Life of Newly Qualified UK Lawyer

Tag: solicitor life

  • The Night Before: Returning to Word After Annual Leave

    The Night Before: Returning to Word After Annual Leave

    The Night Before: Returning to Work After Annual Leave as a Solicitor

    There’s a special kind of Sunday Scaries that hits different when you’ve just had a week (or two, if you’re lucky) off. I find it hits hardest when you have been able to take the full two weeks off in one go. One minute you’re sipping cocktails, reading novels you’ll never admit to your colleagues, and pretending you’ve forgotten what an email is. The next… it’s 9pm, your suitcase is still on the floor, and your brain is running through all the horrors that Monday could bring.

    Sound familiar? Let’s break this down and let me furnish you with a few tricks to make the transition back to the office a little less soul-crushing, whether you’re in the legal field or not – I think it is fair to say this will strike true for most!

    ⸻

    The Emotional Rollercoaster

    1. The “Inbox Dread” Stage

    You don’t even need to open Outlook to know. The unread count will be there, waiting. Like a digital monster crouched behind your login screen. And even though you had a perfectly lovely time away, you can’t help but wonder if half the profession has collapsed without you. Spoiler: it hasn’t. (Probably.)

    1. The Sudden Productivity Panic

    You’ve just remembered: that matter you swore you’d “pick up after holiday” is now after holiday. Cue lying awake at midnight, mentally drafting attendance notes, while your partner reminds you that whispering “land registry” in your sleep is not normal.

    1. The Existential Reflection

    Why am I even doing this? Maybe I should just move to a Greek island and open a beach bar? I was so much happier not checking emails for a week. (This phase usually lasts until about 11:30am Monday, when you remember you quite like getting paid.)

    ⸻

    How to Survive the Night Before

    1.	Set a Gentle Landing

    Don’t roll into Monday with back-to-back deadlines. If you can, block out the first hour to just read through your emails and get your bearings. You’ll thank yourself later.

    2.	Unpack More Than the Suitcase

    Empty the mental suitcase too. Write down the three biggest tasks you know are waiting. Getting them out of your head makes them far less intimidating.

    3.	Inbox Triage

    Yes, there will be emails. No, you don’t have to reply to all 274 of them before lunch. Skim, delete, delegate, and prioritise. Remember: not everything that says “URGENT” is actually urgent.

    4.	Keep the Holiday Spirit Alive

    Bring a little of the holiday back with you. Coffee in your favourite mug, lunch outside if it’s not raining (…so, not often), or even setting a holiday photo as your background. It’s a small reminder you’re more than your billable hours.

    5.	Plan Something to Look Forward To

    Whether it’s dinner with a friend mid-week, a swim before work, or simply a nap worthy of a toddler — give yourself a mini “holiday” moment to soften the crash landing.

    ⸻

    Final Thoughts

    Returning from annual leave as a solicitor can feel like running into a tidal wave of tasks, deadlines, and client demands. But with a little preparation (and a sense of humour), you can keep the Sunday Scaries from taking over. Remember: the inbox will always be full, the diary will always be busy, but your sanity is worth protecting.

    Besides, it’s only a few weeks until your next annual leave request, right?

    ⚖️ Solicitor by day | 🚢 Cruising the seas and navigating the law | Sharing legal tips & travel tales | 📲 Follow my journey on Instagram | Threads | TikTok | BlueSky |

  • The Day Before Annual Leave: A Solicitor’s Survival Guide

    The Day Before Annual Leave: A Solicitor’s Survival Guide

    The Day Before Annual Leave: A Solicitor’s Survival Guide

    There are few feelings more glorious than that “last day before holiday” buzz. You can almost smell the sunscreen, hear the clink of ice in a glass, and feel the warm breeze — until reality smacks you in the face. Because you’re not just you… you’re you the solicitor, or in my case – a private client solicitor. And there are those few clients that still think you should be at their call any time including when you are on annual leave. This just adds got the stress of the 24 hours before annual leave which is less “relaxed packing” and more “triage unit in a war zone”.

    Let’s go through the stages I experience in the 24 hours up to the big event!

    Stage 1. The Inbox Clearance Mission

    The mythical dream is to “get everything done” before you go. The reality? It’s 5:45pm, you’ve been replying to emails since 7am, and your inbox somehow now has more unread messages than it did this morning. You’ve just sent an “I’ll deal with this when I get back” holding reply… and instantly get an “URGENT – NEED THIS TODAY” email marked high importance.

    And yes, it’s from the client who ghosted you for three weeks. Naturally.

    At the end of the day, there is only so much you can do. So, I do what I can – send that holding email and leave it there. If it is something that cannot absolutely wait, then I will ask a colleague to keep things “ticking” over in my absence but I find that most of the time, these matters can wait for a week or two, especially during the summer months, when most other colleagues and court officials are also on leave.

