Turning down a Training Contract?

[BigThrowaway]

Hi guys,

I have recently been offered a Training Contract at a firm in London. I have worked there for three months now as a paralegal, having finished my LPC in July.

Problem is, one of the partners is the most awful and rude person I have ever met. He constantly derides me and regularly tells me I’m a F****** idiot. He will look for absolutely any opportunity to bollock me and specifically does it when there isn’t anybody around to witness it.

I’d love to be able to just brush it off, but I can’t. I genuinely feel sick at the prospect of having to work with him. Everybody at the firm knows how difficult he can be, but for some reason he is so much worse with me and I am hating every day.

Should I just walk away before I commit to the TC? I appreciate how lucky I am but the prospect of the next 2 years working with him just seems like something I can’t get through. Surely it’s better to leave now than stick it out?

Further to this, it will then mean that I have lasted only 3 months in my first legal job which won’t look great on my CV…

I’d love your thoughts or if any of you have experienced the same thing. Everybody else at the firm is lovely, but it’s a small team and often there will just be 2 or 3 people in the office. Thanks for your help!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi guys,

I have recently been offered a Training Contract at a firm in London. I have worked there for three months now as a paralegal, having finished my LPC in July.

Problem is, one of the partners is the most awful and rude person I have ever met. He constantly derides me and regularly tells me I’m a F****** idiot. He will look for absolutely any opportunity to bollock me and specifically does it when there isn’t anybody around to witness it.

I’d love to be able to just brush it off, but I can’t. I genuinely feel sick at the prospect of having to work with him. Everybody at the firm knows how difficult he can be, but for some reason he is so much worse with me and I am hating every day.

Should I just walk away before I commit to the TC? I appreciate how lucky I am but the prospect of the next 2 years working with him just seems like something I can’t get through. Surely it’s better to leave now than stick it out?

Further to this, it will then mean that I have lasted only 3 months in my first legal job which won’t look great on my CV…

I’d love your thoughts or if any of you have experienced the same thing. Everybody else at the firm is lovely, but it’s a small team and often there will just be 2 or 3 people in the office. Thanks for your help!

When you say it is a small team, do you mean the firm as a whole or just the department you are currently allocated to?

 

[BigThrowaway]

When you say it is a small team, do you mean the firm as a whole or just the department you are currently allocated to?

Thank you for your reply! Unfortunately I mean the firm as a whole is a very small commercial practice.

I’d just stick it out if it were for the next few months, but unfortunately I’m stuck for a couple of years!

 

[TC fiend]

Is there anyone you can file a complaint with? Such behavior is really not acceptable. I probably wouldn’t take the TC if a partner spoke to me like that. You’re already sick of it after 3 months - just imagine how you’ll feel after 2 years.

 

[BigThrowaway]

Is there anyone you can file a complaint with? Such behavior is really not acceptable. I probably wouldn’t take the TC if a partner spoke to me like that. You’re already sick of it after 3 months - just imagine how you’ll feel after 2 years.

The other equity partner has responsibility for HR and he is nothing but lovely.

The trouble is that it’s a trainee of 3 months up against the man that has his name plastered across the door.

Since starting, I have found out that the last trainee left because of this exact reason. There’s clearly a serious issue but people just seem to put up with it?

just to give you a flavour of the man, I once said “thank you for your time” and he went off on a deranged rant at me because that’s what he was there for and never to say that to him again.

 

[Jaysen]

Hi guys,

I have recently been offered a Training Contract at a firm in London. I have worked there for three months now as a paralegal, having finished my LPC in July.

Problem is, one of the partners is the most awful and rude person I have ever met. He constantly derides me and regularly tells me I’m a F****** idiot. He will look for absolutely any opportunity to bollock me and specifically does it when there isn’t anybody around to witness it.

I’d love to be able to just brush it off, but I can’t. I genuinely feel sick at the prospect of having to work with him. Everybody at the firm knows how difficult he can be, but for some reason he is so much worse with me and I am hating every day.

Should I just walk away before I commit to the TC? I appreciate how lucky I am but the prospect of the next 2 years working with him just seems like something I can’t get through. Surely it’s better to leave now than stick it out?

Further to this, it will then mean that I have lasted only 3 months in my first legal job which won’t look great on my CV…

I’d love your thoughts or if any of you have experienced the same thing. Everybody else at the firm is lovely, but it’s a small team and often there will just be 2 or 3 people in the office. Thanks for your help!

