Only if you went to...

Applied for a job this morning. It was one for which I had the necessary experience, and so one I felt I had nothing to lose by going for.

I got an email from the Recruitment Agency (which is actually a great thing, often RAs fail to respond at all), informing me that due to a vast response, the recruiting firm is only accepting applications from the top 10 city law firms.

I see.

It wasn't good enough that I had my own clients, rather than flicked through someone else's files;

Advised clients face to face, rather than sit in on the client meetings of others;

Undertook extensive drafting of documents, contracts, policies and procedures, rather than find the correct precedent for the partner to work with;

Completed HUGE commercial transactions with the other side, rather than being told that the project had completed and we were billing the client;

Drafted complex research which formed the basis of written advice to clients (word for word), rather than provided snippits of information on ad hoc matters;

Negotiated and drafted settlements; rather than bill the file when told it had been done;

Dealt with a whole host of marketing and financial target strategy, rather than shadow the life of solicitors and partners...

...and totally understandable that I am overlooked because of the location and name of my training establishment.

I so wish I worked for a top 10 and left with extensive experience of how to prepare and check bundles...(I got some of that too btw...)

Yes, I am bitter, but I embrace and accept it with all my heart. I am, of course, only human...

The Law Society - representing its solicitors

The Law Society represents solicitors in England and Wales. From negotiating with and lobbying the profession's regulators, government and others, to offering training and advice, we're here to help, protect and promote solicitors across England and Wales.

Since becoming unemployed as an newly qualified solicitor, its been a really worrying time. Not just the whole thing about finding a job, but there are also so many things that had I been kept on would have been dealt with as a matter of course or by someone else. Important things, which could lead to all my years of sacrifice going down the pan if I forget to submit 1 form or tick a box somewhere, requiring me to jump through hoops and pay gazillions to make sure I can continue to call myself a solicitor (yes yes, I exaggerate but you get the jist).

What am I on about ? I'm talking about practising certificates, CPD points, remaining on the roll of solicitors, the kind of pro bono work I'm allowed to undertake etc... There's no one stop shop (as far as I could see) where I could get some guidance on all of these things or on things which quite probably I don't know about but need to. I made an enquiry of the SRA about some of my queries, and they passed me on to the Law Society, and I was referred to guidance on the Law Society website which was going to make it all better for me (wont mention the fact that it took around 3 weeks for my queries to be dealt with....oopsie!)

I'm reminded about all this today, as the LawGazette LinkedIn group popped up in my inbox, and lo and behold there was a blog which pricked my interest. Diary of a Redundancy is a blog formed from the collective accounts of solicitors of some number of years pqe. Until finding this, I had come to think that the Law Gazette had totally missed the problems facing their individual subscribers. Week after week its full of double, triple and even quadrouple page spreads about firms becoming more cost efficient, outsourcing, the problems firms are facing with PII, but not very much at all about those of us who have found ourselves jobless, the levels of unemployment in the industry, the problems that individual solicitors are facing and where to go for help. I can't say they ignored the fact, but considering the pages of the Gazette have been half of what it has been previously, it seemed fairly odd that something so massive was being ignored(, or maybe there is a reason why this issue is being swept under the carpet?) Well, at the bottom of part 1 of that blog, we are helpfully informed to search "Redundancy" on the Law Society website which leads the unemployed solicitor to the relevant practice note (dated 18 December 2008 no less - good that they're keeping on top of the situation).

I decided to have a good read this time, I have to decide what to do about my practising certificate as it is up for renewal on 1 November as is everybody elses. You can imagine my joy when I read

If you have not held a practising certificate for more than twelve months, you will become subject to section 12C of the Solicitor Act 1974. This means that if you wish to apply for a practising certificate, you will be required to notify the Solicitors Regulation Authority six weeks in advance of your intention.

I'm an NQ, who for the last 2 years was on the Law Society regional minimum, and with few savings to my name (which are being saved for further courses/qualifications), and now forced fork out £590 to prevent me from taking last minute offers of employment. Lucky for me, I have cost effective ways to obtain my CPD credits, but for those who have to fork out for each course they take - its not cheap.

Thanks SRA and Law Society. I didn't need that cash anyway, especially so close to Christmas. I think I feel as much love for you both right now as you feel for me *kissy*.