Name in the journal

Very small moment today when one of the solicitors noticed my name in the journal of the law society as a new entrant :) Quite exciting to see it there. Plus had the added benefit of proving to my managing partner that my training certificate isn't forged and the law society really has my name on their lists...

Contract

Finally got round to signing my training contract. I'd been waiting for the firm to provide one. It's almost the deadline when the law society demands it, so I emailed my managing partner and the head of HR to see what was going on.

Five minutes later the partner came in and said "but we've been waiting for you to give us a contract! Haven't you received the standard one from the law society?" I had, of course, but I had assumed that the firm, being fairly large, would have one of their own.

There were a few things to tweak. I resisted the temptation to add in clauses for the exclusive use of a company limo, regular meals out paid for by the firm, or even a pay rise.

I spoke to a 2nd year trainee who had to do the same thing at another firm. When doing the same thing she'd inserted for her pay "the law society minimum" whilst her colleagues had put in the actual figures. Come the increase the following year she gained the increase above her colleagues.

So I lightly tweaked my contract accordingly and added in "or greater amount as may be agreed between the Trainee and the Employer". This was picked upon by my managing partner and the finance director.

It was quite a moment going through the contract with the partner, as he picked through each word and ribbed me about it. Especially when he noticed that I had also made the slightly embarassing mistake of misspelling his name...

Management meeting

Had my first management meeting today. Went well. Apparently my efforts not to drown in too much info by noting everything on the file is seen as being organised and not lacking in mental abilities (all of my colleagues seem to be able to remember the last detail of every case off the tops of their heads).

Lunch was hectic - was looking forward to a break but the phone kept ringing. One witness was livid. I'd sent him a copy of what he'd said to me. "No! I can't say that, I'm not qualified to say that. That's not what I want to say". But you did! That's why I wrote it down.

Just when I thought I could cope with the phone and nibble my lunch at the same time, reception called. A client had popped in to see me and drop off photos he thought I should see. No rest for the wicked!

New trainee

I'm not the newbie any more - one new trainee has started and there's another coming soon. Although I'm only a few months ahead of them, because I've passed the basic hurdle of getting used to the system, and have (hopefully) shown the office I can cope with the things that are thrown at me, I've been told that I may as well be a whole year ahead of them. It's a perception thing. At least, thats the experience of last year's trainees!

I am beginning to feel that I'm covering a fair spread of what I might eventually be doing, apart from, of course, being allowed to open my mouth in court! At the beginning I was excited by the tasks I was being given. Whilst they seem basic compared to some of the more technical legal activities which I've been trusted with, the importance of a good basic precognition is only becoming more acute as the basic building block in gathering evidence. And whilst I was very excited to be passed clients of my own, I'm now juggling an increasing load of cases.

I can still take comfort, though, as a trainee... my juggling efforts look small time compared to the 100+ files the 2nd year trainees and NQs have on their desks.

First summons

Better get used to saying "its been a busy week" - think thats how it's going to be from now on. It's not a bad thing if you manage it all properly, had considered a grimace when being given new tasks to dissuade people from giving me too much... but then again as a trainee I'm striving to be helpful and capable so will be grateful for everything I'm given!

Have had some very interesting things this week. Top of the list was drafting my first summons. This of course involved thinking about liability, injury and quantum, so had to spend some time valuing the claim and wondering if my assessment was realistic. Of course it doesn't matter what I put, the answers are always going to say "The sum sued for is excessive"! Hopefully there's enough of a case there that it doesn't get punted out on a rule 22 note (if thats the right one I'm thinking of).

It's now over 2 months since I started. I'm still overjoyed to say that the place is still as much fun as when I started. The atmosphere is still friendly and open. Results are undoubtedly expected, but they are achieved with a positive vibe rather than driven by fear.