Career Clinic: Do I have the personality for a career in law?

You say you have worked in a number of law firms, which means you've met a number of lawyers. You say you're worried that you're personality might not be right for a career in law. How many of the lawyers you met had a 'personality'? Personality is NOT a requirement for a legal career. If you work the hours and bill the bills then no one will care what you're like as a person. In the last 20 years I've met many lawyers who are very successful as lawyers but you wouldn't want to spill your drink on them, let alone share a beer and have to get to know them! In fact some of the most successful lawyers are complete retards in the personality department, are generally disliked by people who work with them but are tolerated for the work they do.

Bertrand Frost -10 Mar 2010 | 17:55

Hmmmm

I agree very much the poster above re personality not being a "legal requirement" - though of course this is a generalisation for which there are exceptions.

You mention that you have "legal work experience with two large commercial firms (one magic circle) and a small respected family law firm". Were you offered a training contract with either of these firms? - or was this a possibility (i.e. thinking the small firm may not have been in a position to provide a TC)?

If a TC was a possibility and you were not offered, I would be prepared to explain why (in an interview) you did not receive an offer, or if you did receive an offer, why you did not accept it. I would expect that many firms might be (somewhat) put off by a lack of offer (assuming it was a possibility) - perhaps cynically thinking that if X (what I'm assuming is a well respected firm) gave you a miss, they should too. Firms receive a great many more applications than they have available positions, it's all too 'easy' to find reasons not to offer a position (because there is most definitely no shortage of candidates).

That said, if you really are interested in (what you believe to be) the practice of law and are convinced you want to give it a go, hang in there, be patient (not to mention persistent!) - good things come to those who wait...

Dorothy Gale -10 Mar 2010 | 18:20

Maybe go it alone

Do you really *want* to have the personality for a career in a big law firm? You sound capable and well-rounded (and the cynical might say that there is no room for the latter in a big law firm). Have you considered setting up on your own? This article makes a compelling case for the people you won't have to deal with - http://tinyurl.com/ya5r4nt

Don't give up, especially if you've known for so long that this is what you want to do. It might be that the magic circle is not the right fit for you - don't let that prevent you from succeeding.

Bus.Dev -11 Mar 2010 | 04:16

Don't give up!

It sounds like you have all the qualities law firms are looking for. The problem is the competition is tough and once you get to interview stage, you need to stand out from others who have very similar qualifications and extra-curricular activities to you. You haven't said anything about your interview 'style', but if you come across as enthusiastic, easy to get along with and genuinely interested in the firm and their work - and the interviewer can imagine themselves working in a team with you - then you should get a TC. If you really really want a career as a solicitor, then don't give up so easily. Good luck!

Future MC trainee -11 Mar 2010 | 08:48

At eight years old I was too busy being a child to care, or even know, what a solicitor did

"I have wanted to be a solicitor since the age of eight"?

Anonymous -11 Mar 2010 | 09:08

Don't give up hope

Dear OP,

You are simply in the unfortunate position of being in the midst of some of the worst economic circumstances for a generation. The law of supply and demand means that there are many many brilliant candidates like yourself who are in the same boat. You have to keep plugging away and something will turn up. Please don't allow your sense of frustration to show itself in interviews.

However - and lawyers have to sometimes hold two contradictory opinions concurrently in their heads - perhaps you should keep an open mind about whether the path you have set your heart on is really for you.

Regarding lawyers and personality: By and large, I agree with the poster above me. This is why I left the profession.

Gil -11 Mar 2010 | 09:32

Your use of the word "disillusioned" suggests something of a lack of vision around the potential that legal training can offer and the huge number of doors it can open. Without this vision your lack of enthusiasm is likely to show through and given the huge competition of training places it may not be surprising you are reaching barriers. You should take a long hard look at what you really want, how committed/enthusiastic you are and how you can demonstrate that and you need to have some idea of where qualification as a lawyer could take you. True commitment does not view barriers as total obstacles rather as hindrances to be overcome. You need to make up your mind whether this is what you really really want and if so then to renew your efforts and to think creatively about how you can best position yourself in the somewhat limited marketplace.

Anonymous -11 Mar 2010 | 10:26

Psychometric tests

Why not do some psychometric tests, to explore whether your particular aptitudes and interests are compatible with a career as a solicitor? These tests should be available through your University careers service. Such tests are by no means the be all and end all and the results should be discussed in context, with a careers advisor, but they might give you some more insight.

