Interview with Solomon, a future trainee solicitor at an International Law Firm

In this article Elfie Farrant interviews, Solomon a future trainee, on his journey to securing a training contract.

Would you please start by briefly sharing your background and journey into law?

My journey into law has been quite unique and hectic! During my A Levels, I really wanted to do something a little bit different. Because I have an Irish passport, studying in the EU was accessible, so alongside applying for UK universities through UCAS, I also sent off an application for Groningen University in the Netherlands, and ended up choosing to study there! My lecturers were often ex-European Parliamentary advisors, and people who worked for the European Commission. Due to their experience, the quality of teaching was amazing. However, when it came to Erasmus, I decided to come back to the UK and study in Newcastle. To be honest, in part because I was a little bit homesick! However, it also gave me the chance to study common law, which meant that by the time I graduated, I had a really good grounding in civil, common, and European law.

I found it really hard to secure a vacation scheme, largely because my degree was from the Netherlands. To broaden my options, I applied and was accepted onto Queen Mary’s LLM Corporate and Commercial Law. Unfortunately, Covid came along and finding a job was a nightmare! I worked in WHSmith’s, and then as a teaching assistant for a while. Then, out of nowhere, a friend who initially trained at Clifford Chance was working at a company and highlighted to me an opportunity in their deals team. I used this as a good way to transition into a paralegal role there, which I did for about a year.

From this point, things became more turbulent! I secured a training contract and quit my job for it. What neither me or the company realised was that because of my Dutch degree, there were problems with me getting into their feeder university at the time, and my contract was revoked. I felt pretty much back at square one. However, I managed to secure a paralegal role with an International Law Firm. Subsequently, I gained a place on their vacation scheme and now have a training contract with them a year later. In my eyes, everything happens for a reason! If I hadn’t lost my first training contract, I would never have ended up where I am now.

How did interning at a Barristers Chambers shape your skillset?

That was actually pure fate. I interned with one of their employees who was an ex-Justice from the Court of Appeal. He was one of my professors at university, and I emailed him asking whether he had any opportunities in arbitration. He offered me an internship straight away! I worked on two really big arbitrations with him. Every single day my jaw was dropped; it was incredible, and a fantastic insight into how commercial law works in practice.

The second arbitration was particularly engaging. There were three arbitrators, all of whom were previous senior officials in the courts of England and Wales.. I was in breakout rooms with them, and being able to hear them discuss the arbitration and their approach to their work was incredibly insightful. It solidified that this was the career for me. It grew my understanding of the need to be analytical, the need to be patient, and the need to be a people person. For me, this was the real start of my motivation to pursue this career despite of how challenging it was to break into. It also, however, made me realise that a career at the bar was not for me. Most of the individuals I worked with on the arbitrations were commercial solicitors, and they would tell me stories from cases they had worked on, that just fascinated me. To me, there is perhaps a degree of emotional attachment involved in being a barrister. I personally am an emotional person, and I don’t want to become attached to that degree. I have consistently found myself more drawn to the solicitor route, and my arbitration experience really solidified that for me.

Would you recommend working as a paralegal prior to commencing a training contract or QWE?

I think there is a big desire from people to break into law as quickly as possible, by gaining a training contract and starting that journey as soon as you leave university. However, this is not always possible, and sometimes you have to wait your turn. There is nothing I can recommend more than working as a paralegal. The exposure you get is unbelievable. For example, at the firm I am a future trainee at, their aviation team doesn’t normally use paralegals. However, because I am fluent in Arabic, they interviewed me specifically, and offered me the chance to work as their designated paralegal. It was brilliant!

I have worked both in house, and in private practice, and in all honesty, my experience in private practice was more rewarding. I highly recommend trying to start in private practice, also because of the vast number of roles available. My time as an aviation paralegal probably provided me with the most knowledge I have gained in the legal sector; even more than during my LLB and LLM. I dealt with clients on a day-to-day basis, and my team were really great at pushing me, by giving me tasks that a trainee or NQ would normally do.

A lot of people don’t want to paralegal and feel like they should have a TC lined up straight after uni. However, the experiences you can get as a paralegal will make you a better lawyer by giving you great insight into what being a trainee would involve. Those pre-trainee experiences will give you more confidence and enable you to act more rationally in the role. It is a fantastic way to make sure both that you want to work in the corporate sector, and that you know what to expect as a trainee.

You worked as a paralegal in house, and then for an international law firm: how did these experiences differ? Were there any particular highlights which shaped your experiences?

Working in-house is 110% different to working in a law firm. Working in-house is more about client exposure, how you represent yourself and how you sell the company you are working for. It is amazing because in-house teams are very collaborative, the quality of work is great, and you can also get good work-life balance. However, in private practice, everything to me was a bit more rewarding. I found the work more complex, and that there was greater need for effective time management and analytical skills. The work can also be a bit more wide-ranging than in-house. For example, at the company I worked for in-house, their focus was M&A and the more commercial side of things. In private practice, you get exposed to a wider range of sectors and practice areas, which can perhaps give more depth to your training.

You recently completed a vacation scheme and have accepted a training contract at that firm. What advice would you give to students currently going through the application process?

The best advice I was given is that, the number one fundamental rule when writing an application is to be different. Not necessarily to be different from everyone else. Instead, I mean do not copy and paste your application from one firm to another firm. Each application should be unique because every firm is completely different. If your application is generic, it can really hinder your long-term progression. Be different, be innovative, be unique, and show why you would be a good fit!