Trainee Solicitor - Scotland. Overworked, underpaid and in a Court near you.
Scotland, United Kingdom
Joined February 2022
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Thread 1/ Started this account anonymously as a safe outlet for the utter despair faced my many trainees in Scotland. I specialist in criminal but have heard of many of the same issues in other areas. Summary if key stressors:
That moment when the Sheriff asks you and the Depute to address them on the law on a matter in dispute but neither of you has done your homework. #shit
TheSecretTraineeSolicitor retweeted
Being a lawyer is realizing most people don’t want the legal answer. They want legal-sounding approval for what they already believe.
Can we normalise not spending the first 10 mins of a Teams call nobody wants to be on asking about the ‘weather where you are’ / ‘got any holiday plans’. What %age of your Teams calls could seriously have been an email?
Flip the criticism.‘Too sensitive?’ Justice seeking.‘Difficult?’ You see a problem & want to address it. Others see a problem & want to manage perceptions around it. Some fights deserve winning. Others deserve abandonment - inc roles where the price of ‘peace’ is your silence.🤐
Not everyone at work is trying to solve the problem. Some are trying to control the narrative. Pay attention to who shares information, who withholds it, who creates confusion, and who benefits from it. Silence protects systems & toxic people. Speaking up changes them.
Today I found myself thinking again of Niall McCluskey, Advocate. He was a profoundly decent, kind and thoughtful person, who will always be missed. He made the world a better place. advocates.org.uk/news-and-re…
TheSecretTraineeSolicitor retweeted
Our President Patricia Thom says today's @scotgov Budget is a bitter blow for legal aid and access to justice in Scotland and fails vulnerable people in need.
Read more in our statement ▶️ bit.ly/4aXBhHL
TheSecretTraineeSolicitor retweeted
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me: two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree. Ate them.
DMs are always open for anyone who wants to share privately, vent or just have a confidential listening ear. I wouldn’t wish bullying on anyone - there are NO excuses and it ruins lives. Please reach out to me, a trusted colleague / family member or LawCare.org.uk
Bullying remains in the legal sector (and indeed in every walk of life). Are things improving? Yes. But plenty of it is simply going underground, hiding in Teams calls behind a snarky but plausibly deniable aside; a steady drop of questioning your authority or expertise;
Remember this: don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining. Get into the mindset that you’re your client and think of it as acting for yourself - advocate for yourself by building a watertight case. Do not accept guilt tripping as to the fate of your bully. Nor covert threats.