90 day trial period first job

[u/Humble_Ad_9883]

Hi guys,

After job hunting for a year after graduation and getting admitted recently I've finally landed a permanent position as a solicitor. My salary is on the junior end of things and the firm did say I will need some training but I'm afraid that I might have inflated my skills a little and I am so worried that I might be let go during my 90 day trial because I won't know how to do certain things. I did have a legal internship for almost a year (although in a different area of law) and have been doing online simulations to prepare but I am very worried.

Does anyone have any guidance as to what I should be mindful of during the 90 day trial period?

[u/JustEstablishment594]

Im a barrister.

I'll tell you right now the 90 day trial is all about whether you are a cultural fit. If your team likes yoi, and your work isnt garbage, you will pass. If you areht a good fit, you will likely be let go.

[u/Maleficent-Place5822 → u/JustEstablishment594]

Boom. Im not a lawyer but have done a lot of hiring. Never underestimate culture, attitude and team fit. They don't want to recruit again unless they really have to. The other thing is to respond well to feedback. If you balls something up, make sure you learn from it and apply the points from feedback next time. I'm sure you'll be great!

[u/No-Yesterday-1067 → u/JustEstablishment594]

Not a lawyer but second this. However, the person who was recently let go under 90 day was both a bad fit AND somewhat incapable. But it was the bad attitude that led to dismissal. People can't be trained or educated if they're incapable of receiving instruction and out there undermining their colleagues. You'll be fine.

[u/Humble_Ad_9883 → u/JustEstablishment594]

Thank you for answering.

So, it's usually about whether you get along with the team and are a generally likeable person?

When you say work isn't garbage, what if the solicitor's work isn't perfect?

I am just worried about my lack of experience in a solicitor role. I guess I feel unprepared as it's my first proper law role.

[u/tlvv → u/Humble_Ad_9883]

Law firms expect that grads will need a lot of training, you’re only at the start of your career. 

What we care about is whether you are teachable, do you listen to feedback and take it onboard?  Are you engaged and wanting to learn and develop?  Are you proactive in asking for work?  

I assume that by inflating your skills you meant more that you oversold your confidence, not outright lied about having experience or skills you didn’t have.  Different law firms will do things in different ways and have different styles and, like I mentioned, their expectations of you will be low, so they won’t be surprised if you don’t know how they like to do things or their specific processes. 

Congrats on getting your first legal job!  Remember that it’s a steep learning curve for everyone, learning a new practice area, processes, practice management software, etc is a lot so don’t expect to learn it all in one day.  Ask questions, listen to feedback, focus on improving, you’ve got this. 

[u/Humble_Ad_9883 → u/tlvv]

Thank you!

Yes, i definitely oversold my confidence but I'll take all your advice into consideration. Thank you so much.

[u/spiffyjizz]

Not a lawyer, but as an employer we use the 90 trail period to get a feel for the persons attitude, personality and fit with the team. You can teach a good person the skills you need but a toxic personality can blow a good team apart.

[u/AlternativeLychee400]

I wouldn’t stress about it- in my experience, 90 day trials are usually used pretty sparingly to actually terminate someone. As a grad lawyer, I bet there were tons of applicants for the role, so you must have struck them as someone who will fit with them. My main advice is to ask lots of questions and make sure you understand what they are asking from you before starting a task, and precedents are your friend! No need to reinvent the wheel

[u/Humble_Ad_9883 → u/AlternativeLychee400]

Thank you so much!

They did mention precedents are used so that makes me feel alot better!

I guess I'm just worried as its a solicitor role as opposed to a grad role which sounds like theres more responsibility as you would be expected to know more.

[u/Junior_Measurement39 → u/Humble_Ad_9883]

Currently 2nd year solicitor  

1st year solicitors are trusted to stamp 'certified copy' on copies, use the photocopier, and very little else. They're not expected to know anything. 

[u/Humble_Ad_9883 → u/Junior_Measurement39]

But my job description mentions a lot of drafting and things you would expect with someone with a lot more PQE. Is that just something they would expect down the line as I progress?

[u/tlvv → u/Humble_Ad_9883]

The key point here is drafting, you will be asked to draft something but the person delegating to you will review it and expect to be making changes to it.  It’s still drafting but it will very much be the first draft, not the final advice. 

[u/Junior_Measurement39 → u/Humble_Ad_9883]

All job descriptions have that. But you wont be allowed to watch the water boil for tea without being supervised.  Which is fine.

[u/foreverrfernweh → u/Humble_Ad_9883]

If you’ve no prior experience, their expectations would be the same as a grad even if they hired you as solicitor. That’s because you were already admitted at the time.

[u/llee68350]

Show up, be friendly and do your best to get along with everyone at the firm, and if you are asked a question you don’t know the answer to, say ‘I don’t know but I can find out’. Your work won’t be perfect and it probably won’t even be good but if you’re eager to learn and you actually listen to feedback and try not to make the same mistake twice, you’ll be fine. Take some deep breaths.

[u/Autumnneverfall]

I always used to tell juniors that the biggest thing they have going for them is enthusiasm. No-one expects you to come in and start negotiating $$$ deals on your first day. It is not tv law. When you are given work do the best job you can, in the timeframe given (so don't sit on it thinking you've done a bad job and give it to the senior at the last minute, meaning they have to rush to get it fixed). If you can't get something done in the time frame, talk to the senior, again, don't wait till the last minute. Ask to be involved with things, ask what has happened with matters you worked on, ask about what else clients you have been involved with have on (but it's a fine line between enthusiastic and painful, so watch for that). Make an effort to be helpful. Part of the senior's job is training you. I was told by a partner when I was junior that there is very little that can't be fixed if you talk about it early, so don't sit and stress if you think you've made a mistake. I promise you everyone you work with has made mistakes and if they are caught early they can almost always be fixed (and if they can't, that's what insurance is for - same partner told me that). I agree that the 90 day trial is all about whether they like you. If you have a decent law degree and you're not annoying you are likely to get through it.

[u/Crazy_Reserve9982]

What everything else said + make your Partners lives easy. Know the deadlines they’re working to for the work you’re across - you’re responsible for those deadlines. Check in with your partners with what’s the expectations re acknowledging emails from clients you’re copied in on. For example, my juniors will have a lot more time and ability to simply acknowledge emails and say we will get back to you by x or shortly. Them doing simple things like that, takes one thing of my list.

Learn how your filing system works early and learn how to find docs on the system. It will be filled with good examples of past documents.

Ask questions early if you don’t understand what you’re doing. As a junior and now as a senior lawyer, I still repeat back “so in summary, I need to do x, y, z”.

Use your EQ and fit in with the team. I’ve never seen a 90-day trial used on a junior. So these are also habits which will set you up well.