Eddie -11 Mar 2010 | 12:43

Persevere

First off, I am amazed that you have wanted to be a solicitor since the age of 8. If you are stating this on application forms and in interviews, those assessing you are likely to wonder what is wrong with you. Whilst dedication to a career in law is paramount to potential employers, they will be more interested to know why you are dedicated, not how long for.

Second, I am amazed (again) that you are showing signs of giving up on your second round of applications. I applied for training contracts before my GDL, before my LPC, after my LPC and again after a year working as a paralegal. I had interviews with four firms (at most) and finally landed a training contract with a great firm to start this September. I make that four rounds of applications, not to mention all the ad-hoc applications made throughout the year. If you can't persevere then you don't really want to be a solicitor, do you?

I disagree with a number of the comments regarding personality. It really depends on the firm and who is conducting the interviews. Perhaps an element of luck is involved on the day, but to be a successful lawyer you need to be able to adapt your personality and establish a rapport with anyone and everyone. Whilst this may not be necessary in order to do your job well, it is vital in making contacts, networking and winning clients.

Good luck!

Future Trainee -11 Mar 2010 | 13:00

Go for it!

Your predicament sounds similar to what I had to contend with when I applied for a training contract. Don't give up as the law can be a great career, especially if you are good with people and love solving problems. I eventually got a training contract with a top 15 UK firm with lots of international offices - I remember my final interview was with a partner known for his 'big personality'!

However, as a general rule I have found that most partners at large law firms are afraid of or intimidated by people that they perceive as having too much character - after all what they are really after is an efficient automated type of person who will do their work and bill the hours.

I have since worked at smaller firms where I have found the responsibility far more rewarding and am now in the process of setting up my own law firm at 4PQE which I have no doubt will prove to be very successful. The IT and digital media revolution will see a pattern emerging of more small firms starting, as the inefficient and outdated large ones decline. In this day and age physical offices and employing people directly are becoming more and more irrelevant.

Maverick -11 Mar 2010 | 13:44

Personality is not only not a prerequisite for law - having a good personality will hold you back in law. Being a backstabbing pedantic miserable bore will see you go far in law. Being a decent, team-oriented human being will see you fail.

You may in fact have the perfect personality for law since you have wanted to be a solicitor since the age of 8 - this is terrifying in itself and suggest the kind of abnormality the legal profession welcomes.

MC Associate -11 Mar 2010 | 13:52

Why ask?

The fact that you even need to ask this question is indicative of your character: no, you will not be suited to the law. You might get by for a while but every lawyer needs a burning commitment to the profession; then when the gloss wears off you at least know why you did it.

lm -11 Mar 2010 | 13:56

Some of these posts worry me a great deal. I practise on a High Street in the West Midlands. Personality is very important here - you need to be able to relate to clients and our clients here come in many shapes and sizes. If you don't relate to clients, the complaints will come in and there is nowhere to hide when they do come in. Also, the personality of the solicitor and his/her contacts has a lot to do with what work will be introduced to the firm.

I don't think these principles are unique to the High Street - the magic circle thrives on delivering excellent service that is relevant to clients, and having finders that bring business in. That is why so much of the relationship management and business development is at the door of the partners.

I therefore entirely refute that solicitors do not need "personality."

I have 2 questions for the OP:

1. How do you know the rejections you have received are related to your personality? Have you asked for feedback? What feedback have you received ? If you have not had feedback, then you are assuming which is dangerous in the law. Remember, "assume makes an ass out of u and me" and take notice of what that means.

2. Are you presenting your skill set and personality attributes in the right way? You say you have done fundraising for charities - have you described the activities and the amounts raised? How have you described the skills and attributes you have had to use to achieve what you raised and make the events happen? As for the sports, well if it is a team sport you play many employers like that kind of thing. If it includes golf, what more do I need to say? If you don't play golf, have you considered taking it up?

Other than that, there is a lot of competition out there and you just have to battle on and don't give up.

Also, lighten up. Most eight-year-olds want to be doctors, astronauts, drivers, football players or princesses. You're allowed a spot of childhood in life - some of us never grow up! Good luck!

high street solicitor -12 Mar 2010 | 14:24

personality does matter - make sure you water it down!...

I write as someone who trained at a magic circle law firm, but was one of the lucky 30% who weren't offered an associate position. (I say lucky because all those who accepted jobs as NQs are now nearly a stone lighter from stress, and are being worked to the bone because the decision to reduce NQ numbers on account of the recession has meant there is now too much work and too few people to do it.)