This is really tough. I'm so sorry to hear you have to deal with this. I don't think you should ever have to brush things like this off and it doesn't matter how senior the person is - there are no excuses for being spoken to in that way.

It's easy for me to say, but I don't think the point about this not looking great for your CV will be an issue. You can work out what you want to say in the future to explain this, but I'm unconvinced this is a reason to stay at a job where you are being treated so poorly.

I think it also comes down to your other options. I would consider: how comfortable do you feel about raising this to the other partner first? How do you feel about applying for other jobs in the market? Are you in a position where you can leave and support yourself until you find another job?

It sounds to me like this partner has been allowed to get away with this for a long time and I would worry that things won't change in the future.

 

[BigThrowaway]

This is really tough. I'm so sorry to hear you have to deal with this. I don't think you should ever have to brush things like this off and it doesn't matter how senior the person is - there are no excuses for being spoken to in that way.

It's easy for me to say, but I don't think the point about this not looking great for your CV will be an issue. You can work out what you want to say in the future to explain this, but I'm unconvinced this is a reason to stay at a job where you are being treated so poorly.

I think it also comes down to your other options. I would consider: how comfortable do you feel about raising this to the other partner first? How do you feel about applying for other jobs in the market? Are you in a position where you can leave and support yourself until you find another job?

It sounds to me like this partner has been allowed to get away with this for a long time and I would worry that things won't change in the future.

Hi Jaysen,

Thank you so much for your response. I'm very lucky in that I recently moved back to the family home so I'll always have a roof over my head and something to eat and I'm well aware that so many don't have this luxury.

I think that my main worry was my CV and how future recruiters would view this. Ultimately I do quite enjoy the work and this isn't me giving up on commercial law as a whole, but giving up on an awful boss.

It's nice to be reassured that this isn't a fair reflection of the legal field. I was conscious that I could give this up only to move elsewhere and find the exact same problem.

Thank you so much!

 

[George Maxwell]

Hi Jaysen,

Thank you so much for your response. I'm very lucky in that I recently moved back to the family home so I'll always have a roof over my head and something to eat and I'm well aware that so many don't have this luxury.

I think that my main worry was my CV and how future recruiters would view this. Ultimately I do quite enjoy the work and this isn't me giving up on commercial law as a whole, but giving up on an awful boss.

It's nice to be reassured that this isn't a fair reflection of the legal field. I was conscious that I could give this up only to move elsewhere and find the exact same problem.

Thank you so much!

Hi @BigThrowaway,

First of all, I think we should acknowledge that getting a training contract offer as a paralegal is really impressive. I am really sorry to hear that you have been having such a rotten time.

I think @Jaysen raises some very good points on this. To caveat my thoughts, I am not a recruiter, and do not have experience in legal recruitment. However, I cannot see a future recruiter seeing this as anything other than brave/impressive. Not many applicants would have the confidence or maturity to turn down an offer for this reason.

From my perspective, this seems like a huge shame, but if you are not going to flourish and there is no escaping this person, accepting a training contract seems inadvisable. You ultimately want to train somewhere to train where you are going to develop and grow.

If at all possible, however, raising this with the other Partner and/or HR seems to be a sensible idea. Exhausting your options before you turn down the offer strikes me as a wise approach.

P.s., I hope that your name is not referencing your post! It sounds like you are going about this in exactly the right way (i.e., you are considering your options and seeking advice). Ultimately, if this firm is not right for you, this decision is not a "Big Throwaway", but a well-reasoned, mature one. I do not think it would be the right decision to train somewhere that you think you will be miserable.

 

[BigThrowaway]

Hi @BigThrowaway,

First of all, I think we should acknowledge that getting a training contract offer as a paralegal is really impressive. I am really sorry to hear that you have been having such a rotten time.

I think @Jaysen raises some very good points on this. To caveat my thoughts, I am not a recruiter, and do not have experience in legal recruitment. However, I cannot see a future recruiter seeing this as anything other than brave/impressive. Not many applicants would have the confidence or maturity to turn down an offer for this reason.

From my perspective, this seems like a huge shame, but if you are not going to flourish and there is no escaping this person, accepting a training contract seems inadvisable. You ultimately want to train somewhere to train where you are going to develop and grow.

