Switching TC?

[ecalthorpe]

I think I already know what people are going to say to this, but here goes. Basically, I've recently been getting a strong desire to apply for more/different Training Contracts, even though I already have one at a good City firm. I switched to law quite late (just before graduating) and only applied to a few places (no MC or even top US firms) and secured a direct TC at a good Silver Circle outlet. I accepted quickly, then just stopped trying.

I don't want to sound ungrateful, to anyone on here or to the firm I have a TC at. I know how hard these things are to get, and part of me knows that a lot of my dissatisfaction is ego-driven. But ever since starting the GDL I've met loads of people at MC firms, White & Case, Kirkland, etc, and part of me knows that if I'd tried harder, I could have got a more prestigious TC. I also worry that it is going to affect my future career/ exit opportunities. I don't know if switching TCs is even possible, or whether there's some sort of SRA restriction (it would make sense if there was).

I've met a couple of people that have switched TCs, but they did it before starting the GDL. Does anyone have any experience with this/general advice?

 

[Ram Sabaratnam]

Hiya @ecalthorpe

This is tricky territory, and I’d actually be curious to see what @Jessica Booker thinks too. I’ve definitely come across people who’ve switched TCs, but in every case it was before they accepted funding or benefits from their original firm. It’s worth checking your contract to see if there are any repayment clauses for GDL fees or maintenance grants, and whether you’d be in breach by applying elsewhere. That financial and legal side can be a bit of a minefield here.

It’s also worth flagging that some firms explicitly state that they won’t consider candidates who already have a TC in place. That doesn’t make it impossible, but it can be tricky to navigate. More broadly, I completely understand where you’re coming from. It’s easy to feel like you could’ve "aimed higher", especially when you’re surrounded by people at MC or top US firms. But I’ve met plenty of lawyers at those firms who started out at excellent silver circle or national firms before lateralling. Having done vac schemes at firms like Jones Day, Cooley, Goodwin and Vinson & Elkins, I was struck by how many associates had trained at places like Ashurst, Bird & Bird, Charles Russell Speechlys, and Withers. Training at any of the latter firms will give you a great foundation as a junior lawyer, and if you’re still keen to move later down the line, it’s certainly doable.

That said, I'd recommend to just be mindful of the risks involved before making any moves, and try not to discount the firm you’re heading to (it may surprise you).

Good luck with the GDL and any career-related decisions you have to make!

 

[Jessica Booker]

If you are at a SC firm, it is likely your GDL is sponsored and that also you have received a maintenance grant from the firm as well as having your GDL fees covered. If this is the case, I suspect this is over £25,000 worth of funding.

Repaying that for most people is going to be tricky.

Some people assume that a new firm would pay this for you, but this just doesn’t happen for a number of reasons below:

1) the new firm is not going to pay a full maintenance grant for something that you have already started or completed. Maintenance grants are not given retrospectively and at best are given on a pro data basis based on how far through the course you are.

2) the invoice for the GDL course fees is in your SC firm’s name, not yours. So you haven’t got any evidence of incurring the costs of it. You’d effectively have to show that your costs were incurred by repaying the SC firm, which would then make it obvious to the new firm you had reneged an offer.

3) reneging an offer after going into a contract with a firm and taking considerable financial support is a major red flag to any new firm - they will be concerned you would do the same to them.

This is why if you are going to renege an offer it’s always best to do so before you have taken any financial support or started the onboarding process for law school.

By trying to upgrade an offer now, you’d also likely be 1-2 years behind where you are now. Many would argue you could qualify by the time you’d start a TC with another firm. I think most people would say it is probably just worthwhile trying to move upon qualification now rather than delaying your career by a couple of years. By September 2028, you could be earning nearly three times the amount as an NQ that you could be earning just staring a TC.

I also don’t think it is as simple as knowing you could get a TC with a more prestigious firm. There would be a load of questions potentially around your candidacy and profile (especially if you haven’t pursued opportunities since you accepted your offer), which could question your motivations or at least identify you have had a TC in place and been sponsored. As @Ram Sabaratnam has said, vast majority of firms won’t touch people who have accepted a TC elsewhere when they have received financial sponsorship as they don’t see it as being ethical of stealing talent at that stage.

If you are at a SC firm, your exit opportunities are actually okay. It will depend on the job market at the time of qualification and also where you want to qualify into, but as Ram has said, plenty of people move form SC firms to MC/US firms either upon qualification or at some level of PQE.

However, there is no SRA restriction thanks to the model of QWE that allows you to work across four firms (which wasn’t the case under the old “period of recognised training” qualification system).