From Open Evening attendee to Trainee Solicitor

Usman Hussain, Trainee Solicitor, shares his experience going from open evening attendee to Trainee Solicitor.

Attending open days at various law firms was probably one of the best things I did during my training contract journey because you only get surface level information online, and to be honest, what you see online (legal cheek, Chamber student) isn’t entirely up to date or accurate. I was researching firms and practice areas only to find out they weren’t applicable to that particular office, reducing the quality of applications. Having the opportunity to meet people who might be assessing my application was helpful, but really it was the chance to find out what work is going on in that particular office that allowed me to enhance the quality of my application.

The first thing that immediately stood out to me walking into the old TLT Manchester offices at Hardman Square was how happy everyone seemed to be at TLT! You hear stories of great retention rates and overall great working cultures, but to see it live in person was very attractive. The second thing that was apparent was how approachable the TLT employees were, but also, I left feeling that the lawyers felt more interested in me as a person than my experiences as a Paralegal which was refreshing to say the least.

As noted above, these insight days were really the only opportunity to try and see what is actually happening in that office. Sometimes as a candidate when you’re drafting an application you don’t realise it (because you’re a graduate and knowing what workstreams are going on in that office is impossible to know) but at times you can be drafting an application for another office. Following my experiences at open days, my applications became extremely focused and I had great success following these visits reaching past the written application stage numerous times. Because now, there was a clear alignment with my career objectives/interests and what that particular office provided in terms of practice areas. 

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” so take those shots in whatever endeavours you pursue because I can assure you, someone else will. You can do it, the hardest part of these opening days was committing to going as they usually start in the evening. You’ll have a much better evening in a law firm with likeminded individuals than at home scrolling tiktok or playing fifa… 

Author: Usman Hussain, Trainee Solicitor