My name is Ellie, and this month I newly qualified as a Solicitor into the Court of Protection department. I am based in our Cardiff Office after starting my training contract at Reeds in September 2023.
As I have had time to reflect on this huge milestone, it got me thinking about what my training contract at Reeds taught me, lessons that I will take forward into my new role and some things that I would rather forget!
1. You Will Make Mistakes, It’s About What You Do With Them
Mistakes are part and parcel of starting any new job, but it somehow feels world ending when you’ve worked so hard to get your training contract and you feel pressure to prove yourself. remember when I made my first mistake, a little over two weeks into my training contract, where I emailed a client department of a local authority instead of the legal team and I really beat myself up about it.
The difference in my attitude between when I first started my training contract and now as an NQ solicitor, is that I accept that mistakes are inevitable, but knowing how to deal with mistakes is the most important thing.
I have learnt that there is almost always a solution to what seems like even the biggest mistake as long as you tell someone. The best thing you can do is to not try and cover something up. Your supervisor is there for a reason and will almost always have a solution as long as you are honest – they were trainees once too and will not expect you to get everything right the first time. It is important to make sure you take in the feedback and apply it and show that you are willing and ready to learn.
2. Stay Organised
It seems like a simple thing but making sure you are organised early on will help you out in the long run. As you move along your training contract closer to being qualified, your responsibilities will get bigger, and you will have more cases to manage and therefore more deadlines. Finding a system that works for you and sticking to it will be key.
3. Connections Are Everything
One thing that no one told me before I started my training contract is that a large part of your own success as a solicitor will be hinged on the connections you form with other professionals. In my case as a Court of Protection solicitor, that includes barristers, solicitors from the other side of cases, advocates and health professionals. It seems obvious and it can be an easy thing to forget, but your success often relies on referrals based on the recommendations of others.
Court of Protection is a very close-knit legal community, particularly in Wales, and the impression others have of you matters. When you are a trainee, you do not have the years of experience behind you to build your reputation, but people are likely to remember when you went out of your way to assist on a case or when you pushed a deadline back to help them out.
Go for that coffee with a barrister after a hearing, stay and chat with an advocate after a client visit, go to that networking event alone even though it scares you and tell the solicitor from the other side that you hope they have a lovely weekend. Although these may seem like small things, it will get your name out there, people will trust you and it will allow you to hit the ground running when you qualify.
4. You Do Not Know Everything, and You Cannot Know Everything
When I started my training contract, I thought that once I was a solicitor, I would know everything I needed to know and now that I am here, I know that it is far from the truth! However, it is important to remember how far you come from starting out as a trainee and I impress myself daily with how much I have learnt and what I am able to do especially as when I started out, I did not know a thing about the Court of Protection.
Every day is a learning day in law and the most valuable thing you can do is soak in the information, skills and techniques from everyone around you and be curious. Nothing bad will come from asking questions and it is the most effective way to learn. It helps to take extra steps to gain more knowledge such as reading up on the latest case law and attending seminars to learn things you may not necessarily stumble across in your everyday practice. It all works towards making you a more well-rounded solicitor.
5. Back Yourself!
Being a trainee is challenging, enriching, rewarding and exciting all in equal measure and it is important to remember how far you have come since day one, all the hard work it took to get there and how capable you are of being a great solicitor. Go that extra mile, take every single opportunity to grow and enjoy it!