If at all possible, however, raising this with the other Partner and/or HR seems to be a sensible idea. Exhausting your options before you turn down the offer strikes me as a wise approach.

P.s., I hope that your name is not referencing your post! It sounds like you are going about this in exactly the right way (i.e., you are considering your options and seeking advice). Ultimately, if this firm is not right for you, this decision is not a "Big Throwaway", but a well-reasoned, mature one. I do not think it would be the right decision to train somewhere that you think you will be miserable.

Hi George,

Thank you so much for this. No the name is referencing that I was wanting to stay completely anonymous for obvious reasons so I had planned to use this account as a throwaway!

You're absolutely correct. While I'm not too hopeful for change, it is far better to speak to the partner in charge of HR and lay down my concerns before taking that decision. Ultimately trainees have faced the same issues as I am now in the past, and there will be trainees after me so hopefully me saying something may help my replacement.

Thanks so much for your measured response. I was expecting more people just to tell me to "man up and deal with it because it's only two years" but all I've had is very solid and pragmatic advice. Thank you all!

 

[George Maxwell]

Hi George,

Thank you so much for this. No the name is referencing that I was wanting to stay completely anonymous for obvious reasons so I had planned to use this account as a throwaway!

You're absolutely correct. While I'm not too hopeful for change, it is far better to speak to the partner in charge of HR and lay down my concerns before taking that decision. Ultimately trainees have faced the same issues as I am now in the past, and there will be trainees after me so hopefully me saying something may help my replacement.

Thanks so much for your measured response. I was expecting more people just to tell me to "man up and deal with it because it's only two years" but all I've had is very solid and pragmatic advice. Thank you all!

@BigThrowaway,

I am really happy to hear that it helped. Myself and the rest of the team are always here to support you!

Thank you for clarifying about your name too. I hope that you will return (anonymised or not) using a different account (if you decide to delete this one). It would be fantastic to have you as part of the community. It sounds like you have some fantastic experiences and insights 🚀

 

[Jessica Booker]

This is a very personal decision, but if it was me I would raise it with the other equity partner, especially if you frame it in a way that is "I am not happy working here and I am considering not going forward with my TC and he is the reason why". The other partner might not be able to do much, but if you are thinking of leaving anyway, you haven't got anything to lose by having this conversation because at best the situation could be resolved by the other partner (e.g. they could ensure you don't work with the individual going forward).

I understand you are doing the LPC route, but the good thing about the SQE route is that you could accumulate some experience with the firm (effectively starting your TC) and then move to another firm if you really couldn't stick it out. It is very difficult to do this on a traditional TC, but the SQE TC gives you much more flexibility to do this where you can accumulate your qualifying work experience with up to four firms. This might give you some ability to see how the start of your TC goes and play it by ear. The only issue with this is that you would need to do SQE stage 2 (you'd be exempt from SQE1 due to completing the LPC).

If you were feeling particularly confident (and I know why you might not want to do this) but the other thing to do is to just call out the behaviour to the partner who is saying these things. The next time they call you names or swear tell them you don't appreciate being spoken to like that and that you feel there are better ways that he could provide you with more constructive feedback so you can do better and meet their expectations next time. It is a brave thing to do but actually might be the best way of dealing with it (e.g. head on). If they don't change their behaviour then at least you know you tried to get them to change it by asking them nicely to do so.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jaysen,

Thank you so much for your response. I'm very lucky in that I recently moved back to the family home so I'll always have a roof over my head and something to eat and I'm well aware that so many don't have this luxury.

I think that my main worry was my CV and how future recruiters would view this. Ultimately I do quite enjoy the work and this isn't me giving up on commercial law as a whole, but giving up on an awful boss.

It's nice to be reassured that this isn't a fair reflection of the legal field. I was conscious that I could give this up only to move elsewhere and find the exact same problem.

Thank you so much!

Lots of paralegal roles are fixed-term contracts, so leaving a role several months after it started wouldn't necessarily look bad - it could just be assumed it was a contract role. No one would know you had a TC with the firm in question unless you disclosed it to them.

Personally, I don't think this heavily impacts your CV and how recruiters might view it in the future. What it does impact is how soon you'll potentially qualify but if you are happy to be patient with that, I think that is a really minor point.