The training process to be a solicitor starts with your in-office training, be that your Training Contract, Apprenticeship, or Qualifying Experience. Jacksons currently has a lot of trainees under their wing, all at various stages, and we thought it might be useful to share their thoughts and opinions to highlight the different stresses, achievements, and aspirations at each step of the way! If anyone has any questions about the trainee process or is interested in the work experience opportunities that Jacksons Law Firm offers, please see our website, or contact Caroline Harrison at CHarrison@jacksons-law.com.
Click on our timeline to see what our trainees have to say!
David – 1 month – I only recently started my training and am not due to qualify until 2029. I was incredibly nervous to start training since I have not studied law previously and I will be the only Solicitor Apprentice currently at Jacksons Law Firm. I am hoping to qualify for the corporate sector.
Emily – 1 month – I started training on 1st September and am due to qualify in 2023. Before I started, I was most nervous about the change from being in an educational setting to a work environment. I had never worked in an office-based job before and was nervous about picking up all the general procedures and running the tasks.
I have enjoyed getting to know all my colleagues, I have already learned so much from them. I have also enjoyed being able to put my knowledge into practice, the study of the law is very different from practicing! I have been surprised at the general running of cases. I had some understanding of what handling files may look like, but the reality has been quite different. I have found that everyone in my department is communicative and helpful with each other’s cases, and everyone seems to juggle their caseloads well which is something I expected to be more stressful.
I am looking forward to being able to manage my workload and take the actions that I feel are necessary, using my knowledge and skills, as opposed to continually having to rely on other people to assist me.
It has been as I would have expected, but also more positive than I anticipated. I was anxious and nervous to start but everyone on the team has been so helpful and supportive that it has eased the pressure I had put on myself and allowed me to just focus on the training!
Jack – 6 months – I started training in April 2022 and am due to qualify in October 2023. I have been training with the litigation department and have enjoyed the variety of matters, each day is different, and you are given a lot of responsibility very early on. It makes you feel like part of the team, not just a seat filler. I have also enjoyed getting involved with the firm’s charity events – my biggest achievement so far is that I was the joint top scorer in the charity football tournament alongside Richard Knaggs! I think my training here has taught me to use my initiative and to give my own opinion on how to progress a matter.
The whole process has been completely different from the LPC and University, but the responsibility and teamwork have been thoroughly rewarding so far.
Martha – 10 months – I started training in January 2022, but I had already worked at Jacksons as a paralegal since 2019. I am due to qualify in January 2024. Having already done work in my first training department, I wasn’t particularly nervous about starting. However, I was quite apprehensive about starting in a completely new and unfamiliar department. The most stressful part of training is naturally changing departments and feeling as though you aren’t sure what you are doing.
I think Jacksons has a great trainee community where all the trainees can speak to each other about any concerns or queries so it’s good to be able to lean on each other. Every few months we have a trainee lunch where we can chat about any problems and it’s nice to be a part of a group who are going through the same thing.
I think I have been most surprised by the amount of information that I retained from Uni and how you can be researching a topic for a client and suddenly you can remember sitting in a lecture hall 5 years ago listening to the topic being discussed and it being a bit alien and not being sure how it will be utilized in the practice.
Training is great as you get exposure to a lot of departments, but I think it will be nice to stay in the same place without worrying about the next rotation and having to get to grips with a new department once I am qualified.
I think it’s hard to know exactly what to expect when training because you may do something you really enjoy and pick it up quickly or you may have to try things that aren’t quite your cup of tea and presents their challenges. Either way, both experiences are certainly valuable and help you learn not only about the department but also help you learn about yourself and how you work best.
Hannah – 10 months – I started training in January 2022 and am due to qualify in January 2024. As I had worked as a secretary for several years, I was nervous about what I knew would be a big change and having to learn a new role. Sometimes training can be stressful as you are always learning something new and getting to grips with a new area of law whilst also dealing with the time pressures of the job.
However, working with different teams is great and you quickly get to know lots more people around the office. Everyone is approachable at Jackson, so it is a great place to train and learn as there is always someone to help if you need it.
I am currently working in residential conveyancing and there is real satisfaction in getting a client’s purchase over the line as it can be a stressful time for people. Being in different seats means you have to focus on different skills. During my seat in the Corporate Department, there was lots of drafting involved, whereas in Residential Conveyancing you manage your files, so you gain lots of experience in transaction and client management.
I am looking forward to qualifying so that I can get to grips with whichever area of law I end up going into and develop my knowledge in that area. Training has not been as overwhelming and intimidating as it felt before starting. There is lots of support and you are given the responsibility to learn a lot in each seat.
Kim – 16 months –
I started my training in June 2021 and am due to qualify in March 2023.
Having studied Politics as an Undergrad before studying the GDL and LPC, I felt that I lacked a certain level of knowledge than the trainees who had studied law as undergrads. Once I started training, however, I realized that this wasn’t the case at all. Research is a big part of being a trainee, regardless of whether you studied law at an undergrad level, and your supervisor is not expecting you to know everything.
