Trainee Solicitor

How I found this job:
I picked up the publication 'Target Law' from the careers department during my Third Year, and had a look at London Law firms and the type of work they offered. Linklaters was one of a number that I applied to.

Training provision in this company:
After your law degree/conversion course, you will spend one year on the ‘Legal Practice Course’ (roughly equivalent to the training offered at Blackhall Place) at the College of Law in London. Then you begin a 2-year ‘Training Contract’ with the firm, during which time you will spend 6 months in four of the firm’s different departments. After this, you become a qualified solicitor. Regular training sessions are provided throughout your time at the firm.

Career development / progression in this company:
Trainee Solicitor for 2 years, then Associate for 4-6 years, Managing Associate thereafter, and Partnership opportunities realistically arise at the 6-10 year post-qualification mark.

Most important skills and knowledge I use in my job:
Ability to listen, take instructions, and manage time. Work done at the firm is mostly done in teams.

Most interesting part of my work:
The variety of work. One week you will be drafting clauses on an aircraft financing agreement, and the next minute you might be doing a piece of research on the ins and outs of the London market for Japanese bonds. After hours, there is a great social scene, with a wide range of sports teams, pro bono initiatives and client entertainment receptions to choose from.

Most challenging part of my work:
Getting drafted onto a deal which has been running for months, and trying to get up to speed in a matter of minutes is always challenging! It’s a bit of an art to be able to predict how long exactly a task is going to take, but it’s important to have thought about this when the ‘anyone got capacity?’ emails come round from the partners on a Thursday morning!

Advice for current TCD students entering the employment market: Have a good think about what you want to do with yourself on leaving college, and if you think you might apply to a larger company/firm, find out when the deadlines for application are, and do a bit of research on your chosen field and on the firms themselves. From a recruiter’s perspective, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve done Law, English Lit., or Science at University, but what is important is what you can say you’ve learned from your time in the Berkeley/Ussher, and from your Trinity career in general. Law firms such as Linklaters currently take 40% plus of their graduates from non-law backgrounds, and will fund the costs of both the conversion course and the Legal Practice Course.