Career Clinic: Dealing with a troublemaking trainee

Does anyone know what the potential implications are for a firm if they pass someone from their traineeship but they are not fit to practise? If I were you I would speak to another partner and express your concerns, but give your views in a way that makes it seem that you are concerned for the firm and not the time you are wasting on this idiot. Play it as if you are worried about the firm's service and reputation, not the impact of his laziness on you. How about telling a partner you have reservations about this trainee because of the potential recourse to the firm if they certify him as a fit and proper person to practice/their PI cover, or the affect you perceive his poor attitude is having on your clients' views of the quality of service your firm provides? I really sympathise with your predicament - give yourself some back-up to show that you have tried to help him i.e. e-mail him asking him to a catch-up session between the two of you to see how he feels he's progressing, ask him publicly if there's anything he needs help with you are available.

solicitor -22 Jul 2009 | 16:11

Yep, sit it out. He can't ride on his uncle's coat tails forever, sooner or later he'll be caught out (probably by his uncle if he is a sound businessman), but I'd reduce his workload to reduce the amount you have to rehash. Probably not the best time to be making waves with equity partners though...

Anonymous -22 Jul 2009 | 16:36

Time to tell tales

Is the uncle aware of the trouble he is causing? If not, could you have a quiet word? This won't do the firm any favours when he starts trying to work directly with clients.

Ex-trainee -22 Jul 2009 | 16:40

Anonymous is right. You don't have the power to get rid of him. The partners will know he is useless already, but be reluctant to grapple with the situation - it's much easier to let him finish his contract then let him go. So give up on the trainee, do the work yourself or get a secretary to assist. At least you don't have to waste time trying to teach him.

Dullard -22 Jul 2009 | 16:48

Explain to him that the purpose of the training contract is for him to learn and that there will come a day when he is expected to advise clients without backup and that clients will not be accepting of a lack of knowledge or skills. If he does not respond positively it is also worth reminding him that you give feedback on his performance and that that will not be positive and will have a negative impact on his job prospects unless he improves. I would also remind him that if he isn't working for his uncle other people will be likely to fire him for being a waste of space. If that does not work, do not waste any more of your valuable time on him.

Hugh -22 Jul 2009 | 17:06

I feel sorry for you. If I were you I would grit your teeth, give him minimal tasks and get your paralegal to do the juicy work. Once he's off your hands, it'll be a relief. BTW - any clue as to which firm you are at?

Metallica -22 Jul 2009 | 17:19

Contact your local CAB or Law Centre and put him down for one day a week doing volunteer work. When he sees volunteers who are not necessarily legally trained performing better than him, maybe then he will pull his socks up. Also dipping his toes into legal advice not usually associated with a privileged background may be the rude awakening he needs. If you don't test his character then he is never going to find his soul or backbone.

ANON -22 Jul 2009 | 17:29

I cannot respect an equity partner who is willing to give a family member a job ahead of better candidates.

Likewise I cannot respect a student who begs his uncle for a job because he knows he is not of the correct calibre to earn a training contract.

However you have to bite your lip. When he leaves the department paint an honest picture of your time with him. One day he'll be judged on his merits and by the sound of things it won't be a happy day for him.

Laz -22 Jul 2009 | 21:21

I like to think this kind of practice only goes on at ropey firms in the regions. I'd be friendly to his face and mock him to everyone else in the department. If he can only get a job via nepotism he's probably been mocked by every other department.

Gordon Gecko -22 Jul 2009 | 21:35

Speaking as someone who once worked in a firm where the senior partner's child (I'm being non-gender specific here) worked as a trainee and then lawyer, I would say you're better off biting your tongue. I doubt that you are the only person who has a problem with your trainee's performance. However, it seems clear that no one is prepared to do anything about it. If you make it an issue you run the risk of it backfiring on you. Let it go.

Anonymous -23 Jul 2009 | 09:48

Hmm

I'd be surprised if the equity partner had any idea what this trainee was like. He'd probably be shocked to hear, as it's a bad reflection on him too.

