So you know people’s names and where the kettle is. Awesome. But you would be amazed at how high people’s expectations can be. This may not be enough to progress your career.

It is surprising how many great lawyers are not particularly good at mentoring their trainees. Even though “psychic powers” was not on your CV nor canvassed with you at the interview stage, you are somehow supposed to absorb the knowledge and experience of litigation, as it were, from thin air.

The trouble is, because you know nothing, and nobody is bothering to help you develop, it is easy to start being paranoid that you are simply an expense. And that is not a comfortable feeling…

A lot of the time your boss will have files with quick and easy things to do on them. They don’t get done because the boss is handling the clients on the telephone, drafting the urgent form E, in court or meetings etc. This leads to hassle from the clients because they want to know if their certificate of entitlement has come in or if the application has been listed etc etc. Then they start ringing up your boss who has no time to sort out the little jobs because they are on the phone so much- and round it goes. So, how will you know what to do without superhuman powers of telepathy?

• The first thing to do is to organise some supervision time with your allotted grown up. Half an hour everyday will probably be the most you can get. Don’t keep interrupting the supervisor, rather stack up all your questions/ files to look at during the supervising time. They probably won’t get to everything but at least you can keep the work moving with the input you have.
• You need to make a success of supervision even with the most un-cuddly boss (always has blood dripping from side of mouth? Only wears faultless evening dress? Stays at the office all night? Uh oh.) So make sure your files for her consideration are in order. A good way of presenting your work is to have the letter, with the enclosures that are due to go with it, on top of the file. That way supervision time isn’t wasted whilst boss huffs and puffs as she rifles through the paperwork to see if you bothered to copy the application you are about to make.
• Cultivate a knowledgeable sidekick; someone with more experience than you but who is not so lofty that they can’t be bribed with Haribo to help you out during the day.
• Divorce files: If you were paying any attention on the LPC then this is the area where you should feel most confident. Grab the files off your boss and nibble away at them . Start up petitions so your boss can correct them and they can go out to the client. Chase the court (the number is in your little book, remember?) for progress, then update the client. Applications for Decree Absolute and Decree Nisi are easy to do.  Obviously everything needs to be checked before being sent out but at least it should stop you feeling like a menace to the bottom line of the firm’s profitability.

Resources: We don’t walk around like computers just churning out the practice and procedure. We stash the knowledge in precedent banks or online libraries or the funky massive books that get updated every month. These are called “Practitioner Handbooks”.

Find out where and how the knowledge is squirreled away. If you are in a big firm, then you may blessed with a practice knowledge manager of some kind. Smaller firms should have the stuff either online or around the office. Find the password or rescue the book from under the pile of files on the partner’s desk and put it somewhere you can find it. Why not volunteer to help with updating the book every month? You will soon find out how it works.

Worst case scenario: you are given the searing gaze of wrath and despair if you mention the words “practitioner handbook”. Then you get the “Don’t they teach you anything at law school?” speech.

You are by no means alone. So you better start building your own precedent bank. You will very soon find that your LPC book is not up to the job, which is a good thing because it means you are growing out of it and expanding your knowledge.

• The Court will have all the forms, and the notes for guidance are handy too. Here’s the divorce ones to get you started  Divorce Forms
• When you are stuck on procedure, then for goodness sake, look it up on the rules.  Family Procedure Rules 2010
• When someone sends you a form for something unusual then consider copying it minus the personal details, into your precedents bank.
• Make friends with people at bigger firms.
• Get a free trial with an online provider, impress your boss with your fabulous knowledge and try and get the firm to agree to keep the service. If the worst comes to the worst, it may get you out of a sticky situation.
• Make friends with counsel (more on that in another post)
• Most cases can be found here, for free BAILLII we love you
• Use the internet with caution, it may not be up to date.

One of the more mundane things you may be lumbered with is photocopying. You would be very ill advised to give anyone the impression that you are too educated to do such a dull thing as copying a stack of papers.

• Firstly, you are actually a drag on the efficiency of the firm because you are not yet productive so shut up.
• Secondly, it is good for your soul – one day your future self will be wearing pinstripe a mile wide and smoking Havana cigars whilst ordering up numerous copies of the 19 lever arch file bundle for tomorrow at the PRFD. Being able to recall the fact that you once got to page 1006 and then realised the master bundle was chuffing double sided, will give your character the wry twist it needs to make the minions of the future put their backs into it for you.
• Thirdly, secretaries have very long memories. So think on that.

Which leads me on to my final point to help you out during your first two weeks, namely your sunny disposition and kindness to all. Basically no one but you and your Mum cares you got a training contract. Not really really cares. So to make your working life a success in law, it pays to be nice to people. Be interested, be cheerful, use paracetamol to make your headache just go away. Don’t talk about your love life, but be interested in the receptionist’s love life. Help others and build up your favours bank.

Next time we will look at the magic cycle of money –  or How You Get Paid…