Career Clinic: Should I ditch a commercial TC for something more meaningful?

The fact that you are questioning it says a lot... if you are feeling this way already, imagine how you are going to be feeling six months in to something you don't feel strongly about, don't find rewarding, etc. You've proven your point, you're more than capable of succeeding in the world of commercial law, it just remains to be seen whether you actually want to!Good luck.

Anonymous -19 Nov 2007 | 15:50

It depends where you are financially. If you have lots of debts and no other offers, you would be foolish to turn down a decent training contract for something "more fulfilling". Nothing is less fulfilling than not being able to pay the rent. Unless you can quickly find a training contract that is more aligned to what you feel is right for you, which I doubt, I'd be inclined to stick it for two years, collect the salary and save like crazy to get out as soon as you can afford it.

Ex-MC Lawyer -19 Nov 2007 | 16:09

I know exactly where you are coming from. I too needed the city TC and yes, it was ultimately only to pay the bills. The bad news is that I have not had the guts to make the move since qualifying and becoming more financially secure to go and do what truly interests me as a lawyer. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the work that I do as a construction lawyer, but it was never what I set out to do. I get the odd day where I wonder if I could make the jump but I suspect that too many years have passed now. My advice at this stage would be to either go for it and abandon the City TC or take the City TC and set yourself a realistic timeframe within which to make a decision about moving across to public/ human rights work. In the meantime or as an alternative, you can always do volunteer work in that sector anyway, which you may find is enough to keep you happy, especially if it turns out that you end up quite enjoying being a commercial lawyer day to day.

Anonymous -19 Nov 2007 | 16:20

It really depends on whether your social concience is more important to you than making money. Imagine yourself twenty or thirty years from now with wife and children. Will you have a big house with land and have the option and the resources to pay for your kids' secondary and further education or will you be struggling to make ends meet and pay an exorbitant mortgage hewn from the dwindling pot of money available from legal aid or what the downtrodden and hard-done-by can afford?It's a very simple choice really. Carefree, comfortable, complacent and culpable - or happy, honorable, honest and hard-up! C or H? You'll spend the rest of your working life knackered whichever you choose!

Director -19 Nov 2007 | 16:20

Hey dreamer, do you have any idea how tough it is to get into the best civil liberties/ human rights law firms or barristers' chambers? Some of the brightest people with very high ideals apply to work in that field. Do you think you have a chance, with just paralegal experience in the general company/commercial context, and how genuine is your desire? Do you have any relevant experience in civil liberties and human rights? If not, I suggest you smell the coffee and wake up to the reality - fast! You've done well to get some TC interivews, embrace the situation you are in and go for it. Dreaming will get you nowhere.

May -19 Nov 2007 | 16:23

I agree with the previous comment. I think that you should take the opportunity to get a training contract and stick it out for two years. You acknowledge that your poor grades have made it difficult to get to this point: once you have a professional qualification, your grades will be much less important and you will find it much easier to move on, either to work in a different area of law or a different environment altogether. Human rights is an extremely competitive area with very few jobs and unless you have significant experience (which maybe you can try and obtain during your TC through pro bono and other activities), you may really struggle to get a job. A few years down the line with good references and experience it will hopefully be a different story. Best of luck.

Assistant, Top 30 Firm -19 Nov 2007 | 16:38

Speaking as someone who trained at one of the well-known (in its field) civil liberties firms and then moved to the City when I qualified, my advice would be to make sure you really know what you are letting yourself in for before you make the leap. Firstly, salary levels are substantially lower in this sector; unless you are going to work for Tsols, you will be doing a great deal of publicly-funded (i.e. legal aid) work and the salaries do not only lag behind the City, but lag behind doctors, teachers, and (certainly when you're at the junior end) nurses. You will be working in a climate where the political emphasis is entirely upon cutting costs - hardly covered in Legal Week, but a quick look at the Gazette will give you an idea. You will be dealing with a very challenging and vulnerable client base, for which time in the City will not have prepared you. Equally, don't assume that it will be a simple matter for you to switch. Your City experience will be of limited use to you at a civil liberties firm and they will be more inclined to be suspicious of you and your motives than be impressed. Unless you can show real committment to their work (e.g. voluntary work you've done, internships with NGOs, work at law centres), it may be very difficult for you to get a job at that sort of firm. That said, the work is incredibly involving (where the constraints of public funding don't make it impossible for you to work in a satisfying or sensible way on files). Best of luck.

Associate, mid-level firm -19 Nov 2007 | 16:42

take dolla

DLR Soul -19 Nov 2007 | 19:56

I agree with the previous comments - it's sensible to get some money behind you and then relevant experience if you really want to switch. I took a 60% pay-cut when I switched from City to legal aid with a nine-month unpaid stint at a charity and a masters in between. Savings from my City training got me got me through that transition. On the plus side, I found the work in legal aid satisfying and challenging - I saw more clients on my first day than I ever saw in the City.But I'm not a lawyer anymore - legal aid is just as family-unfriendly as the City - so perhaps not the best person to advise!!

Not a lawyer anymore -20 Nov 2007 | 09:50

I would take the training contract. It doesn't mean you have to give up on public law/human rights work. You say you're with a top City firm, so you should find that they do quite a lot of pro bono work, and firms are always looking for lawyers to help out with that. Some of it can have a really interesting public law/human rights element. If you eventually decide you want to switch into that area, at least you'll know a bit about how it works, and you might well have met some useful people. A training contract in any firm teaches you a lot of useful things. Don't think of it all as only relevant to commercial or corporate work. You will gain skills in your training that you can use anywhere. Go to all the lectures your firm puts on as part of its training programme, get involved in projects outside the specific area you're working in if a particular seat doesn't thrill you, and keep an open mind.

