Year One Results

As I sat on my bed, at 13:46, longing the minutes to go slower and simultaneously wishing it was all over, I was lured back into 'exam hysteria'. By this point I could no longer care and the constant bleeping of my Whatsapp group message became a comfort. 

By 14:02 I was logged on and hovering the pointer over the 'open' button beside my results. Here they are:

- Interviewing: Competent

- Solicitors Accounts: 90% (pass)

- Employment: 79% (distinction) 

Relief is an absolute understatement and I am over the moon with my results. Needless to say a few drinks are on the cards for me tonight...

In terms of my friends, I don't know their precise marks but I do know that the main instigator of 'exam hysteria' achieved a distinction in the employment elective and passed everything else. That's always the way! Regardless, everyone is returning for a second year of LPC madness and I cannot wait.

In other news...

Remember the legal admin position I was applying for a few weeks back? Well, I got it! In addition to this role a training contract has been discussed and is on the cards for 2015/2016 providing the firm like me so I am extremely pleased. I will initially be based in one of their smaller offices with a lovely tight knit team and I just can't wait to get stuck in. I guess the suit paid off ;)

Given the above, I halted my TC applications once I had received the job offer. Now I know that the TC isn't exactly certain, and probably a lot of you will disagree with my approach, but I am keen to train with this particular firm and would like to see how it plays out. Obviously, I won't withdraw any completed applications and will be interested to see how they fare too. 

I hope you all did well in exams and good luck with your applications!

Professionalism

Now this is not strictly a "law" related blog post but I feel compelled to write it and it does relate to business professionalism (an awareness of business/commercial environment being something we all know we must possess). 

The story starts like this. My best friend is turning 23 next week and I haven't a clue what to get her. We met when we were 11 and vowed from around the age of 14 that we would always make birthdays special. Over the years we have become regulars at our favourite spa, taken trips to the zoo, seen theatre shows, rode rollercoasters and the waltzers until we were sick, posh lunches, beach barbecues, I've sat through AWFUL concerts, sipped pricey cocktails in ice bars, laughed until we cried in comedy clubs... you name it we've done it, all in the name of great birthdays. I digress. 

So here I was trying to figure out a great way to treat my best friend for her birthday and I came across a local spa that offers glamping (that's glamorous camping in case you didn't know). Sounds perfect! Spa by day, tipi by night. I was checking out the menu when I noticed just underneath the menu PDFs a rather large amount of waffle-y looking text. Being open to procrastination I began to read. What I discovered was what can only be described as a long and frustrated rant about....customers! Oh boy. Please find said rant below (I apologise for how long it is):

If it's Winter and you're booking a table sometime around Easter expect that the menu may change. This means a change in the content of the dishes not the number of dishes or the variety on offer. So if you come in the second week of April you may be surprised to find that we're no longer serving a Winter Menu...

If you don't want to take a chance and would like to eat in a place that serves the same menu all year round from an indeterminate source with profits leaking out of the British economy into Multinational overseas investors pockets then please feel free to go elsewhere (to a chain carvery down the road perhaps) and spend £16 or £17 on a three course Sunday Lunch there. We don't pretend to offer the Earth, we're just a hard-working  family business striving hard to keep our loyal team of staff employed, pay our taxes and look after the future of independent places like Wallett's Court.

Ultimately you choose where you go to eat out, don't let us force you into paying £21.95 for a three course Sunday Lunch, if you don't believe it to be good value, let us know AT THE TIME and we'll see what we can do to add value to your experience whilst you're with us.

Now, imagine this... I am coming to your house for lunch. You put the heating on, light the fire perhaps. Now go to Tesco and buy a tin of Heinz Tomato Soup, a small loaf of Mother's Pride, a small packet of butter, a Bird's Eye Traditional Roast Beef for one, a tin of vegetables, a couple of Aunt Bessies' Yorkshire Puddings and McCain's home roast potatoes and a dark chocolate Magnum (this will all come to £10.18, remember that figure).

Now prepare all of that, lay a table with your best linen, crockery, cutlery, glasses and wait for my arrival. When I get to your house bring me a jug of iced water for which you won't charge me of course, then serve me my tomato soup with half a loaf of bread, roast beef dinner with tinned veg and frozen Yorkshires, and chocolate Magnum for pudding.

