really comment personally on this one. I do know that some fellow trainees are a little exasperated by being tarred with the same rum-soaked brush. I think once upon a time trainees felt like they had to drink as the after work boozer was the only place to network with the partners. Now, especially in commercial firms, there is a much higher expectation on trainees to take part in marketing opportunities. Hence my recent involvement in corporate canoeing. Please don't judge me for that either.......
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| I did this. It hurt |
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