Using the gap between finishing the GDL and starting the LPC (a nice problem to have!)

[CantThinkOfAUsername]

Hello all,

Hoping you might be able to help with some recommendations or ideas!

I have just finished the GDL at Birmingham City University (as part of their LLM 'Professional Law' course). I did very well and, in the last month or so, have been offered (and have accepted) a TC with Stephenson Harwood, starting in September 2023.

They would like me to do the LPC commencing in September 2022 at BPP in Holborn - which I anticipate will be what I end up doing. There's no reason to suppose otherwise - I did ask in principle about the possibility of doing the LPC at BPP's Birmingham campus so as to avoid needing to move in 2022, and my firm were receptive to the idea, but ultimately I think I'd prefer London anyway.

That leaves me a little under a year between now and the start of the LPC. I currently work full-time for a Law Centre so I am gainfully (and relevantly) employed. It's enjoyable and stimulating - but the main feature for present purposes is that it doesn't really require late working, nor does it have irregular or particularly lengthy hours.

I don't have any other competing commitments besides this job at the present time. I am therefore in what I appreciate is a very luxurious position of having free time in evenings and on weekends for (likely) the next 11-12 months, whilst knowing that I have the LPC and then a TC coming up.

My question is - aside from the work I am doing with my current employer, what sort of things might I do in the coming year to give myself a head-start? I do not want to rest on my laurels - I want to take advantage of the time I have available to really round out my skills, knowledge and experience and to have the best possible chance of excelling in the LPC and thriving in the TC.

I'm open to pretty well any ideas - whether that be recommended reading (or other resources) that I could get stuck into, potentially doing some volunteering (and if so, where I might think about volunteering), or really anything else that I could use the time for which would serve me well in future years.

Many thanks in advance!

 

[TC fiend]

I think if I were you I'd look into picking up some new evening hobbies. Take dance classes, try coding, learn a new language (or improve one you learned in school), take an online course. Spend time giving back to your community - tutor students of a disadvantaged background, spend an evening reading to elderly citizens, whatever tickles your fancy. Get a year long membership to the movies and go on a weeknight.

Ultimately cherish the time off - once you start the LPC/TC there will be plenty nights where you yearn for freedom and relaxation!

 

[IRO]

I think the answer to this depends on the kind of person you are. If you're really going to get a lot out of relaxing/enjoying the time off then you should definitely do that. However, it feels like this isn't the advice you're asking for since you want something that would serve you well in the future.

I'm not sure what advice I have to offer, as I'm future trainee in a similar situation to you, rather than a current trainee like FS who can speak from experience. That said, what I'm doing is taking the time to examine what I really want to do and what I think I would benefit from and pursuing those. Again, those might be hobbies/volunteer work. I personally find it really hard to pursue hobbies when I don't feel like I'm making active progress on my goals so my mileage with those suggestions is limited (though YMMV).

Personally I've focussed on developing my ability to focus in the evenings/manage workload as I think these skills will be useful to have in the future. So I now work 10:30AM-7:30PM (would start work earlier but I absolutely refuse to pay for peak tube travel if I can possibly avoid it) which is helping me get used to working past the 5PM clock-off time I had during uni. I set my own hours and my own workload so sometimes I spend the whole 9 hours on my work, sometimes I split it between work and career development. Assuming you can't pick your hours at the Law Centre I'd suggest working your designated hours and then getting in the routine of having a personal work session in morning/evening around work. So if you work 9-5, come home, have dinner, and start work again from 7-9PM say. I've done this and I find the discipline and structure useful. This 'work' time can be dedicated to anything you like (maybe learning a language, to code, or could be career development time, up to you) but thinking about it as 'work' might address the fact that you don't have particularly lengthy hours at the Law Centre.

In terms of resources, I spend quite a bit of time of practical law/lexis nexis which is great if you have a free subscription (e.g. through law centre/academic institution). I know practical law has LPC specific resources which might be interesting if you can access them, but otherwise I'd recommend just exploring what these sites have to offer. I'm currently using practical law to learn more about different practice areas. I mostly do this because I really enjoy it, and I wouldn't recommend it otherwise. Ultimately there's nothing you need to do to prepare for the LPC/TC and these things won't benefit you too much so only do them if you want.

