Going from trainee to newly qualified solicitor overnight is one of the biggest challenges a solicitor faces in their career. NQSolicitors spoke to Veale Wasbrough Vizards’ Vanina Wittenburg to find out how she is enjoying life as a newly qualified solicitor at the firm and what tips she can pass on to trainees approaching qualification.
How did you find the transition from trainee to newly qualified solicitor and what were your biggest challenges?
The full workload of a qualified solicitor is entirely different from that of a trainee, and this has taken some adjustment in the first few months. Organisational skills have become key, and I have found that I need to take more time out of my day to make sure I prioritise the right tasks, and deal with matters in a timely manner. What this has meant though is that I’ve been treated as a proper fee earner from day one, with the level of trust that entails, which has been a great motivator. The variety of work is also vast by comparison, and as a newly qualified solicitor you feel like you should know it all (from one day to the next). So I think it’s important to stop and realise that to choose a career as a solicitor is to choose a lifetime of learning and professional development. Training doesn’t stop when you qualify, and clients will always surprise you with questions you’ve never been asked before.
How well did the firm and your time as a trainee prepare you for the step up to life as a newly qualified solicitor?
I feel that my training contract has prepared me really well for qualification. Throughout my time as a trainee I was given a high level of responsibility, and often had ownership of my own matters, so in that sense the transition wasn’t too scary. It also means that as a trainee I never felt like “the junior” in any of the teams I spent time with – my opinion was always valued. That’s given me a lot of confidence in my skills and abilities, which has served me well since qualification.
Obviously, you chose to stay at VWV post qualification. What advice would you give to trainees when making the decision whether to stay or leave?
Before ever considering becoming a lawyer, it was clear to me that I enjoy learning and dealing with intellectual challenges – I dabbled in academia for a few years before deciding on law – so it was really important to me to be in an environment where my own interests, learning and ambitions were given proper weight. I found this at VWV, and this is one of the key reasons I wanted to stay with the firm.
I always felt as a trainee that the people I worked for wanted me to learn and hone my craft just as much as they wanted me to do good work for our clients. I don’t think this kind of supportive environment is a given in the legal world. Ultimately it means I enjoy my work and am excited to go into the office every day – which to me seems like the most important thing about choosing any job. So, my advice would be to really consider whether the area of law you have chosen will hold your interest in the long term, and whether your firm provides the environment where you can excel in that area of law. This really boils down to: will the firm be supportive of your training and learning, and do you feel like it cares about your career development?
At what stage of your training did you decide you wanted to specialise in private client work? How difficult was this decision?
My very first seat as a trainee was in Private Client, and I had an inkling before I started that I would really enjoy it, having taken a Private Client elective during the LPC. I very quickly realised I’d been right, and so Private Client became the seat to which I compared all other seats. Some came close – I considered Commercial Property for some time, as I dealt with really interesting matters and clients, but Private Client won out fairly early in the process. I didn’t find it that difficult to make the decision, as I took a fairly objective approach. I really thought about what it was that I enjoyed on a day-to-day basis (client contact, plenty of drafting, and a mixture of technical knowledge and creative thinking), and Private Client felt like the best fit for me.
What do you enjoy about being a private client solicitor?
Private Client has a really good mix of intellectually challenging work, and what I call the “human element”. My clients are individuals and families, and I often interact with them at tough times in their lives. I have to find out about my clients’ lives so that I can identify appropriate solutions to their problems, or strategies to achieve what they want.
Understanding people’s motivations is key, and often this means it’s not about doing what might seem like the most logical thing, but rather what needs to be done to get to the client’s desired end result. This, coupled with having to think creatively about how to achieve the clients’ objectives, makes every day different and interesting.
What are your ambitions as a lawyer and do you feel you will be able to fulfil them at VWV?
From the moment I decided I wanted to become a solicitor, my aim has always been to find a career that keeps me interested day in and day out, and that involves working with people. I really think I have found that at VWV. Even as a junior fee earner, I have plenty of interesting work and client contact, and I work in a very supportive and friendly team. This means that I enjoy my work, as well as my time at work, and I feel like I provide an excellent service to our clients. These to me are huge positives, and part of the reason why I think being at VWV will allow me to do really well in my career.
How would you describe VWV to someone applying to the firm either as a trainee or as a newly qualified solicitor?
VWV has a very long history (Charles Dickens worked for one of the previous incarnations of the firm), yet it is a thoroughly modern firm. It has a varied and fascinating client list including settled estates, educational institutions, small business owners, wealthy individuals and everything in between.
The firm has one of the friendliest environments that I have worked in; an environment where everybody has respect for one another and where everybody takes great pride in their work.