Unlike the other trainees, the first year of my training contract was with another firm based in the Northeast. Unfortunately, in early 2022 the firm closed its doors, and I was left needing to find a firm willing to continue my training. As I knew I wanted to qualify for property law, I approached firms hiring within their property departments. From the moment I interviewed with Jacksons, I knew it was the firm for me and I was delighted to accept their offer to work within their commercial property department.
When first starting my training, I felt there was a need to always reply to clients within a second and if a client said jump, I would say “how high”. Once my caseload increased however I realized that this was not practical. By learning how to manage client expectations at the early stages, you can ensure clients don’t chase you constantly for updates and understand that completion can’t take place within 2 hours of a file being opened.
I’ve been surprised by how different practicing law is from studying law/LPC. At University, property law was my least favorite module but in practice, the property has been the area I’ve loved working in the most. I would recommend keeping an open mind during your training contract as you may be surprised with the area of law that is your preference by the end of the process.
Aside from having to move firms mid-training contracts, my trainee experience has been what I was expecting. As a trainee, you are provided access to a large variety of work within departments allowing you to gain experience working on many different cases. This in turn allows us to broaden your knowledge in law but ultimately helps you decide the area you wish to qualify into once qualified.
Amy – 19 months – I started training in March 2021 and am due to qualify in March 2023. Before I started, I was nervous that I would have no idea what I am doing and that this would not be something that I could do. It’s super stressful when moving seats – you get comfortable with where you are and then have to move back to square one with a whole new department. It is difficult going from feeling like you can work independently to having no clue!
I would say my biggest achievement during training has been gaining the confidence to speak to strangers without worrying so much. I have also enjoyed the Trainee Boardroom lunches because we have been able to grow closer as a group and we can chat about any issues or worries we are having and pass on advice to each other when moving departments. Training also definitely teaches you to be organized and how to work as a team and independently.
I was also really surprised to learn that even solicitors who have been qualified for years can be self-conscious and doubt themselves sometimes. It is nice to have the occasional doubts normalized and to know that you are never expected to know everything.
It will be nice to qualify and finally get settled somewhere – I am hoping either Private Client (Wills and Probate) or Employment law. It has been great to get to try various work and experience several departments. I did not expect these two years to go by so quickly, and I also did not expect that some departments I had no idea about would become my favorites! It has been very interesting to see how completely different each department runs, and how completely different the work is in each team.
E
llie – 22 months – I started my training contract on 4th January 2021 during the pandemic and am due to qualify at the end of December 2022.
I think my biggest achievement during training is starting my training contract in the pandemic 2021 and completing my first 6-month seat solely from home. I had no idea how the systems/processes worked at Jacksons, and I had to learn all of this alone in my dining room with no one to turn to at the next desk.
I was most nervous about speaking to clients on the phone and others around me hearing the conversation. Although I had worked in a law firm previously, I carried out the background work so there was never any need to speak to clients. I was nervous that I would say the wrong thing/mess up during the call.
I have learned that case management is a key skill to have to make sure necessary deadlines are met. Effective note-taking is also key. It is often thought that note-taking is simple but speaking to the client whilst taking notes can be a challenging task, especially if you need to rely on the notes later.
The only thing which I did not expect was to be able to split my seats. I always thought that I would have to stick with 6 months in 1 seat and then 6 months in another seat. However, during my training, I worked in the litigation department for 14 months whilst also completing a seat in Commercial Property and Regulatory. I am now doing a split seat in Family and Regulatory work. If there is a department you enjoy it is sometimes possible to stay longer in that department.
I am hoping to qualify for the family department, with the possibility of carrying out regulatory work alongside. Originally, I did not consider a seat in the family department however after the first couple of weeks I knew it was something I enjoyed. Every day is so different.
Richard – 22 months – I started training in January 2021 and will be qualified at the end of 2022. In terms of nerves, I think there is always a worry as to whether you will be able to help the team that you are working in. As a trainee, it is easy to sometimes think of yourself as a burden rather than a helpful asset. The reality is that we are here to learn, and people won’t expect too much of you, especially at the start.
My start was very stressful, given that in my initial seat in litigation I did entirely from home due to covid lockdown. In the end, it was more stress that I had created myself worrying about how this was going to work with me never having worked in this area before. It was actually alright and there was a lot of help readily available. These days I have some more stressful days than others as I have picked up quite a lot of my caseload now, but that is just part and parcel of the job.
There have been a lot of enjoyable moments. Completing your first file springs to mind but also just been getting to know a lot of the different people in the firm and fortunately, I have been able to build some great work relationships. My biggest achievement has been to secure a permanent role in the commercial property team. This was my aim before I started my training contract so to have achieved this is exciting. It is really surprising how far you can come in a short space of time. You blink, 3 months have passed and you’re doing things you would never have thought you would be able to in such a short space of time.
I’m looking forward to being able to say I am a qualified solicitor. That has been the goal for so long and to be so close to that now is quite exciting. It is something that I have worked towards for years, as everyone does, so it is very satisfying to be this close now.
The whole process has been better than I expected it to be. I have found in all three of the departments I worked in, I have managed to develop good all the heads of department and they take a lot of time to help me improve and develop. There is no doubt that I wouldn’t be as confident and as competent as I am now if it wasn’t for this.