Another resource I use is publications from my law firm. We have a portal with material for future trainees which is great, but they also publish a lot of client-focussed stuff which can be super interesting and can push you beyond the coverage you might find in the news. SH have a section on their website which looks promising for this (https://www.shlegal.com/insights).

These suggestions mainly develop knowledge, so if anyone has ideas on how to develop skills/experience I'd be all ears. My instinct is work/volunteering but you might find that difficult to fit around the Law Centre. Also, although I'm generally of the opinion that you should work as much as you want to work, don't fill up both your evenings and weekends. I work early evenings and a few hours on the weekend and that's enough for me. Obviously I don't know how much work you want to work but some time off is essential.

Oh, and I watched this today, could be cool to get a 3rd opinion:

- I think the point about relaxing is probably the best advice, it is basically what everyone says after all!

 

[LlamaLaw]

I think if I were you I'd look into picking up some new evening hobbies. Take dance classes, try coding, learn a new language (or improve one you learned in school), take an online course. Spend time giving back to your community - tutor students of a disadvantaged background, spend an evening reading to elderly citizens, whatever tickles your fancy. Get a year long membership to the movies and go on a weeknight.

Ultimately cherish the time off - once you start the LPC/TC there will be plenty nights where you yearn for freedom and relaxation!

Sage advice. Don't underestimate having some free time for your own well-being and relaxation ahead of what might be quite a busy period.

That said, if there are particular sectors or themes you're interested in pursuing during your TC, it's a good opportunity to read up on them a little more.

It might sound a bit trite, but I occasionally try to use my WestLaw/Lexis access to look into legal developments in the news, and read case reports (to get a perspective on what happened in the case versus what gets reported in the press) or new legislation - it keeps my research skills up to scratch and helps contextualise some current legal issues or developments.

 

[TC fiend]

I'm not sure what advice I have to offer, as I'm future trainee in a similar situation to you, rather than a current trainee like FS who can speak from experience.

I'm not actually a trainee, just a seasoned paralegal (for now)! But my SO is an associate so I spend a lot of time around mid-level associates and trainees both at work and at home LOL, so I just try to regurgitate some of the things they say on here.

 

[IRO]

I'm not actually a trainee, just a seasoned paralegal (for now)! But my SO is an associate so I spend a lot of time around mid-level associates and trainees both at work and at home LOL, so I just try to regurgitate some of the things they say on here.

Might explain our different perspectives! My SO is in finance so I try to work/stay busy similar hours to them which is 12+ hrs/day. Most of my friends are bankers so my perspective on work/career development is coloured by them.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hello all,

Hoping you might be able to help with some recommendations or ideas!

I have just finished the GDL at Birmingham City University (as part of their LLM 'Professional Law' course). I did very well and, in the last month or so, have been offered (and have accepted) a TC with Stephenson Harwood, starting in September 2023.

They would like me to do the LPC commencing in September 2022 at BPP in Holborn - which I anticipate will be what I end up doing. There's no reason to suppose otherwise - I did ask in principle about the possibility of doing the LPC at BPP's Birmingham campus so as to avoid needing to move in 2022, and my firm were receptive to the idea, but ultimately I think I'd prefer London anyway.

That leaves me a little under a year between now and the start of the LPC. I currently work full-time for a Law Centre so I am gainfully (and relevantly) employed. It's enjoyable and stimulating - but the main feature for present purposes is that it doesn't really require late working, nor does it have irregular or particularly lengthy hours.

I don't have any other competing commitments besides this job at the present time. I am therefore in what I appreciate is a very luxurious position of having free time in evenings and on weekends for (likely) the next 11-12 months, whilst knowing that I have the LPC and then a TC coming up.

My question is - aside from the work I am doing with my current employer, what sort of things might I do in the coming year to give myself a head-start? I do not want to rest on my laurels - I want to take advantage of the time I have available to really round out my skills, knowledge and experience and to have the best possible chance of excelling in the LPC and thriving in the TC.

I'm open to pretty well any ideas - whether that be recommended reading (or other resources) that I could get stuck into, potentially doing some volunteering (and if so, where I might think about volunteering), or really anything else that I could use the time for which would serve me well in future years.

Many thanks in advance!

Relax, enjoy not having to concern yourself about things. The whole purpose of a training contract is that they will train you up during it. Only pursue the interests/knowledge you want to pursue / it’s unlikely you will have this luxury again for sometime.