Anonymous -20 Nov 2007 | 12:00

Take the TC in the City. Do some pro bono and buy fair trade coffee!

JasonB, Headhunter -20 Nov 2007 | 14:20

I agree with Jason B. I did legal aid as part of the TC in my old firm. Someone has to do it, but I hated it. To be honest, doing pro bono at somewhere like the Mary Ward Centre or Waterloo Centre is more rewarding because the recipients know you're not doing it for the money. And you can always do non-legal voluntary work on the weekends if you need to appease your conscience.

Associate, US firm -20 Nov 2007 | 16:13

If you are interested in public law, you could consider moving to the public sector after your training contract. I work in local government and my impression is that a strong commerical background can be of value in this sector. You may then find opportunities to do more purely public law work. You won't be paid the same as your private sector colleagues but you should find a varied workload, a good quality of life and a public service ethos.

Anonymous -21 Nov 2007 | 12:19

If you work for a City firm you will be doing much more to help real people than if you work for a 'human rights' outfit. City firms generate huge amounts of money for the economy and even the worst leach of an M&A lawyer who cheats on his taxes will be contributing more to society than some smug 'human rights' lawyer whose greatest achievement is allowing a terrorist to go free to kill again or to prevent England flags being flown outside shop fronts. In other words, you'd be better to take the TC.

Librarian -21 Nov 2007 | 13:02

Librarian is an idiot. The work publicly funded lawyers do is vital to the rule of law and a fair society - I've virtually never met a partner in my City law form who thinks otherwise. There are two questions - first, what do you WANT to do? You should be in a pretty good position to judge if you want to be a commercial lawyer. The downside is the lack of human element and the relatively low level of responsibility at the beginning. However be wary of those who claim that the City is glorified admin and that is what you want to escape - you get less admin as you go on in the City whilst in legal aid there is an ever present mountain of red tape and form-filling. If the answer is no to the first question, then the second question is can you afford to not be a commercial lawyer relative to your financial needs? If the answer to the the second question is no, then take the training contract and be prudent - save your money instead of spending it on cocktails and holidays, and once you have your mortgage deposit saved up make a change.

City lawyer -21 Nov 2007 | 17:58

I think Librarian is spot on - human rights law is flawed as a concept and those who pepetuate it would be first against the wall (though the same can't be said for the rest of legal aid.)In the words of Shami Chakrabarti, "When in doubt, take the money."

JT -22 Nov 2007 | 10:24

You have just got an interview for a TC, not landed it. I would concentrate on trying to get offered it (no foregone conclusion!) then you can do all the soul-searching in the world. The best bit of advice is to get qualified, do pro bono law centre work (if you want to feel worthy) and see how things go.I left the law after three years' private practice and spent five years in-house before moving into consultancy for one of the "big four". I know being a qualified lawyer (who has kept up his practising certificate) has been invaluable in every stage of my career. Good luck.

Management Consultant -22 Nov 2007 | 15:46

Having worked in a small firm, regional firm, City firm and inhouse my advice is do what interests you. Life is too short to spend time on things you don't want to do. If you work at what you enjoy, you are more likely to shine and create opportunities for yourself. After 10 years I'm now leaving the law - it has been an enjoyable career and provided me with excellent contacts and some very transferrable skills, but in the long term, it is not what I am meant to be doing. Remember, death is certain, it's only when it happens that is unknown. If you get sucked in to the City life, the longer you stay, the harder it is to leave because your lifestyle becomes tied to the £. I have a lot of friends in the City that want to get out but can't because of finances.

Thinking deeply -22 Nov 2007 | 16:13

Its amazing how insular some City lawyers are. Human rights law has contributed to principles which guarantee most rights and expectations taken for granted now. Fundamental human rights principles which came out of human tragedies (such as the holocaust) have had an enormous impact on human rights from which a state cannot derogate. The right to due process of law etc are just as pertinent in the UK as they are in countries which do not respect such rights. Like the England football team, City lawyers comfortable with their high salaries have too a high opinion of themselves. What is most important is that you follow your heart. Being happy is the most important thing in life. There are many lawyers who, while paid well, are no 41 of 100 lawyers and are very unhappy with what they do. Take the risk and follow your heart. Life is too short for regrets when there are so many interesting things to do. I was faced with the same options when i started law. I went to work for a criminal high street solicitors instead of large commercial firm. I enjoyed every miunte of it and wouldnt have changed my decision. Years later, after much struggle and also taking an LLM in International Law, I have landed a job at the Hague.

Soon to be International Human Rights Lawyer -23 Nov 2007 | 14:10

I think you're right to take this feeling seriously, but I'd urge caution - you shouldn't throw away the opportunities you now have which will help you get where you want, if you have no other opportunity to become a human rights lawyer tomorrow. If you want to be a lawyer, you need a training contract. That's the bottom line. If I were you I'd get the best, best-paid one you can, get through it, and then think again when you're a solicitor. People here are right that public and human rights law are INCREDIBLY competitive fields - more so than the City, I think, no matter what City people might think. The chances of getting in are low, rewards are low, satisfaction and feel-good aren't automatically high and if somehow you're lucky enough to train in it, your training probably gives you fewer options, later, than a City training does. Do you know any City lawyers who've turned to human rights? Maybe not, but they exist. Know any human rights lawyers who've turned to the City? I'm not sure they exist.Get your TC and a decent training; and do voluntary work as others have suggested. When you're qualified you'll be in a much better place to make this decision, and a lot more valuable to human rights organisations.

Carl Gardner, www.headoflegal.blogspot.com -26 Nov 2007 | 19:27