The new job

The pupillage rejection arrived in my inbox at around 8p.m. on Monday. No surprise, but still a disappointment. I'm yet to seek feedback as I've been working stupidly long hours at work recently, but will do so asap to at least get something positive out of it.

In other news, having settled into my new job, I am working on an application for something better! As much as I complain, it would appear I can't sit still for too long. I also seem to be being pulled into office politics whether I like it or not. Its nothing new though, same shit different location, I've heard it all before... civil servants LOVE to moan! The only thing is, this office is a bit like school, there are cliques of people that all socialise together, and I've heard that people only get promotions "if their face fits", which sucks because it is quite clear to everybody in the office that my line manager should be the one calling the shots, but instead the previous office manager has been replaced by a peroxide blonde bimbo who wears ridiculously low cut dresses to work and seems to have difficulty putting a sentence together. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a bitter outsider, I've been more than welcomed into the "face fits" clique with open arms, but I just don't like it very much. I'm shocked in fact that a workplace can be so much like returning to school! But what the hell, it is only a temporary thing, I'm not planning on staying very long. In the meantime, the cool kids have got a lot to learn about how to party, and I'm having a great time broadening their horizons... ;)

Holding my breath

Life is so hectic at the moment that I have still not had time to fully feel the happiness I'm sure I am due since discovering that I've been awarded a Scholarship. I've moved back down to London and started a new job although I am technically homeless (again) as Lovely Boy and I have not been able to find a place to live together as quickly as we had anticipated.

Non-Olpas applications, I am ashamed to admit have gone completely out of the window as I am so short on time and since I am couch surfing with friends, finding the time and space in which to sit down and crack out a snitch winning application has been bloody impossible. If I am honest I have barely found the time to prepare for my Conference and Advocacy exams.

I have spent the past month looking forwards to the 6th June, when Year 1 of the BVC will be over and I will finally get the opportunity to come up for air, maybe even have a lazy week in the sunshine? Alas, it is not meant to be, as I discovered today that the following weekend I will be moving house and attending a Pupillage interview on the same day! Two things I have wanted so much... and they both come on the same day?!

I'll sleep when I'm dead. I hope.

Christmas Catch up

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It has been such a long time since I've posted and the reason for that is I had no idea how difficult juggling studying and full time work can be when a depressing labour market forces you to take a Brummie based job and move back in with your family who have no understanding of why you might possibly appreciate some alone time in which to squeeze in a few hours of studying so as to pursue a life long dream of a career that you've already invested most of your life in rather than once again watching a Hollyoaks-Emmerdale-Coronation Street-Eastenders marathon "as a family". It's a right blog blocker. Although for anyone out there that cares, I think Janine did it. Oh and I'm also "Team Andre" in the Jordan v Peter saga, wanted Joe to win X-factor and "Team Jacob/Werewolf" in the Edward v Jacob debate. Just so you know... (*shoot me! PLEASE!*)

It's not all been mindless distraction though. Since my last post I've been marshalling, mooting, studying, had 2 teaching weekends, arranged 2 mini-pupillages, started a new job in London, started an accompanying part time job in London, then started a newer job in Birmingham instead. Oh, and I got my loan!!! So I can now actually pay my course fees and get to sleep at night :)

BVC-wise, things are going pretty well I think. I'm noticing that despite my interest in Criminal Law and my lack of enthusiasm for Civil, I'm finding Civil pretty easy but Crime more of a struggle. In Advocacy, I'm getting good feedback but in all honesty I just don't feel that satisfied with myself, whereas in Conference I think I'm doing well but then the feedback doesn't live up to how I felt at the time. I was pretty nervous about Conference to begin with, but actually, my tutor is brilliant and I think if anyone is going to help me figure out how not to be too slow talking about the irrelevant things it will be him.

Opinion Writing is still the best taught subject, and so clear and, at the moment at least, no trouble at all, which is good because I have an assessed Opinion to hand in next session. Legal Research becomes more of a nightmare as time goes by. I thought, foolishly, that it would be fine, instead I handed in an 80 page UNFINISHED mess as my Mock Assessment and genuinely can't wait till the next session to be put out of my misery and find out where on earth I went wrong. Generally I'm pretty pleased with how things are going, it isn't all smooth sailing obviously, but all the same, I am finding it much much easier than university. Which is strange considering the amount of work there is, but doesn't surprise me because I'm much more dedicated to this than I was to my degree.

