Hi all!
I am an aspiring commercial solicitor. As you can imagine, I have not secured a TC yet but I am determined to get an offer for 2022.
First a bit about who I am and my life - I am working as a paralegal in IP litigation at the moment and am also a part-time LPC student in year 1. I am French and did all my school years in Paris, after what I decided to start medical school. Midway through my second year, I had a change of heart and decided to start law school in 2013 at the Catholic University of Lille. After two years, I applied and got an Erasmus grant to come study in England. I completed my third year at CCCU with a few modules I had no idea about. At that stage, I decided I wanted to stick around and see what London had to offer. That's when I started to look more into the route to qualification here and found out I was really, really late to the game. I enrolled to do the GDL and an LL.M both at the same time. It was a great experience but I do not recommend it to anybody who wants to have good grades, because I didn't. I found a job in enforcement and stayed in the company for a year and a half, after which I decided to quit to focus on what I really want: being a commercial solicitor. Few months of search and many tears later, I found my position at Bristows, which I adore. Enrolled in the part-time LPC and here I am.
The wizlaw and I - As mentioned above, I had a change of heart mid-medical school. That was triggered by a single class on overview of research and development of a new drug. In medical school, we mainly focused on the R&D part - make a commercial decision to research a way to treat a condition, the research stages lead by leading scientists, animal and human clinical trial, final clinical trials. And then the exciting stuff: patenting and enforcing patent rights. Bam, I was sold! Left medical school, started law school. That's what I want to do, mostly law, with that general scientific reading. To be fair, it does help to have a scientific background in my current law firm and that is one of the most exciting parts of the job to me.
Naked me - I think I really need to be realistic about my profile and start with everything I know might not be great about me. Sometimes, I found it easy to get carried on by my excitement, determination and optimism, without having a full picture of my weaknesses and how I can mitigate/change them. First stop, laziness. I think I have never been super lazy, but I was guilty of doing the bare minimum, especially before uni. Fast forward a good few years and many of them spent on uni bench, I think I get that without putting the full efforts, I will not get the full reward. That leads to my second point, my grades. Because I did the bare minimum sometimes, my grades are not the best. I do not have mitigating circumstances and am not making excuses for them, I need to take ownership in order to prove that my LPC grades will be better. I used to want to be better but sit on my couch and watch tv, making excuses, saying tomorrow I will do it. Tomorrow is now and I am proactive today, I am making active changes to increases my chances and be the best candidate I will ever be.
Now what? - I am struggling through the LPC and work, both taking so much of my time. I want to follow my study plans: read, prepare, attend, consolidate, read, revise and do mocks. But all this takes immense time and I find myself going home tired and exhausted after 7 hours of work, 3 hours of studying. I try to take the time to recharge as much as I can during the weekend (which is why I study so hard in the week) but often, still have to study in the mornings. I have just started my TC application round, with a few firms in mind and a schedule ahead of me. I've got all the chances on my side, I just need to make the best of it.
Feel free to tag along and watch me try, fail and, hopefully, succeed!
I am an aspiring commercial solicitor. As you can imagine, I have not secured a TC yet but I am determined to get an offer for 2022.
First a bit about who I am and my life - I am working as a paralegal in IP litigation at the moment and am also a part-time LPC student in year 1. I am French and did all my school years in Paris, after what I decided to start medical school. Midway through my second year, I had a change of heart and decided to start law school in 2013 at the Catholic University of Lille. After two years, I applied and got an Erasmus grant to come study in England. I completed my third year at CCCU with a few modules I had no idea about. At that stage, I decided I wanted to stick around and see what London had to offer. That's when I started to look more into the route to qualification here and found out I was really, really late to the game. I enrolled to do the GDL and an LL.M both at the same time. It was a great experience but I do not recommend it to anybody who wants to have good grades, because I didn't. I found a job in enforcement and stayed in the company for a year and a half, after which I decided to quit to focus on what I really want: being a commercial solicitor. Few months of search and many tears later, I found my position at Bristows, which I adore. Enrolled in the part-time LPC and here I am.
The wizlaw and I - As mentioned above, I had a change of heart mid-medical school. That was triggered by a single class on overview of research and development of a new drug. In medical school, we mainly focused on the R&D part - make a commercial decision to research a way to treat a condition, the research stages lead by leading scientists, animal and human clinical trial, final clinical trials. And then the exciting stuff: patenting and enforcing patent rights. Bam, I was sold! Left medical school, started law school. That's what I want to do, mostly law, with that general scientific reading. To be fair, it does help to have a scientific background in my current law firm and that is one of the most exciting parts of the job to me.
Naked me - I think I really need to be realistic about my profile and start with everything I know might not be great about me. Sometimes, I found it easy to get carried on by my excitement, determination and optimism, without having a full picture of my weaknesses and how I can mitigate/change them. First stop, laziness. I think I have never been super lazy, but I was guilty of doing the bare minimum, especially before uni. Fast forward a good few years and many of them spent on uni bench, I think I get that without putting the full efforts, I will not get the full reward. That leads to my second point, my grades. Because I did the bare minimum sometimes, my grades are not the best. I do not have mitigating circumstances and am not making excuses for them, I need to take ownership in order to prove that my LPC grades will be better. I used to want to be better but sit on my couch and watch tv, making excuses, saying tomorrow I will do it. Tomorrow is now and I am proactive today, I am making active changes to increases my chances and be the best candidate I will ever be.
Now what? - I am struggling through the LPC and work, both taking so much of my time. I want to follow my study plans: read, prepare, attend, consolidate, read, revise and do mocks. But all this takes immense time and I find myself going home tired and exhausted after 7 hours of work, 3 hours of studying. I try to take the time to recharge as much as I can during the weekend (which is why I study so hard in the week) but often, still have to study in the mornings. I have just started my TC application round, with a few firms in mind and a schedule ahead of me. I've got all the chances on my side, I just need to make the best of it.
Feel free to tag along and watch me try, fail and, hopefully, succeed!
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