Traineeship advice needed!!

Lawhopeful

I'm looking for advice re training contracts. I actually have a training contract lined up with one of the big commercial firms in Dublin where I did an internship this summer. I really enjoyed my internship with them but I've been thinking a lot about it and I have always been so much more interested areas of law like family law and human rights law than in the more business and commercial areas.

I guess my question is whether it would be possible for me to go into general practice or a practice that focuses more on my interests if I do my training with a commercial firm? The money side of things would be a big issue for me in that I couldn't afford to fund myself through blackhall at all with the way things are right now given the rent and cost of living in Dublin alone. I know trainees have to get a wage throughout blackhall but its not much if the law society's salary guidelines are to be believed. Any insights at all would be so appreciated! If anyone has changed practices or I has been through this dilemma I'd love to know how you got on or went about this! Thanks in advance :-)

Peregrinus

You'll get an excellent training in the basics at a big firm. Even the big commercial firms will do a certain amount of family law, though as a trainee you may never be involved in that. But as regards fundamental legal skills and practical skills, you'll do very well. You will certainly be employable in a non-commercial firm after graduation; a proportion of the trainees who go through the commercial firms do decide that Big Finance is not the life for them, and they move into other areas of practice. As a newly-qualified lawyer nobody's expecting you to be a specialist in family law or human rights law or anything, really; what recruiters will be looking for is good basic skills, e.g. in litigation, plus an interest in the area. Relevant experience helps but it's not the be-all and end-all.

Lawhopeful

Peregrinus wrote: »

You'll get an excellent training in the basics at a big firm. Even the big commercial firms will do a certain amount of family law, though as a trainee you may never be involved in that. But as regards fundamental legal skills and practical skills, you'll do very well. You will certainly be employable in a non-commercial firm after graduation; a proportion of the trainees who go through the commercial firms do decide that Big Finance is not the life for them, and they move into other areas of practice. As a newly-qualified lawyer nobody's expecting you to be a specialist in family law or human rights law or anything, really; what recruiters will be looking for is good basic skills, e.g. in litigation, plus an interest in the area. Relevant experience helps but it's not the be-all and end-all.

This really helped put my mind at ease, thank you!