Julia's LPC classmates heard there might be an opening in the kitchens.
The market is now so tough for graduates, some firms require them to have passed the LPC to become a receptionist.
That’s the bar for entry at TP Legal Solicitors, a Woking firm advertising a role for an LPC grad looking for an entry level job as a “receptionist and trainee paralegal”.
It’s got to be fresh blood, though. Managing Partner Tariq Philips specified that “you must have completed the LPC within the last 2 years” in his call for a receptionist who “must be able to demonstrate a desire to become a conveyancing person paralegal”.
A source said the firm was “clearly looking to exploit the graduates desperate to make their way into a law firm”. But Philips explained that it was actually an excellent way to learn the ropes.
“My business model has always generally been to employ a trainee paralegal to sit on reception who can not only learn about the office, [but about] client care standards, basic customer service and skills that don’t come from going to law school”, he told RollOnFriday.
The solicitor said three of his employees had started out on the front desk and “risen through the ranks of my firm organically”, while he himself started his career as an office administrator for a small solicitors’ practice.
Asked whether the role reflected how tough the market was for law grads, he said, “I don’t think our advert is demonstrative of current market conditions. It’s always been the way with my business”.
With trainee registrations dropping by 2% to 5,495 in 2021 – the lowest in five years – and thousands more people than that hunting for a training contract, many will be keen to get a foot in the door any way they can. It presents the exciting possibility of every single employee in a law firm being desperate to qualify as a solicitor, along with all the backstabbing, resentment and poisonings that go with it.
LawyerUp lets you receive expressions of interest from top firms and companies when they like you for a role. Grab it on the App Store and Google Play.
Comments
74
18
"Demonstrate a desire to become a conveyancing person"
40
29
TP Legal Solicitors - prince of law firms. The only people I can see aspiring to work here are graduates from glorified sixth-form colleges.
On a side note, it has - and will continue to be the case - that graduates from good universities (RG and equivalent) will dominate high level law. The market hasn't materially changed, businesses are just being more open about what should be unsurprising requirements. If you want to work for a large law firm, get good grades and go to a good university. Simples.
96
29
Bit of a misleading headline and non-story.
A relatively small firm can't justify a full time receptionist, so wants a combined role with paralegaling duties. Not unreasonably, a recent LPC is required for the latter.
ROF usually pretty good, but I don't understand the point of this story at all.
49
19
"If you want to work for a large law firm, get good grades and go to a good university."
Harsh but fair.
This kind of job advert is the inevitable result of an oversupply of low-quality credentials from unscrupulous low-quality providers. It creates a market where supply massively exceeds demand.
The truth is that many people who go to the law schools at the lower end of the market (and even some at the top) shouldn't really be there. There's a total oversupply of qualifications relative to demand. It feels counterintuitive, but you'd actually do a significant minority (maybe even a majority) of law school grads a favour by simply not letting them go down the path in the first place. The industry would not suffer from their absence.
Most just come out with a bigger debt than they had before, a qualification they won't ever get to use, and a dream that is either crushed, or which sees them go into a dead-end job working bucket conveyancing / ambulance-chasing files in a small room above a kebab-shop for near minimum wage.
46
26
I have to say I think this is completely reasonable.
It makes absolute sense for a small conveyancing firm, which does not require a full time receptionist, to ask someone to do both receptionist and paralegal duties.
Sounds like a good opportunity to learn both client facing skills and legal work for someone interested in conveyancing.
24
20
Exactly- although you do wonder how the lower end legal market would cope if the penny dropped earlier for would-be lawyers who could only get into the lower end law schools that they were incurring all those debts for at-best a shot of a local conveyancing firm.
The cost of obtaining the qualifications for working at a high street firm (much less a legal aid firm) are massively out of whack with the rewards after years of inflation-busting increases.
27
17
His reasoning is sound. We do have a lot of people with the LPC looking for TCs in England. They have to start somewhere particularly if their grades are not the best and are finding TCs hard to come by.
21
20
I preach not being entitled and fighting for everything in life. I also gave my daughter her training contact.
23
22
wtf is a trainee paralegal? and why would you need to be on receptionist to become a trainee paralegal to presumably become a paralegal to presumably become a solicitor.
