Training Contracts: How to Pick a Law Firm

Preliminaries 

So you've decided that you want to become a solicitor. Excellent. But what next? It is important to note that there are a number of steps and qualifications you need before you will be a qualified solicitor. Firstly, you need a law degree or to have completed a general diploma in law (GDL). Then, you need to complete the Legal Practice Course (LPC), a practical qualification. Done yet? No. After you have done the LPC, before you can call yourself a qualified solicitor, you need to complete a period of recognized training or a 'training contract'. This involves working at a law firm for two years as a trainee solicitor. It is after you have done this that you will be a qualified solicitor. 

So, to summarise, to become a lawyer you need to: 

1. Complete a law degree (three years), or the GDL (one year on top of your degree)

2. Complete the LPC (one year normally, or six months if you do an accelerated version) 

3. Complete a training contract (two years)

Simple, right? 

The Training Contract 

A training contract is notoriously hard to get, hundreds of applicants apply every year for just a few positions. Firms are investing a lot of time and money into their trainees, often paying for you to complete the GDL or the LPC, and even sometimes with a maintenance loan alongside this. 

But where you complete your training contract is a very important and personal decision. Law firms offer greatly varying training contract experiences, including different practice areas, amount of trainees, levels of responsibility, and locations. 

So, when and where should I apply for a training contract? 

Time Frames

Before I get stuck into the things you should consider when looking for a training contract, I would firstly like to quickly mention the time frames for training contract applications. They are not like ordinary jobs where you apply, get the job, and begin. Most big law firms recruit two years in advance. This certainly isn't the case for all firms, some recruit one year or not at all in advance, but it is definitely something to note. 

This means that if you want to start your training contract immediately after you complete the LPC, you need to apply to law firms in the second year of your undergraduate law degree, or the third year of your degree if you plan on completing the LPC. 

With this in mind, don't worry too much about time frames. I have made friends who are starting their training contracts at 28 or 30, so don't feel as though you have to start as soon as you finish your studies. Personally, it took me three years of applications to get the training contract with my dream firm, having just completed the LPC. This means that I will have to wait two years before starting my training contract. Personally, I am excited about this break from education, and the opportunity to do some traveling or experience law in different countries. But understandably this may not be the case for everyone. 

Additionally, it is worth noting that if you are going to complete the LPC or the GDL, it is worth securing a training contract before you begin these courses. This is because a lot of big firms will pay for you to do these expensive courses, but will often not pay for them retrospectively. 

There is also a benefit to considering where you want to complete your training contract as early as possible because there are opportunities during your time at university, especially at the beginning that you will not get later on. Personally, I didn't capitalise enough on the resources and open evenings that law firms offer during University, and I regret this. There are schemes specifically available to first-year students, which are a great way of getting your foot in the door at a law firm from an early stage. There are also lots of law career fairs which law firms attend which are again a great way of getting to know lawyers and trainees at the firm and get that inside information which will be really useful when you get to completing your application form. 

These stages may not seem all that important, you may want to skip the law fair or not bother applying to the first year insight scheme, but believe me, when you look at how competitive it is to get into some of these law firms, being able to say that you can demonstrate your interest in that specific law firm from your first year of university and have lots of knowledge and names you can drop names of trainees that you have met, you will be thankful. 

So, I guess what I am trying to say is, don't worry about time frames, but do worry about time frames. Start early if you can and if you want to, but don't panic if you have already graduated when you decide to become a solicitor. 

Picking your firm 

Bear with me 

The process for picking a law firm that I am about to outline may seem laborious and pointless. But please bear with me, it will be worth it. I have done the method of just applying for law firms using one application letter for all the law firms, without really knowing what I want in a training contract or law firm. Believe me when I say it will not bring you success. One of the first questions they will ask you on an online application form (which I will talk about in a later installment!) is 'why us'? If you don't know why you're applying for a firm, you won't be able to convince the person reading your application that you want to work there. If you can't do that, you won't get the training contract. 

So please, rather than wasting your time submitting 40 applications without a clue of what you want, instead actually think about these questions and submit 10 carefully considered applications for firms that you would be excited to work for.  