Oh, and my classmates are still fantastic people, and nothing like the idiots I went to university with. I feel really lucky. The only thing is that there is one absolutely crazy cat lady who is a shakespearean tragedy all to herself. She doesn't do the work, and then disrupts the class and interrupts to ask the tutor why she doesn't understand what he is talking about, or whether or not she read about such and such a case that was in the newspaper last year. I noticed that she had become a bit of a pariah (it's not hard to imagine why) and attempted to make nice and got my head bitten off and last session, she stormed out of a classroom mid lesson. It kills me to think that she might somehow land a pupillage. The pupillage system seems so random, it could actually happen, and if she did, I think I might have to stick pins in my eyes to block out the pain.

Will try to post again soon, but not only do i have the family time/soap opera gauntlet to run daily, I also got Rumpole and Kavannagh QC DVD box sets for Christmas. Which is for Advocacy studying purposes of course...

Back on Track

Things appear to have worked themselves out. I had a momentary lapse of discipline and direction following my redundancy, but managed to snap out of it long enough to bag myself a new job :)

A better paid job :)

A more Pupillage-Friendly job :) :)

Best of all, I am genuinely helping people. I am working with customers who have been made redundant and have been unemployed for at least 6 months, giving them advice and guidance to help with their search for work and signing them up for free training to make them more employable. The most amazing thing is the feeling I get when I see I've genuinely helped them, and the advice that I've given them will make it easier for them to find work.

It is absolutely brilliant experience working so closely with members of the public, and every time I have a difficult customer I feel like thanking the stars for the chance to learn how to cope and provide them with meaningful support, because no matter how difficult it might be sometimes, advising a client about entering a guilty plea or whether or not to pursue custody of children during a Divorce Settlement is going to be much harder.

Waiting to hear if I've managed to secure some funding for the BVC from my provider, I'm not holding my breath but still, all my fingers and toes are crossed.

The only issue that I have now (and its actually quite a big one) is that technically I am homeless. I had to leave London after I lost my job and go back to Brum to be with the family. I had only been there a few days when I was offered my job, and in the haste to get back down here and start as soon as possible I've had to come back before finding anywhere to live. I've also lost confidence slightly in the security of a job having experienced the difficulty of losing one, and am reluctant to actually take out a tenancy on a flat until I have at least some idea of whether the job is secure. At the moment I'm completely rushed off my feet, so it seems to be fine, but I'm still being cautious for a few more weeks. So I am "sofa-surfing", moving from friend to friend and extremely appreciative of the fact that I have friends willing to put me up. Its only in a situation like this that you realise how many people there are that will support you when you need them.

Completely Redundant

I didn't jump ship early enough. On Wednesday I was made redundant. Currently spiralling into the depths of despair while I try and figure out how exactly I am going to keep a roof over my head for the foreseeable future.

Damn. I'm going to have to send Lovely Boy down the coal mines or up a chimney or something.

Jumping Ship

I've been wondering recently whether the company I work for/job I do is really the right place for me to be. In terms of the "how does this job benefit your legal career?" question, while the answer isn't as obvious as it would be working as a paralegal, I've always known what I would need to say (Understanding of both public and private sector, understanding of client groups, commercial acumen blah blah blah...) But the reality is, I don't think that I am actually gaining or learning anything. In a rival company that is better established, this would probably have been a different story, but I'm with a start-up company made up of a team of "experts" who from what I can tell don't understand anything about organisation and management. They are all ideas people who simply haven't bothered to implement any structure into the company, and talk constantly about how successful they are going to be without doing anything to get them there. When I applied for the job I was given the impression that there would be opportunities for career progression and training and that they invested in their staff. Total bull, I've been with them for 9 months now and there is nothing. I've not had any training, and when I mentioned wanting the opportunity to develop, it was shot down. To top it all, I'm not that sure I'm any good at the job anyway, although without any guidance or feedback (despite constant requests for this) I have no way of knowing. This is all made worse by the sheer unprofessionalism of the senior team.

As people, they are lovely, and I'm glad to have met them and very happy to socialise with them, but at work I am sick of the political vying for control, the whispering, the mood swings and worst of all, the fact that the MD "restructures" every few weeks so line managers change, and responsibility for this that and the other switches hands suddenly without warning, merely based on her mood. I think in PR terms this would be known as "flexible working" but in my terms I'd say it was a pile of crap. Up until recently, I've at least managed to avoid the political games, but recently it looks like someone has dragged me in without telling me, and now I have to find out who's playing on my team and who is against me!

So, with this in mind I've been thinking about finding a new job. But I've also got to find somewhere new to live as my flatmates and I will be parting ways soon, so I was planning on sorting that first. But in the past week or so, The Company was told that it had not been successful in a bid for the Daddy of All Contracts, and so now the office is a battleground between the MD and the Shareholders who are in all likelihood planning to pull our funding. Meaning I need to find a job QUICK and jump ship before it sinks.

