Key skills required of trainee solicitors
Let’s start by summarising the key attributes/characteristics required to succeed as a trainee.
Your first few years as a junior lawyer will be spent learning the ropes. Understanding key legal processes and learning how to project manage these; familiarising yourself with key legal documents and how to draft these; learning how to interact effectively with clients and balance a number of matters at once; learning how to communicate with clients, junior lawyers, other internal teams, supervisors, partners, and external advisers; learning how to take instructions and delegate effectively; learning how to negotiate; honing your legal and business research skills, as well as your ability to present your findings to the satisfaction of intended recipient. The list goes on…
You must be very, very well organised, as throughout your training contract you will most likely at times be balancing multiple (sometimes dozens of) different matters/projects, managing a number of competing deadlines (some of which may be brought forward with little warning), coordinating numerous internal and external teams/advisers and working on a wide range of documents for the first time. You will be expected to demonstrate enthusiasm and a willingness to help, especially when the workload (and therefore your stress levels/tiredness) really picks up. You will be assessed on how well you are able to use your initiative and be resourceful, as doing so effectively can make your supervisors’ lives easier and save them a lot of time. And of course, you will be expected to produce work that is accurate and technically proficient, especially considering you can never be certain that the work will not be forwarded onto the client without an additional proofread. In this respect, always try to avoid the easily-avoidable mistakes!