Law firms vary hugely in size, practice areas and location. When considering what firms you want to apply to, I would suggest you consider asking yourself these questions: 

1. What type of law do I want to practice? 

Maybe you have always dreamt of becoming part of Suits and you have always known it is corporate law or nothing. Or maybe you know you want to be a family lawyer. That's great, your first step sorted. Knowing what type of law you want to practice will be really useful for the next steps when you start looking at rankings and the best law firms for what you want to practice. 

Personally, I do not have the luxury of knowing exactly what type of law I want to practice. I have considered intellectual property, employment law, media, family etc. etc. So for me, it was about finding a law firm that was able to offer both private client and more corporate law, and do both of these things to a high standard. And, the great thing about law and law firms is that's okay! Plenty of firms offer a huge variety of practice areas, which should hopefully allow you to explore lots of different types of law during your training contract. 

I would also like to mention that pigeonholing yourself into one particular type of law also isn't a great idea. I have spoken with lots of people who have said they always had an idea in their head of what type of law they wanted to practice, only to discover they find it incredibly boring. Also when it comes to interviews, it may not be a great idea to say 'I only want to be a sports lawyer'. Some law firms may not immediately be able to offer you that seat, and as most training contracts will require you to practice four different types of law for six months each, they probably won't want to hear that you're only interested in one of those seats. So, have a good idea of what you're looking for, but also try to keep your options open to some extent, 

2. How big a law firm do I want to be working at? 

The size of law firms you do your training contract also matters. Some law firms have three trainees, who work in a tight-knit group with a small number of lawyers. Others have 40 trainees, requiring you to work amongst lots of other people in a big office. 

Neither is good or bad, but if you think you would prefer to work in a big or small group, this is also something to note when looking at law firms. 

3. Where do I want to work? 

I have always been attracted to the excitement and competitive environment of working in the city. Because of this, I wanted to find a law firm that I loved in London. 

Others might hate that idea, and want to work in a regional law firm. There are some great firms in Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, etc. There are also more 'boutique' law firms in towns all over the country that are likely to offer training contracts. 

From asking yourself these questions, you should be able to get a pretty good idea about the type of law firm that you want to work at. The next step is to narrow this down to specific firms. 

Consult rankings tables 

There are loads of websites where you can find information about law firms. The first place I started when looking at firms was the Legal 500 and their rankings. This will allow you to find the best firms for the type of law you want to practice. 

For example, if you want to practice family law, you can go to the rankings for UK Solicitors in family law. The Legal 500 separates the law firms into tiers and ranks the firms. If you were to look at family law, you would find that the top three firms are Charles Russell Speechlys, Dawson Cornwell, and Family Law in Partnerships Ltd. So, these firms would be a good place to start! 

To get a more comprehensive look at a law firm after looking at these rankings, I would recommend the Lex 100. This provides ratings for trainee satisfaction, expectations, work quality, client contact, work-life balance, remuneration, etc. It also has a nice section about what trainees consider to be the best and worst thing about the firm, and a day in the life at the firm. This will give you a good picture about the type of work you can expect there, what are good things about the firm, and what may be missing. For example, you may find that the top-ranked intellectual property law firm has really low trainee satisfaction, low levels of trainee responsibility, no client contact, and a terrible work-life balance. This may be just what you want, but it also may not! 

Obviously don't take what trainees have to say as undoubtedly true, and don't base applications solely on minor details such as the average leave time of a trainee. But these are good things to note. 

I would also recommend Lawcareers.net for more concise details about practice areas offered by the firm, sponsorship, insight about salaries, etc. The organised perfectionist in me found it very pleasing to create spreadsheets that contained all of this information in a clear, orderly way. 

Shortlist 

Following this, I would recommend picking around 8-10 firms that you think best match what you want in a training contract. This will allow you the time to produce a great application for each of these firms, and if it is possible, attend open days, insight evenings, and law career fairs for these firms. 

Next Steps 

Alas, you don't just pick a firm and automatically get a training contract. Unfortunate, I know. There are application forms, vacation schemes, video interviews, online testing, assessment centers, and all sorts to consider after this. 

I will consider each of these things in later installments, and will attempt to be as informative as possible in a confusing and competitive world. But I will repeat again what I said at the beginning, please do take the time to sit down and think about where you apply. It will make a huge difference when making your applications and being able to show real enthusiasm about working at a particular firm. 

Good luck, and stay tuned for the next installment which will be: How to write an online application for a law firm training contract.