Having said that, I'd avoid going to the partner - my guess is that the trainee would be petrified at the mere threat of you giving a "bad report" to the Uncle....?

The trainee may act all aloof, but my guess is that getting the TC was a massive favour, so to hear that it's being squandered would cause a lot of aggro amongst the family.

Try telling the trainee outright that if performance doesn't improve you'll be forced to go to the Uncle. Don't hint at it, say it outright. It'll scare the bejeezus out of any trainee.

And what's the worst that can happen to you? Get into trouble for threatening to give a bad performance review?!

Anon -23 Jul 2009 | 11:09

Leave well alone - the uncle should be shot for enabling this to happen. The trainee's inadequacies and attitude will have caused enough issues amongst the partners without you having to raise your head above the parapet. Keep sufficient notes so that you can justify the truly awful rating you're likely to give him at appraisal and wait.

If the particular trainee/uncle is reading this - and there won't be many whose uncles are equity partners/have trainee nephews - then you should be thoroughly ashamed.

City Woman -23 Jul 2009 | 14:25

Discuss this with the trainee partner for the office. Even if the trainee's uncle is prepared to pay for him to do jack I doubt that the other partners will be. Do not stop giving him work. Tell him what you expect him to do, by when and that if you are not satisfied, that he has to repeat the work and cannot leave until you are satisfied. Whilst you may find that this involves additional time on your part initially, it will work provided that you remain firm and do not take the work back. Do not take the soft option and avoid giving him the work. This individual is unlikely to be the last person that you will work with who is a passenger and this is a good opportunity for you to learn the skills necessary to deal with this type of person.

If all else fails have it out a la Marquis of Queensbury.

Anonymous -23 Jul 2009 | 17:24

Like one of the posters above, I have also worked in a firm where the senior partner's child was a trainee (at the same time I was a trainee, and it caused me a whole load of extra work) and then a lawyer. The partners your trainee works for WILL know he is useless and may well be avoiding the issue or just waiting until he moves away from their department. I would stop involving him in your work and get on and do it yourself. From what you say he is not interested in learning or being a good lawyer and that is ultimately his problem. I agree with all the comments on how this makes both him and his uncle look. It's their problem so try to avoid it being yours.

Annon -24 Jul 2009 | 11:45

Use any existing procedures to express your concerns very strongly. By that I mean speak to his supervisor (assuming it is not you). Are there mid and end-of-seat appraisals done by that supervisor that are submitted to HR/the graduate team which are taken into account in the run-up to qualification?
Over the remainder of his seat I would avoid giving him work and use someone else if possible.

Anonymous -24 Jul 2009 | 11:47

Don't be surprised if the partners already know about it. Best advice is to "let nature take its course"! Equity partners are usually savvy businessmen and anyone who is remotely likely to affect their PEP or their PI policy will be duly gotten rid of. In a law firm you need to pick your fights very carefully!

Pragmatic -26 Jul 2009 | 12:32

MC Associate

Do NOT in any circumstances approach this loser's uncle - if the man is prepared to ride roughshod over fair recruitment procedures then he is the "blood runs thicker than water" type and will not react well to you slating his nephew.

Ultimately, it is the training partner's call as to who gets to be signed off as a trainee. Cover your back by getting your concerns in the usual constructive way on the record for appraisals etc so you cannot be accused of having failed to make the firm aware of problems with the trainee. Then keep the trainee away from your work and clients since he clearly can't be trusted. This will mean until his seat finishes you will have more work, but just suck it up - this guy is irresponsible and lazy; that means he is liability waiting to happen and you want as much distance between him and you as possible.

Anonymous -26 Jul 2009 | 21:23

An equity partner who gives a family member a training contract is pathetic.

A student who accepts a training contract without going through the interview process must have no self-respect and have fully accepted that they are not clever enough to get a training contract through the interview process.