    ⸻

    Stage 2. The Pre-Holiday Panic Call

    Without fail, the day before you leave, someone will ring you at 4:59pm with:

    “I know you’re going away, but can you just quickly…?”

    No. No, I cannot just quickly. “Quickly” in legal time means anywhere between 45 minutes and a full working day. But instead, you’ll find yourself typing like a caffeinated court reporter, muttering under your breath about how “this will definitely be my last-minute task”. Spoiler: it won’t be.

    ⸻

    Stage 3. The Hand-Over Dance

    Every solicitor knows the awkward joy of the handover note. It’s like passing on the baton in a relay race… except the baton is on fire, the track is made of Lego, and you’ve “just remembered” a crucial deadline halfway through writing it.

    The trick? Make it detailed enough so your colleague knows what’s going on, but vague enough so if things go wrong, it’s technically a “grey area”.

    ⸻

    Stage 4. The Pre-Leave Guilt

    Somehow, you’ll start feeling guilty for going away, as if you’re personally betraying the legal profession or that colleague who you have passed some cases over too by daring to spend a week somewhere that isn’t your office or the land registry portal. You’ll catch yourself saying things like:

    “I’ll have my phone if you need me!”

    Don’t do this. We both know you’ll be sipping something fruity on a balcony while pretending to read The Times app.

    ⸻

    Stage 5. The Final Office Sweep

    You know you’re about to be gone for more than a weekend when you start doing “the sweep”:

    •	Delete any mysterious sticky notes that might incriminate you.
•	Check your desk drawer for snacks that may evolve into new lifeforms.
•	Turn off your monitor like you’re locking the front door of Fort Knox.

    And yes, double-check the out-of-office email. You can’t risk last year’s blunder where you accidentally left it saying:

    “I’m on leave until 2019.”

    ⸻

    Stage 6. The Moment of Liberation

    Finally… it’s time. Laptop shut. Lights off. One last “have a nice holiday!” from the team. You step outside, take a deep breath, and feel the sweet release. For the next week or two, your only deadlines involve SPF reapplication and booking dinner reservations.

    Until you get that one email that says:

    “Hope you’re having a great time — quick question…”

    ⸻

    Moral of the story: The day before annual leave as a solicitor is a high-stakes, high-speed marathon. But that first cocktail on arrival? Worth. Every. Second.

    ⚖️ Solicitor by day | 🚢 Cruising the seas and navigating the law | Sharing legal tips & travel tales | 📲 Follow my journey on Instagram | Threads | TikTok | BlueSky |

  • What’s It Really Like Being a Solicitor in Northern Ireland?

    What’s It Really Like Being a Solicitor in Northern Ireland?

    Being a solicitor in Northern Ireland isn’t just a job—it’s an experience shaped by unique cultural, professional, and economic dynamics. Whether you’re a trainee just starting out or years into the game, you might have already noticed that the legal landscape here has its fair share of quirks, perks, and challenges.

    But have you ever taken a step back and really thought about what sets it apart?

    The Good Bits (and There Are Plenty)

    A Tight-Knit Legal Community

    Northern Ireland’s legal scene is relatively small, and that can be a real advantage. You’re more than just a number here—colleagues, counsel, and even judges tend to become familiar over time. This kind of close-knit environment can make building relationships, trust, and a professional reputation feel more achievable.

    Have you ever benefited from the closeness of the profession here—or found it a bit too tight for comfort?

    Diverse Work Early On

    Unlike in some larger jurisdictions, junior solicitors in Northern Ireland often gain broad exposure across different practice areas. In a single week, you might touch on conveyancing, wills, litigation, and family matters. It’s a crash course in versatility. This off course will depend on what firm you are training with. Some firms may not venture much into the realms of litigation or criminal law for instance.

    What would you do if you were thrown into a case well outside your comfort zone—embrace the challenge or panic first, learn later?

    Work-Life Balance Potential

    Shorter commutes, lower living costs, and less of the “always-on” culture of bigger cities can make balancing work and life more manageable here—if you’re in the right firm.

    How do you feel about your current balance? Could you imagine trading some prestige for more peace of mind?

    And Then, the Challenges…

    A Competitive, Strained Market

    Let’s not sugar-coat it—legal aid cuts, fee pressure, and an oversupply of graduates make the market tough. Smaller firms in particular can feel the pinch.

    What would you do if your firm began cutting back or restructuring? Are you prepared—or just hoping for the best?

    Mental Load and Burnout

    Solicitors in Northern Ireland face the same long hours, high expectations, and emotionally draining cases as elsewhere—but often with fewer resources. While support is improving, talking about burnout still feels taboo in many circles.

    How do you deal with the emotional toll of the job? Is there enough space to talk honestly about wellbeing in your workplace?

    So… Is It Worth It?