Now, I may spend the afternoon sitting in your lounge by the fire or in your garden whilst you spend the next hour or so washing-up and tidying the dining room. At the end of that I'll hand you £18.39 (that's £21.95 less 20% VAT) and you'll delight in the profit from your endeavours. That's a healthy £8.21 from your outlay of £10.18 unless you factor in the cost of heating and lighting your house, insurance, rates, income tax, the cost of the glass that I dropped on your terrace (oops, sorry!), the cost of mowing the lawn, the cost of half a loo roll that I used and the copy of Hello that you kindly placed by the loo and I assumed you wanted me to keep that by the way.  Now with all that factored in you will have made a glorious profit of a between a quid and naff all. But hey at least you'll have the reassurance of knowing that you won't have to do it all again for me tomorrow (reasons I won't be returning are to follow). Oh, no you won't because as far as you're concerned I paid you the money and left appearing to have had a nice time albeit without a big thank you.

So, there you are in a few days time spending a little time relaxing with your family and you'll receive a lovely email from me informing you that I've told the rest of the world via the Internet that I had an average time at your house but thought that it wasn't worth the money...

At this point you'll feel like jacking it all in and moving to a volcanic island in the middle of the Mediterranean where you don't have to pander to the needs of spoilt twots like me with aspirations of becoming the next Michael Winner... 

Here endeth the outpouring of my passionate views... For more rants please read my blog at lostfaithinhumanitytoday.blogspot.com

"The more dangerous volcanoes are those that lie dormant for years, holding everything in, then burst open suddenly, usually with devastating effect."

As much as I can sympathise with this business owner's frustrations, this rant, published on the business' professional website, is totally UNprofessional. Customers will moan. They might be ungrateful. They might not understand the profit margins of small business. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Needless to say I have been completely put off, and what a shame. Especially by the bold quote at the end which seems to suggest that the writer is one unsatisfied customer away from a crazed maniacal outburst. I won't name the business in question as I do think they most likely provide a great experience, however, I think I will take my custom elsewhere... 

Suits and tricky questions

Wow, what beautiful and scorching weather we have had these past few day. Almost makes you think it might be summer... 

As you know, I was made redundant from one of my part time jobs shortly before exams *sob*. Obviously job hunting was not at the top of my priority list at the time. Since then, one particular position has caught my eye. Another admin post but this time at a much larger firm that annually recruits trainees. I applied and yesterday I had my preliminary interview. 

First off, it was over 30 degrees here and I was super reluctant to don a heavy and stifling suit. Contrary to what everyone advised me, I knew best, and wore a shirt and cardigan combo. Greatest idea I've ever had until I walk into the offices and come face to face with the previous interviewee, dressed in a suit. Nothing like a confidence wobble just before a big interview eh. 

Moving on to the reason for this post. One of the questions I was asked was:

                                      "What criteria should your next employer or position meet?"

What an interesting question. I was initially a bit stumped. After a moment to think, I was still stumped. And then I realised my only option was to be honest and so I entered in a conversation in which we discussed my particular desire for a job in the legal sector, in which team working is key and where there are opportunities for the development of employees (obviously here I was thinking of post LPC opportunities). 

The interviewer then cottoned on to what I was thinking and asked how long I expected I would be in this role, and I was really dreading this question. With the cost of training and the time it can take recruiters are quite rightly keen to employ people with the intention to stick around. With that said, I know of people who are in charge of recruiting and have told me that people who remain in the same position for more than 3-4 years are generally seen to lack ambition (I tend to disagree with this, but what do I know). What a minefield! Again, I had to be honest and answered that I couldn't imagine being in a part-time position for longer than 2 years as on completion of the LPC and then the LLM I would obviously be wanting full time work. I then mentioned that I might also be wanting to move away from admin and into a role that used some of my legal skills. This seemed to pay off as I then found out that this particular firm are keen to begin a practice of recruiting their trainees from within so it seems that honesty was the best policy.

The recruiter called me this morning to say I was through to the final interview stage next week. Having met some of the employees of this firm and seen the offices I could really see myself working for this firm. *preps heavy and stifling suit*

Exam Hysteria

We have all been there. The final exam of the year. Nerves, yes, but also a faint whiff of excitement for the summer. That feeling that, no matter what the exam may throw at you, in 3 hours time you won't have to worry for another 3 months. The invigilator calls you all to put down your pens and a wave of cool relief washes over you... ahhh calm!

