Helpline FAQ
These are just examples of the typical questions asked and the type of advice the helpline can provide. However, this section is in no way intended to be comprehensive and if you need help we strongly advise you to pick up the phone and call us.
I am a second year trainee at a small one-partner firm. The partner is usually only in the office three days a week from 11am-2pm. There are four trainees at the firm in total but there are no other qualified solicitors to check our work. I am concerned about the lack of supervision and support available to us, and since I started I have only had one appraisal. What are my options?
If you are concerned about the quality of your training then make sure you are familiar with the Training Regulations 1990. There are extensive obligations on both firms and trainees during the training contract period. A practical guide to these obligations can be found in The Trainee Solicitors Guide to Authorisation. You are able to access this guide through the Law Society website at www.training.lawsociety.org.
There is an obligation that trainee solicitors will be adequately supervised within the firm, and supervisors must have adequate time to devote to the supervision of training. If this is not the case, you are unable to judge whether your legal skills are developing sufficiently to meet the required standards.
Firms must have a system for appraising trainees' performance during the training contract. A minimum of three appropriately timed compulsory appraisals must taking place during the two years. This may be one in the first year, one in the second year and one at the end of the training contract.
As a first step it may be useful to approach the Partner and raise these issues. Explain that you are concerned about the lack of supervision and refer him to the Guide to Authorisation. If handled in a sensitive manner such action may well cause the Partner to assess the level of supervision provided.
If this approach fails you should consider contacting the Legal Education and Training Department at the Law Society on 0870 606 2555. The Law Society is able to arrange for your firm to be monitored. The Law Society often carries out random monitoring visits on firms, but where the visit is prompted by a complaint the firm has to be informed. In such a case the Law Society will keep your name and details confidential, but this may be of little use in a smaller firm.
You should seriously think about taking some action to address this problem. Good supervision is essential to your training as a solicitor and its importance should not be under-estimated.