    The answer will differ for everyone. Some days, the work is meaningful, the pace rewarding, and the people around you make it all worthwhile. Other days? Well, we all know how those go.

    If you could go back to day one of your legal career—would you still choose this path? Or has it made you rethink what you really want from your work and life?

    ⚖️ Solicitor by day | 🚢 Cruising the seas and navigating the law | Sharing legal tips & travel tales | 📲 Follow my journey on Instagram | Threads | TikTok | BlueSky |

  • A Day in the Life of a Conveyancing Solicitor: Coffee, Contracts, and Controlled Chaos

    A Day in the Life of a Conveyancing Solicitor: Coffee, Contracts, and Controlled Chaos

    Ah, conveyancing – the noble art of guiding people through the gauntlet of buying and selling houses while ensuring they don’t descend into madness (or take us with them). If you have ever wondered what a day in the life of a conveyancer looks like, strap in. It’s a thrilling mix of caffeine, client hand-holding, and wondering if the Land Registry is just a sophisticated social experiment designed to test our patience.

    8:30 AM -The First (of many) Coffee (The Calm Before the Storm)

    The day begins with the first, and arguably most important, coffee of the day. The inbox is opened with the optimism of a child on Christmas morning, only to be greeted with 57 emails, three urgent (as always)completion queries, and a client demanding to know why their house sale isn’t done yet despite only instructing us yesterday.

    9:00 AM – The Battle with Mortgage Lenders Begins

    A call to a mortgage lender to chase up a missing offer. After 45 minutes of hold music, a cheerful voice tells me they’ve just sent it through (translated to meaning – “we completely forgot, but we will email it now and pretend it was done earlier”).

    10:30 AM – The Estate Agent’s Check-in (a.k.a. Any Updates?)

    The estate agent calls for the third time this week, asking for an update. I remind them that property transactions take time and that I sent them an update yesterday, and that shockingly, I cannot physically manifest the magical powers to make solicitors on the other side or those further up the chain to move and engage any faster.

    11:00 AM -The Second Coffee (Now It’s Personal)

    The second coffee is necessary because a client has just emailed, convinced that I am deliberately delaying their sale for the sheer joy of it. I remind myself that patience is a virtue and that responding with a “I’m actually trying to complete 47 transactions at once” isn’t and may not be perceived as professional, so I take the higher ground and summon the inner diplomat and respond accordingly.

    12:30 PM – Lunch (or, More Likely, an Email Buffet)

    Lunch is an aspirational concept, usually replaced by grazing on whatever snacks are within reach while scanning through searches that have finally arrived (spoiler: they reveal a sewer may traverse the property and there may be or may not be drainage within a certain distance of the property, so urgent water map is now required to clarify at additional cost.)

    2:00 PM – The Completion Sprint

    A client calls in a panic because they thought completion meant they would have the keys this morning (despite several emails explaining it happens after funds transfer). I reassure them while pestering our accounts team to simultaneously refresh our banking system to see if the money has landed yet, I am dealing with other clients and their queries as well as the general upkeep of various other files and participating in normal work activities.

    3:00 PM – Coffee Three (Emergency Dosage)

    An urgent issue has arisen. A buyer’s solicitor has just noticed a minor discrepancy in the title deeds – something so small it’s barely visible to the human eye, but now completion must be delayed. I take a deep breath, make coffee number three, and prepare for the inevitable phone calls from all sides.

    4:30 PM – The Land Registry Maze

    I attempt to submit an application to the Land Registry. Naturally, I check and double check the application and supporting documents, but needless to see Land Registry will still find something to raise a query about – I think because they just love to communicate with me and need to find some excuse. I submit the application, cross my fingers, and prepare for the months-long wait for official registration.

    5:30 PM – The Final Emails (and the Illusion of Progress)

    A last sweep of the inbox reveals an email from a client sending a very urgent query at 5:29 PM. I decide whether to answer it now or pretend I didn’t see it until morning (professional discretion is key).

    6:00 PM – The End of the Day (In Theory)

    Laptop shut, desk cleared, and thoughts of a work-free evening begin. Except, just as I relax, an estate agent rings my mobile with a just one quick thing. I consider changing my number.

    Conclusion: Why Do We Do This?

    Despite the chaos, the endless emails, and the moments where I contemplate running away to a remote island with no Wi-Fi, conveyancing is actually rewarding. We help people move into their dream homes, save them from property nightmares, and most importantly provide the perfect excuse to drink alarming amounts of coffee.

    Now, if you will excuse me, I need another one.

    I should also end with the caveat that the above is a brief snapshot of highlights. There is off course a multitude of other things which happen in between times such of responding to letters, client meetings, phone calls, reading title, drafting, meetings amongst many other things.

    ⚖️ Solicitor by day | 🚢 Cruising the seas and navigating the law | Sharing legal tips & travel tales | 📲 Follow my journey on Instagram | Threads | TikTok | BlueSky |