Life after your training contract

With training contracts coming to an end in August or September, it’s an exciting time for soon-to-be qualified legal professionals. However, it can also be a nerve wracking time, as you may find yourself applying for NQ roles, interviewing, and ultimately deciding in which direction you’d like to take your career.

By this time, many of you will have already secured your NQ roles, but if you haven’t then now is your time to shine. If you don’t know where to start, then our dedicated NQ Support Team is on hand to offer advice and guidance and to help you to search for the role that will best suit you as an NQ.

Whether you’ve secured your role or not, you’ll be thinking about what the next stage of your career has in store for you. Every firm will be different, but certainly there are some trends that will be apparent across all practice areas and firms. We spoke to Paul Kelly, Partner at Blacks Solicitors to gain further insight. “NQs can expect more responsibility virtually overnight.  When you are a trainee mistakes are expected and there is an appreciation that you are still learning.  However, upon qualification you will be expected to work more on your own without so much of the close supervision you may previously have enjoyed as a trainee. NQ's are expected to demonstrate quickly that they are putting into practice all that they have learnt during their training contract and can be increasingly trusted with the firm’s clients.”

Whilst your training contract is now over, your learning is not. For many, it will only really be the beginning in the speciality that you’ve chosen. You should be keen to learn and develop continuously to really launch a successful legal career. Even now, your firm will be considering whether you might be future Partner material. Paul Kelly tells us “You are no longer a trainee; you are qualified, so clients and colleagues will expect you to show a level of knowledge and authority, and will increasingly act on your advice. There will be more emphasis on practice development and networking. The Partners will be watching you to see not just how well you know the law, but what broader commercial understanding and personality you can bring to the firm to grow the practice.”

Approach your role with your usual confidence, and keep a keen eye on attention to detail. As a qualified legal professional your job will now include more business development activity, allowing you to grow your own network of contacts as well as the firms. Take hold of every opportunity you can and really try to soak up knowledge from your colleagues. You are now in the perfect position to steer your career over the next two or three years, and take it towards where you really want to be.

To talk to our experts about current opportunities, contact our dedicated NQ Support Team at andrew@douglas-scott.co.uk or 0203 755 3441.