 

[Jane Smith]

One of my lawyer daughters did the LPC right away and then had a gap year after. That means you get the exams all over wigh and don't have a year to get out of the habit of exams but it may be here that your firm would not allow that and it is getting a little late to strt the LPC for the September start dates in terms of being able to catch up but you could start in January if not now.

Either way don't feel you hajve to do law stuff unless you have to - mine went to work in 2 countries abroad and also travelling (not so easy in covid times of course....), chance of a lifetime mostly having fun before you spend a lifetime having to earn a living

 

[CantThinkOfAUsername]

I think if I were you I'd look into picking up some new evening hobbies. Take dance classes, try coding, learn a new language (or improve one you learned in school), take an online course. Spend time giving back to your community - tutor students of a disadvantaged background, spend an evening reading to elderly citizens, whatever tickles your fancy. Get a year long membership to the movies and go on a weeknight.

Ultimately cherish the time off - once you start the LPC/TC there will be plenty nights where you yearn for freedom and relaxation!

There's a number of really interesting suggestions in here, some of which had never previously occurred to me but which I'm now going to look into - particularly the idea of tutoring pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. So thank you for the very generous and helpful response!

I think the answer to this depends on the kind of person you are. If you're really going to get a lot out of relaxing/enjoying the time off then you should definitely do that. However, it feels like this isn't the advice you're asking for since you want something that would serve you well in the future.

I'm not sure what advice I have to offer, as I'm future trainee in a similar situation to you, rather than a current trainee like FS who can speak from experience. That said, what I'm doing is taking the time to examine what I really want to do and what I think I would benefit from and pursuing those. Again, those might be hobbies/volunteer work. I personally find it really hard to pursue hobbies when I don't feel like I'm making active progress on my goals so my mileage with those suggestions is limited (though YMMV).

Personally I've focussed on developing my ability to focus in the evenings/manage workload as I think these skills will be useful to have in the future. So I now work 10:30AM-7:30PM (would start work earlier but I absolutely refuse to pay for peak tube travel if I can possibly avoid it) which is helping me get used to working past the 5PM clock-off time I had during uni. I set my own hours and my own workload so sometimes I spend the whole 9 hours on my work, sometimes I split it between work and career development. Assuming you can't pick your hours at the Law Centre I'd suggest working your designated hours and then getting in the routine of having a personal work session in morning/evening around work. So if you work 9-5, come home, have dinner, and start work again from 7-9PM say. I've done this and I find the discipline and structure useful. This 'work' time can be dedicated to anything you like (maybe learning a language, to code, or could be career development time, up to you) but thinking about it as 'work' might address the fact that you don't have particularly lengthy hours at the Law Centre.

In terms of resources, I spend quite a bit of time of practical law/lexis nexis which is great if you have a free subscription (e.g. through law centre/academic institution). I know practical law has LPC specific resources which might be interesting if you can access them, but otherwise I'd recommend just exploring what these sites have to offer. I'm currently using practical law to learn more about different practice areas. I mostly do this because I really enjoy it, and I wouldn't recommend it otherwise. Ultimately there's nothing you need to do to prepare for the LPC/TC and these things won't benefit you too much so only do them if you want.

Another resource I use is publications from my law firm. We have a portal with material for future trainees which is great, but they also publish a lot of client-focussed stuff which can be super interesting and can push you beyond the coverage you might find in the news. SH have a section on their website which looks promising for this (https://www.shlegal.com/insights).

These suggestions mainly develop knowledge, so if anyone has ideas on how to develop skills/experience I'd be all ears. My instinct is work/volunteering but you might find that difficult to fit around the Law Centre. Also, although I'm generally of the opinion that you should work as much as you want to work, don't fill up both your evenings and weekends. I work early evenings and a few hours on the weekend and that's enough for me. Obviously I don't know how much work you want to work but some time off is essential.

Oh, and I watched this today, could be cool to get a 3rd opinion:

- I think the point about relaxing is probably the best advice, it is basically what everyone says after all!

Again thank you for what is a very thorough reply with some very useful thoughts! I think in particular the idea of using the time to get used to, and to start to emulate, working patterns that will approximate what I come across in the TC would be very valuable - will certainly be exploring this idea further.

Sage advice. Don't underestimate having some free time for your own well-being and relaxation ahead of what might be quite a busy period.

That said, if there are particular sectors or themes you're interested in pursuing during your TC, it's a good opportunity to read up on them a little more.

