A quick glance at the 16 June 2008 issue of ‘The Lawyer’ gave rise to a brief sigh of relief and stirred up some thoughts regarding my progression beyond that of a Trainee Solicitor. The article in question highlighted the statistics across the industry that the current credit crunch is not dissuading firms of solicitors from recruiting the Trainee Solicitors they have spent two years teaching and moulding. This article is in sharp contrast to industry rumours that are throwing about words such as ‘redundancy’.

As a first year trainee I have tried hard to avoid the subject of where I will land on completion of my training contract. The training contract is a time for learning the ropes and getting a feel for the work I will be doing in the future. It is best spent finding your feet and deciding what part of the profession you want to work in. I have decided that I will not concern myself with potential future career woes but instead concentrate on the experiences and decisions that affect me now.

Nevertheless, being only human I will undoubtedly concern myself about whether or not I will succeed beyond my 2 year term. My glance at ‘The Lawyer’ this morning was a comforting one, with comments such as “91 per cent of trainees return” and “up from 88 per cent last year”. Seddons, incidentally, is retaining 100% of its trainees this intake (which is comforting for us other Trainees). 

I shall be quietly and anxiously waiting and hoping the trends continue through the foreseeable turbulent times.