As part of a spotlight series* featuring former UUֱ student campus ambassadors, we caught up with Darren Broad, Trainee Solicitor at Clyde & Co, who reflects on his legal journey. Read on to discover Darren’s tips on overcoming challenges faced by many law students as well as sound advice for anyone considering a legal career.
I always had an interest in law and politics and how the system works. I knew I wanted to study law for A levels and, while at sixth form, I was inspired by my tutor who’d been a solicitor himself. It was the one thing in college that I wanted to get up out of bed and go in for! I enjoyed the way you could take the law and apply it to any set of facts and produce some sort of solution. I liked that analysis element and being able to work through the steps to come to an outcome.
I did a few open days at the courts; I watched proceedings in the Crown Court and the Magistrate's Court. In the first year of my degree, I went to an open day at Lincoln's Inn, one of the Inns of Court, to learn what the Bar is all about. By doing practical activities like that, it allowed me to work out that while I absolutely admire barristers, the role perhaps wasn't for me.
The level of advocacy and the amount of time that's spent in court didn't quite suit me. I enjoy engaging with clients and getting myself into the whole breadth of a case, whereas barristers tend to take on specific issues and the solicitors brief them. My advice would be to do practical things where you can see the everyday tasks involved in the role to help you understand what route you might want to go down.
We had various elements of coursework as well as oral presentations and general research tasks throughout my degrees. By getting certified on UUֱ products and understanding how the legal research platform works – the shortcuts you can take, the keywords you can use, the connectors for search terms – all those little things that came together, it made such a huge difference in my skills on the course. It allowed me to complete work more efficiently and to a better standard.
It also allowed me to understand legal topics with greater certainty. Doing the Legal Research and Practical Guidance certifications allowed me to be confident using both sides of the platform, and that was a great help because reading articles aimed at practitioners gives you a glimpse into the more practical side of the industry. It helps you understand what you might be doing in practice and how the law's applied practically, not just theoretically.
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Absolutely. Those skills that I've learnt and the knowledge of working my way around UUֱ, I've used countless times throughout my various seats. Whether it was in seat one, researching housing law, seat two on marine personal injury claims... The whole breadth of practice that comes along with rotating throughout a training contract.
Solicitors are undoubtedly going to be given research tasks. That's just how it works. And even if you're not, you're going to undertake research yourself to understand the topic or whatever it is you're working on. And so, being able to navigate UUֱ is so handy. Being able to think “Right, OK, these are the steps I need to take to get to the answer”, having those steps drilled in is incredibly useful in day-to-day practice.
One of my main challenges was probably time management, because there's a fair amount of pressure on law students to not only do the course but to engage in extra-curricular activities. Pro bono, volunteering, part-time work – and then also to try and have a bit of a social life!
I always had a diary on me. I was always ticking things off, planning things out. I tried my best (it didn't always happen) to plan my week in advance, so I knew what I was doing. I knew what lectures I had. I knew where my free time sat.
Another challenge was impostor syndrome. This can creep in at all levels, whether you're a first-year law student, a trainee, or a senior partner going for promotion to managing partner. It's always there and it's a part of human life.
My best advice is: you're your own best cheerleader. You have to be to get to where you want to be. Try your best to believe in yourself and surround yourself with people that are going to support you, uplift you and are going through the same journey. I had several close friends at university who were all applying to law firms and doing open days. And it's tough. You will receive some rejections, so surround yourself with a really, really good support network, and you'll be fine. And accept that some days won't go your way. Just wake up the next day and go for it.
Expect the unexpected. Legal practice is varied, especially if you're going to head into litigation or undertake a litigious seat (which you will if you're going to go to do a training contract or pupillage).
You don't know what will pop up day to day. You don't know what evidence is going to be released on your cases. There will be curveballs and deadlines thrown at you, and there will be random letters from the other side that you won't expect.
So, expect the unexpected with your work, but also anticipate that for practical things like seat rotations as well. I remember at university, people saying, "I want to be this type of solicitor and I'm going to qualify here", but you just don't know where you're going to end up.
My seats have been totally unexpected. My first seat was a pro bono secondment and I ended up spending time volunteering in Warsaw with refugees because it was offered to the responsible business trainees. Did I expect that when I was applying to the firm? No. So unpredictable nature is a huge part of legal practice and you should try to get as comfortable as you can with that, because it makes a job brilliant. But it also can be extremely stressful.
Something I wish I’d done more of – and which I recommend – is to really think what you want from your legal career when you begin exploring where you want to apply. I did a lot of research on firms and I'm very happy with the one I am at. The areas of law the firm specialises in really interest me. But it would have been so easy to apply to a firm that doesn't meet those requirements and to go along with the flow of it, because it's what everyone else is doing.
Think whether it is commercial law you want to do. Or do you want to be a social welfare lawyer? Do you want to go to the Bar? Do you want a law degree, but perhaps work in another area of the legal field, that's not practice?
A lot of people get swept up on the train of just doing what everyone else is doing. And at the end of the day, it's really important if you're going to be working 40-50 hours a week and in quite a stressful environment to, for at least most of the time, enjoy what you do.
Because, if you don’t, you will end up moving or leaving or being unhappy, and you only live once. So, sit down and think about what it is you want. And always have in the back of your mind, that it's not forever and you can always change course. A lot of people get very stressed and forget that actually “If I commit to this job, it is not forever”. If there's an area of practice you want to move into you, you can do it.
*This series shines a spotlight on former UUֱ student associates, who worked as law school campus ambassadors part-time during their studies, providing peer support and training. Now, with some real-world experience behind them, they’re sharing their journeys, insights and experiences to encourage aspiring lawyers.
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