This year I have been cruelly and heartlessly deprived of that heady relief due to, what I am coining, 'exam hysteria'. Electives exams were rather ruthless and consequently we have all been drawn into a blow-by-blow dissection of each and every word we wrote on the papers. The guilt, the regret, the misery.

When I finished the paper I felt a bit disappointed but definitely confident of a pass. I stayed behind with a few friends to grab a pizza in Guildford and the self-doubt began. 

"Oh... did you include [insert relevant case]?"

"Yes question 2 was definitely about [insert relevant topic]"

"You said she worked 40 hours a week? I am pretty sure it worked out at 37.5"

I spent the drive home deflatedly mulling over each and every detail and convincing myself I had failed.  I didn't even do this for my degree finals.

But the conversations didn't stop there. All texts from friends since the exams have been exam related. Some friends repeatedly just stating that they have failed. Some friends remembering bits they did or didn't include and checking if they were in the majority. Others planning their new careers after the embarrassment of inevitably being publicly named and shamed as the University of Law's worst LPC student and then unceremoniously kicked off the course. Tiresome, but infectious. 

My personal way of dealing with anything like this is perfectly summed up in the phrase "worrying won't change a thing" so I don't understand why I have been dragged into all this pessimism. I am slowly withdrawing from the exam talk now (it has been 2 weeks!) and trying to resume with normal life. I hope that my friends can also combat this strange compulsion to berate ourselves but I fear they may need to go cold turkey.

What I can confirm is that it is most definitely catching so beware, fellow law students, and keep away from the infected.

Exams and finishing LPC year one

I have officially completed the first year of the LPC :D I cannot believe it. This academic year has gone so quickly and it's scary to think that I will only be a student for one more year. 

Last week I had exams in the employment elective and then solicitors' accounts. Employment (on Tuesday) didn't go as well as I would have like. In preparation for the exam I re-read the ENTIRE textbook (dedication!) and made notes on each topic. I went through each workshop and re-did most of the workshop tasks. I then annotated the flow charts and did the specimen exam. It would be fair to say I was feeling fairly confident and I slept like a baby the night before the exam. 

The multiple choice element of the exam (20%) went terribly, as expected. So I was pleased to move on to the written questions. The first one was primarily redundancy based, with an unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal element plus a juicy question on restraint of trade. The second was TUPE followed by a question on future liability in relation to transferred employees. It mainly went badly due to time management. At the start of the exam I worked out how much time I had for each section but, inevitably, I ran over on my redundancy question- opting to cover EVERY single option etc. This meant I rushed the second part. However, I did finish and since the exam I know of 3 people who didn't even reach the future liability question, so I am at least thankful for that! 

The real issue I have is with regard to discrimination. 1/3 of the course was dedicated to discrimination claims and so I was surprised to find it was not examined in the paper . Apparently, this surprise was felt by many and has led to a divide on whether there was in fact a potential discrimination claim in the first question. *cue panic* Some have covered it and some haven't. I didn't. And I revised discrimination ALOT. My personal opinion is that some have felt so uncomfortable that it wasn't in the paper that they have shoe-horned a claim in, but I guess only results will tell. 

My advice to anyone studying on the LPC in the future would be that, studying for open book exams is actually no walk in the park! Obviously, more is expected of you and you really cannot rely on your books; there just isn't the time. I think I used my actual textbook twice in the whole 3 hour exam and used my notes sporadically- I only just finished in time. You absolutely cannot be learning or reading big chunks about a topic during the exam so make sure you learn everything in the same way you would a closed book exam. Then, create prompts and case references to quickly glance at while you are writing. 

Prediction for Employment: 58%

On the other hand, Solicitors' Accounts (closed book) was a dream. A 2 hour paper and I managed the ledgers (worth 36%) in 20 minutes and the Financial Statement (worth 16%) in another 20 minutes. This gave me a lovely 80 minutes for the multiple choice element (20%) and the comprehension element (28%). No hiccups and it was pretty painless. 