It might sound a bit trite, but I occasionally try to use my WestLaw/Lexis access to look into legal developments in the news, and read case reports (to get a perspective on what happened in the case versus what gets reported in the press) or new legislation - it keeps my research skills up to scratch and helps contextualise some current legal issues or developments.

I'm getting this theme from the thread as a whole and it's much appreciated! It's easy for me to fall into the trap of feeling as though if I'm not filling every waking hour with something 'productive' (whatever that ultimately means) then it's time wasted. Of course, logically I know that's not true and I think the number of people who have responded here emphasising the need to relax and savour the time off while I have it will help me to do just that!

That said - I've found that the most 'relaxing' thing for me is being able to pursue some form of activity which feels work-like but which doesn't come with a load of associated pressures. For example, reading up on a practice area in my own time. So you needn't worry that I'm going to be forcing myself to work at the expense of having time to relax and look after my mental health - I've typically found the best thing for my mental health is to keep myself occupied and give myself these sorts of 'projects' to work on at a fairly relaxed and unrushed pace.

Relax, enjoy not having to concern yourself about things. The whole purpose of a training contract is that they will train you up during it. Only pursue the interests/knowledge you want to pursue / it’s unlikely you will have this luxury again for sometime.

See my reply to the quote above - but, I certainly take the point! And will be bearing this in mind.

One of my lawyer daughters did the LPC right away and then had a gap year after. That means you get the exams all over wigh and don't have a year to get out of the habit of exams but it may be here that your firm would not allow that and it is getting a little late to strt the LPC for the September start dates in terms of being able to catch up but you could start in January if not now.

Either way don't feel you hajve to do law stuff unless you have to - mine went to work in 2 countries abroad and also travelling (not so easy in covid times of course....), chance of a lifetime mostly having fun before you spend a lifetime having to earn a living

I really appreciate this insight into your daughter's experience and again, I will take on board the point about relaxing and pursuing broader interests! Starting the LPC right away isn't an option for me because I'm committed to the Law Centre at least until March (and likely beyond that, but the point being I have made a firm commitment to them to be with them for at least that long), and I don't fancy the thought of dovetailing LPC studies with full-time work.

Overall, thank you everyone for your replies, it has given me a lot of food for thought!

 

[LlamaLaw]

That said - I've found that the most 'relaxing' thing for me is being able to pursue some form of activity which feels work-like but which doesn't come with a load of associated pressures. For example, reading up on a practice area in my own time. So you needn't worry that I'm going to be forcing myself to work at the expense of having time to relax and look after my mental health - I've typically found the best thing for my mental health is to keep myself occupied and give myself these sorts of 'projects' to work on at a fairly relaxed and unrushed pace.

Honestly the fact that you already know this in yourself is great. Looking after your mental health is definitely very different for everyone and it sounds like you have a good idea of what sort of things might be useful (and also relaxing).

Given what you've said, have you considered some short/'executive' courses on something that interests you?

 

[Dheepa]

So this is a bit of a personal one, but I invested in speaking to someone about effectively managing stress, anxiety, feelings of not being good enough etc. My reasoning was I’m walking into a career filled to the brim with overachievers and hyper competitiveness - how do I stop that from getting to me and keep being focused on being the best lawyer/trainee I can be? It’s proving to be a very worthwhile investment both personally and professionally (even within my current job) so far!

I also met someone (going into second year PQE) very recently who said something like “BigLaw truncates your personality” (obviously just his opinion) and it got me thinking about really cultivating a creative outlet that I can stick to even once I start work. So maybe explore that too?

 

[TC fiend]

There's a number of really interesting suggestions in here, some of which had never previously occurred to me but which I'm now going to look into - particularly the idea of tutoring pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. So thank you for the very generous and helpful response!

Because of the Covid lockdowns (and particularly the closing of schools), a lot of families had to start homeschooling, which really highlighted the gap in accessibility to education resources. Something as simple as having parents who are native English speakers, having a stable Internet access, having laptops, having food at home to eat for lunch.... all factors which are actually huge forms of privilege that many don't have to think about, but which can really impact a child's education. So many children don't have access to those things and now have an educational gap in comparison to their peers which is difficult to close. So I think offering a few hours of free tutoring a week is such a fulfilling and worthwhile activity. I'd recommend reaching out to your local schools and asking if they can match you to a student that really needs a helping hand.