14
21
Confused about this..
16
12
@Managing Partner (West Yorkshire) - is that you Malcolm?
21
16
Assuming he is not lying out of his arse, this seems reasonable and sensible.
17
18
Training contracts are controlled by the boss, LPC is day-one trainee standard. The SQE route is controlled by the SRA and the candidate themselves, the assessment standard is a day-one solicitor standard.
If the receptionist/trainee paralegal can record and demonstrate their work being Qualified Work Experience (QWE), the law firm has to sign it off. Then two years later, having also passed the SQE assessments, the receptionist/trainee paralegal can, having done the donkey's work without the proper job title, become a qualified solicitor.
As anticipated, law firms will try to steal the paralegal's job titles and switch it to something like "legal administrator" or "legal executive trainee" etc etc, to keep a pool of cheap labour in the corporate rank for as long as possible, but new lawyers have the power to record their day-to-day work with their QWE templates and timesheets and work diaries etc etc to gain experience without permission.
19
14
@Anonymous 21 July 23 22:58
are you sure you don’t need the firms agreement for your work to be signed off as QWE??! Sounds a little optimistic??
12
6
"are you sure you don’t need the firms agreement for your work to be signed off as QWE??! Sounds a little optimistic??"
No!
If you fill in a QWE form that says you were amazing and as good as any of the trainees that they gave training contracts to when they should have gone to you then the Managing Partner just has to bend over and sign it, using a pen of your choosing, and there's nothing they can do about it. It's the law. Paralegals are in the driving seat now, it's a seller's market and you better give them the respect that they are due.
Facts!
10
7
Are you sure it's not just the usual HR trainee fuck up?
14
8
To those 5 people voting down my previous comment about perhaps needing firm agreement - not sure why the downvotes unless it’s because you don’t like being told the facts - there are situations when firms can refuse so it’s not a guarantee-
https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/sqe/qualifying-work-experience-candidates/refusal-confirm-qualifying-work-experience/
12
7
In reply to the good question above by Confusion 23 July 23 15:01:
The firm could face disciplinary action if they told you to do the legal and fee earning work but refused to sign off your QWE.
This has been confirmed by the SRA in formal private letters. Law firms can refuse to sign off your QWE request only if they reasonably believe you did not have any or the requested amount of qualifying work experience with them. If they asked you to do legal work that is QWE, they Must sign it off honestly or face disciplinary consequences for their dishonesty.
My advice is that you work very hard and record everything in a spreadsheet. But keep it to yourself before you request the sign off. It is no business of others as much as the amount of cash you have in your bank account.
Ignore voices from seemingly friendly colleagues who preaches to you only to give you reasons to work less or learn less. Record the cases or matters you have worked on with as much details as you can, including meetings, informal interactions and coaching you received from any solicitors at the firm correlating with reference numbers on which the firm is audited.
You must ignore unkind senior employees especially middle managers. Due to high competition, the formerly known as diverse hires are cruel to new comers, eg working class lawyer in marketing. It is a filthy industry due to the bottle neck and nepotism.
Hopefully, this change can better serve all English law and English court users.
12
6
‘’Anonymous 03 August 23 22:00
In reply to the good question above by Confusion 23 July 23 15:01:
The firm could face disciplinary action if they told you to do the legal and fee earning work but refused to sign off your QWE.This has been confirmed by the SRA in formal private letters. Law firms can refuse to sign off your QWE request only if they reasonably believe you did not have any or the requested amount of qualifying work experience with them.’’
In other words, YES is the answer. We are in agreement that law firms CAN refuse to sign off on your work experience as being QWE.
This will come down to an argument as to whether your work experience meets the definition of QWE - which firms can argue about - AND - the fact that there are potential sanctions, presumably for when firms unfairly choose not to sign someone’s experience off as QWE - means that there are legitimate and fair reasons why a firm can refuse.
In short, you need their agreement that it is QWE. All the stuff you mention about keeping notes etc is just gathering ammunition to support your own case when having to argue it in front of the SRA - which will only be needed if they chose not to sign it off as QWE and you felt that this was the wrong decision and are aggrieved by it..
Comments