Prediction for Solicitors' Accounts: 70%

Results are out on 30th July and I am glad to have a 6 week breather to be honest. My immediate plans involve a return to the CAB for my advisor training, continuing with work and completing my TC applications. I might even treat myself to a break! No holidays this year as we are saving for an 8 week trip next summer (destination is as yet unknown) but I am booking in a lot of beach barbecues and countryside picnics. Here's to the summer! 

Interviewing and Advising Exam/ end of term

Save for two exams, I have officially completed the first year of the LPC *fires poppers*. The Interviewing and Advising exam fell on the final day of term and so there was a mix of excitement, anticipation and nerves floating about last Wednesday. 

I am pleased to report that, generally, the exam went smoothly. I think I made two moderate errors: starting to muddle up explaining the law with giving the client the relevant options (two sections which are meant to be kept separate for clarity) and also forgetting to tell the client they would be receiving a letter of advice. I hope that these things won't prevent me from being found competent as I seemed to have a good rapport with the "client" and the interview flowed nicely. I spent exactly 20:19 on the interviewing so had a nice 9.5 minutes to complete my notes. Phew! 

I am now heavily stuck into revision for the Employment elective (exam: 11 June) and Solicitors Accounts (exam: 15 June) so you can consider me off the grid. 

In other news...

Not strictly LPC related but yesterday when I arrived at work I was unfortunately made redundant and given my 1 week's statutory notice. So any job application relief I thought I might have after the TC deadline passes will be short lived. On the bright side, I now won't need to work during exams next week.... every cloud and all that!

"Please indicate your expected salary"

My slow and steady completion of Training Contract applications is going well and the majority of the process is fairly similar for each firm. 

Yesterday I was coming to the end of a shorter TC application when I saw the question in the title of this blog.

"Please indicate your expected salary"

This posed a bit of a conundrum for me. My inner Mr Burns (a little The Simpsons reference for you there) started goading me to type "£30,000!", exclamation mark and all. But I suppose that wouldn't really be my "expected" salary. I asked myself, what is a trainee's expected salary? 

I am due to complete the LPC in 2014. We all know that with the abolition of the SRA's minimum trainee salary in August 2014, the new absolute minimum would be National Minimum Wage (currently £6.19 ph and due to rise to £6.31 in October 2013, making your yearly salary a mere £12,305). For a maximum I looked at the Magic Circle firms: Linklaters at a whopping £39,500 in the first year of training, Slaughter and May at £39,000 and Clifford Chance and Allen and Overy at £38,000. It is yet to be seen whether firms will actually hire trainees at NMW but that could mean a difference of just over £27,000.

So where do you place your own expectations. There isn't a correct formula. The key is to assess the firm you are applying to and be flexible. This means that, although my inner Mr Burns was shouting at me to type £30,000, that figure is probably not realistic for a smaller firm situated outside of a city and with a handful of staff. Look at the firm's profile, look at similar firm's profiles. 

I also had to be realistic about myself. Academically, I am not a star candidate. I didn't achieve a first and I don't possess all As at A-level. Although I am very proud of my 2:1 from a fairly well respected university, it still has the potential to prevent me accessing those Magic Circle firms. In terms of work experience, I have some strong vacation schemes and placements which somewhat redeems me. I  hope that this means I have a good shot at some of the smaller regional firms. For these reasons, I know that my expected salary is probably around the middle to lower end of the scale. 

It is quite an interesting question for firms to ask and I do wonder what the implications of your answer might be. Pin your expectations too high- application binned, there are plenty of applicants who will expect lower. Pin your expectations too low- thousands of pounds of student debt all to work for little more than a waitress. The abolition of minimum wage coinciding with the serious lack of available TCs just screams a potential for exploitation to me. 

A good friend of mine started work in a bank a few years ago and the advertisement for the position stated that the salary was between £12 and £14k pa. At interview he was asked what he expected in terms of wages and he replied £13k- opting for a safe, middle of the road amount and knowing that it was within what they were expecting to pay. 4 months after he started working as a cashier the bank hired another cashier. They got chatting and he was gutted to find out that she had negotiated a £15k salary. 6 months later he was offered a promotion and an increase in salary of, you guessed it, £2000pa. That was the moment he knew he had to leave. How could he take on more responsibility and hours and yet still be earning the same as a cashier. It was the final straw. The moral of the story: don't sell yourself short, because it WILL matter. 

Tread carefully with the "expected salary" question.