My experience is that while there may be no particular 'personality' type which is suitable for a career in law, as one of the above posters made clear, partners at big law firms are ultimately scared of big personalities who may challenge them. Law firms, and large corporate law firms in particular, are rigidly hierarchical business organisations. At a junior level, partners genuinely only want to employ unquestioning associates who will do as much work as they are given, regardless of the fluffy 'work/life balance' crap that graduate recruitment talks about. The lucky 30% in my intake who were not taken on tended to be the more compelling characters, certainly when judged in the context of the anaemic personalities that make up most trainee intakes. Most of these have left law for more interesting careers.

If you genuinely want a TC you need to learn to play the game - ie learn what to include and what not to include on your CV, and what to say and not to say in an interview. This is not rocket science, but a question of jumping through hoops. And don't be too proud to jump through these hoops and 'water down' your personality - once you've secured a TC and arrive at your firm, I have no doubt you will be staggered by just how unimpressive most of the lawyers are, and therefore why the process of 'watering down' is so necessary!

Good luck!

qualified and out -14 Mar 2010 | 19:51

What was the actual feedback from your interviews? Obviously they haven't gone well, but did your interviewers doubt your enthusiasm for law? Or had you not done enough research into the firm and some commercial issues? Perhaps you're not selling yourself well enough. It's a little hard to comment without getting some info on what's gone wrong in the interviews.

Oh, and saying that you've wanted to be a solicitor since you were 8 may seem like proof of enthusiasm and commitment to you, but would sound downright weird to anyone else. Have you been saying that at interview? If so, you may have found the reason why you're getting rejected.

GimmeaTC -15 Mar 2010 | 14:09

The interviews have gone well and feedback has either not been forthcoming or has been very vague.

As for wanting to be a solicitor since the age of 8, that has never been mentioned in any graduate recruitment process and was purely added for emphasis here.

- -15 Mar 2010 | 18:31

Interview technique

It would seem reasonable to speculate that the interviews probably went less well than those conducted with the candidates who got offers. It is very important to ask for feedback and to try and get some honest feedback. I did not find out what I was doing wrong until an HR lady gave me some very detailed feedback. In my case it was all about showing the interviewers that I could be the kind of person they were looking for, coming across as smooth and confident. Until I got that feedback I used to try and come across as a "nice person" and was probably too nervous and giggly. Once I got the feedback I changed the way I was in inteviews and got lots of offers (I had had lots of interviews but no offers until I got the honest feedback).

Abbey -16 Mar 2010 | 04:01

As previous posters out there have said - keep on trying! Make no mistake about it, things are tough at the moment, but if you can learn from any feedback you get and think about how you can improve on your interview and CV presentation, there's no reason that you won't succeed in the end.

As a client as well as a lawyer, I like external solicitors we use to be people that we can get along with with a good sense of humour and personality as people, and other people in my organisation and similar organisations are the same.

In house counsel -16 Mar 2010 | 16:52

Your choice

You have the right personality if you enjoy doing desk-based repetitive work, working with boring and often unpleasant people in a completely stilted environment, not speaking your mind, and spending your life looking forward to holidays (or retirement).

To say that City law firms are not places where the imaginative, the original, the honest, the unconventional and the fundamentally decent thrive is to put it mildly.

Nick -16 Mar 2010 | 19:01

Keep going!

Wow, you really got a lot of negative feedback there! I'd say don't listen to anyone who sounds embittered or disillusioned themselves - ultimately, that's not going to help you.

You're only just coming to the end of your degree, so even if you were to get a TC you've got another year to go with the LPC before you start. If you really care that much about law, go for it and don't give up or you'll have totally wasted your time with your degree.

I entirely disagree that firms are not looking for personality - of course they are. You need to be able to communicate and build relationships with both your colleagues and (especially) your clients. You also need a good deal of business sense - I suggest if you're falling at the final hurdle, this is what is letting you down. You probably do have a good understanding of commercial awareness if you've had a job since 16 - the key is to demonstrate it. Read the Times etc on a daily basis and note anything interesting to discuss at interview. Come up with your own opinions on it too.

Really research your chosen firm and any partners who might be interviewing you - why do you want them, and why should they want you? Think about what you have to offer - four languages, communication skills, what makes you stand out? - and work out how to show it. Create a personal brand.

If your uni puts on any workshops about demonstrating commercial awareness, go to as many as possible. If not, ask them why, and try to find somewhere that does (doing the LPC would help you here - most law colleges have careers departments that really help you focus on getting a TC).

Don't give up - the more you grow and the more experience you get, the more eligible you will be for employment. And don't listen to anyone who tells you it's not worth it.

Carrie -17 Mar 2010 | 20:35

Eight years old?

"I have wanted to be a solicitor since I was eight years old"

No you didn't.

Stop lying.

TotemLaw -12 Aug 2010 | 12:29