All this = STRESS!!!! But on a plus side, I have found a job that I would very much like to be doing instead, so I can at least channel all of this worry and desperation into writing the best application for a job the world has ever seen and pray it all works out for the best.

OLPhew!

It has been hard not to notice that there are one or two (thousand) stressed out wannabe Barristers stressing themselves into heavy drinking thanks to the return of the OLPAS season. I am so grateful that this year at least, there is nothing on OLPAS that I can apply for. I had a quick look to check, as the theory is that you can apply for the 2011/12 session as well, but the handful of chambers (by that I mean literally 5) that offer that option are all commercial sets that are just not my scene. So I am spared for one last year before the madness sets in. For those of you going through hell at the moment though, good luck! I hope you get the pupillage of your dreams. This year. So you wont be competing with me next year.

I'm in a play at the moment, which is very exciting. It's been over a year since I was in a play and I'm loving it! It is also keeping me going now that I am back in the office after my mini pupillage. Work is so uninspiring in comparison. But, working hard and earning money will help me to get to the Bar so I've got to keep at it. Eugh.

Lovely Boy is returning to the nest for a few weeks tomorrow. He's been away for some time now, and I'm not sure how long he will be staying. I'm really excited about seeing him, but it does mean that I may have difficulty posting for a while as he will no doubt take up most of my free attention. More importantly, he doesn't know about this blog. I don't want him to know about it either, mainly for anonymity's sake but also because as much as I love him, cherish him and hope live happily ever after with him, it's really refreshing to have something in my life that he knows nothing about. So basically I wont be posting while he is around. Try not to miss me too much... :p

Free to the R to the U

In line with my aim to use this year out productively, I went to a FRU training session this weekend. I loved every minute of it, even when there seemed to be sleeping students all around the place because the last guy was labouring every point. I can't wait to finish the registering process (some test left to do - eek!) so I can get stuck in!

It was a bit weird being in a lecture theatre full of law students though. At first I assumed they would all be law zombies like they were at uni, but then I realised that they seemed to be pretty normal (as normal as law students get at least). So, I decided that this was either because they were decent people willing to give up their time to represent someone in a social security tribunal; or because the law zombies are losing their cult status now that the corporate world is in a mess and city law firms aren't so keen on harvesting souls as they were 12 months ago. It could be a bit of both... or it could be neither. I'm out of touch anyway, living as I do for the time being, in the non legal world of 9-5.30.

I really wanted to volunteer with FRU while I was at uni, but for some reason (I can't remember why) I was put off from applying. It had something to do with the wording of the email that was sent around the law department advertising it, and when I read it, it said "Common Law Girl Need Not Apply as she isn't in line for a first" or something like that.... so I didn't sign up. But I REALLY wanted to, and sulked when I realised that I didn't need a 1st, and in fact my friend who wasn't in line for a first either did sign up but now it was too late. But then again, the email hadn't said "friends of CLG shouldn't apply either" so that's probably why he wasn't put off. But wow, I was jealous! Thinking about it, I shouldn't have hesitated, but you live and learn.

Anyway, as it happens, I've signed up now, and it is even better timing, because I have a family member in need. Nothing makes you feel more grown up that being able to offer a member of your family some legal advice. (Well, I'm sure there are other things, like paying bills, or giving birth, but that's not the point). My Great-Uncle has had his Disability Living Allowance stopped after receiving it for over 10 years. His condition hasn't changed and he is confused and upset that its been taken away. Finally, I'll be able to put my legal knowledge to some use, and try and see if we can figure out what's going on and what can be done about it. Finally, I can do something to help.

Aside from the usefulness of being able to help a loved one, I am so eager to be able to go and volunteer and help people with their cases and put my degree to some good use already!

Best of all, my boss is really supportive of the whole thing, because it ties really well into the work that I do. The company I work for run programmes to help people get off benefits and into sustainable employment, so learning more about the ins and outs of the social security system is practically career development from her perspective. Plus, she's just a lovely woman who is supportive of everything anyway.

So the point is, FRU is brilliant and I can't wait. Plus one of the speakers was absolutely gorgeous! He used to be a GP and is now a pupil, and was so so attractive that I think my non lawyer friends would have enjoyed his talk on medical evidence as well.

I was so inspired I had the energy for a 6 hour long rave in Bristol on Saturday night. Bristol is amazing, and if anyone ever goes there, or indeed lives there, check out Mr Wolfe's.

All in all, a day well spent :)