In the short term you're f$cked. You must continue doing his work, day in, day out. In the long term this loser will probably be given extra chances to get kept on - chances that the other trainees won't be given. Just pray it's not in your department.

The trainee will probably be made to beg for a job on qualification, be allowed to stay on for six months to a year and then quietly moved on to his uncle's tennis partner's firm. These swines never get ejected from the profession until their family members retire.

Axl -27 Jul 2009 | 15:13

What an utterly frustrating situation.
You should tell your head of department and your partner who is responsible for recruitment and appraisals of trainees why you are not satisfied and why you are no longer willing to allocate work to this trainee for fear that the firm will suffer a claim, a complaint and the loss of reputation that goes with either of these things.
It is quite likely that others already know of this trainee's inadequacies but as posters say it's easier to let the traineeship run its course, especially now the trainee is in the second year. Otherwise the Law Society could quite justifiably ask why the firm has not done anything about it earlier.
I had a not dissimilar suffering three years ago.
My firm recruited an unadmitted Rep who then turned it round when he was in post and said that the firm had promised him a traineeship. Rather stupidly, a partner agreed he could have one even though the other partners had not identified a need for a trainee and he was given a TC.
At least one of the partners had serious misgivings about the trainee's ability and so they covertly agreed that he would be sent to work with me and I'd soon find out if he was any good as I was the only person who would take the trouble to supervise his work properly. They did not tell me that they had reservations about the trainee before he came to sit with me.
2 months later I was in the Senior Partner's room telling him that the trainee's standard of written English was very poor, he did not know much about Property Law despite having a degree which should have covered it and his response when I asked him to do research was to say he hadn't covered the particular topic at Uni. Also, he could not read original title deeds - just could not make any sense of them even when I showed him where to look. Which is pretty hopeless if you are going to have any unregistered Conveyancing where you practise !
I ended up giving the firm an ultimatum - either they took the trainee away from me as he was more of a hindrance than a help, or I would hand in my notice !
I got what I wanted and "lost" the trainee and was given another one (who has since gone on to qualify and includes Property in her areas of practice). The underperforming trainee was not given substantive jobs to do for the remainder of his TC and was not given a job at the firm on qualification.
Something good did come out of it. The firm has tightened up its procedures for recruiting trainees and other staff and no-one is now allowed to override them, even if it is an equity partner.
This has reduced the number of recruitment "mistakes" - maybe this tightening up and lesson learned is what your firm needs.

high street solicitor -27 Jul 2009 | 15:18

This is so soul-destroying. I agree with most of the posters. Say nothing for now. Just give him menial and mind-numbing tasks, and make sure you cover your back whilst he's under your supervision. I'd have suggested that you speak to the other staff who have also supervised him, and make a collective approach to HR or another partner, but I fear he and his uncle will most probably take umbrage and think you're ganging up because you're jealous of the family connection. So just sit on your hands, and console yourself that he won't be there in, say, six months' time. Not a good time to rock the family boat.

Locum Solicitor, Herts -30 Jul 2009 | 14:33

Truth will out in the end. It's only for a short while, so grin and bear it, or better still do the work yourself and don't give any to this lowlife to mess up. When it comes to qualification time, the partners will not want him in their department, and it will become clear that he is not wanted by the firm. Do your bit by alerting the partner in charge of recruitment/qualifications about your concerns for the individual.

May -05 Aug 2009 | 14:25

Senior Solicitor (in house)

I had a similar situation where the trainee was so useless and lazy that it was just a joke. Her line manager did not want to deal with it, presumably to avoid difficult conflict. It got the the point where I decided it was best to just get on with my own work and ignore the useless trainee. Not the best outcome, as in an ideal world the process for assessment would be more objectively based and would require the trainee to actually justify their qualification as a solicitor, rather than just ride out two easy years.

I would imagine it would be quite easy to bluff your way through a training contract, but ultimately law is a career where you need to justify your own abilities. I am sure that your trainee's lack of work ethic, maturity and ability will eventually catch up with him.

M -13 Aug 2009 | 10:55