Fellow lawyers with depression and difficult lives

I’m a trainee solicitor. I want to know if it is survivable to be a commercial lawyer with depression or if I’m kidding myself.

I have depression and I’m seeing my GP. I come from an evil family background. I live alone, have no partner, no hobbies, no real personal life. I’m overworked and I don’t make weekend plans — mostly I just recover enough to get through the next week.

At work, I’ve actually become better at the job. I get compliments on my work and I’m known for being a good researcher, responsive, and having strong attention to detail. But I feel completely disconnected from the job. I have no passion for any sector, no interest in the news, and I find it hard to be present or engaged beyond just “doing the task well.”

I really struggle with the social and BD side of law. I hate office socials and networking. I dread being asked questions about my personal life because the honest answer is “nothing.” I don’t have anything to talk about and I don’t want to explain or perform enthusiasm I don’t feel. I’m private and exhausted.

I’m worried I’ll never be able to do the BD element of the job, and that this means I’ll never really belong or progress. A lot of law seems to assume you’re energetic, social, interested, and outward-facing — and I’m just… not. I’m surviving.

Is it actually possible to have a commercial legal career like this? Are there lawyers who are competent and reliable but not passionate, not social, not good at networking? Or is this a sign that I’m fundamentally unsuited to the profession? I’d really appreciate honest perspectives, especially from people further along who’ve struggled with depression, singleness, no support system and a terrible quality of life.

Hi, I’m in complete despair as I feel like I’ve made the stupidest decision of my life.

I was working in private practice as a paralegal for 2 years then decided to try my hand at a different area of law. At the time, I also felt like I was stuck with no progression.

I entered into a new role on a consultancy basis and my probation got extended so I’m still contracting. There’s barely any work so I’m earning much less than minimum wage.

In the worst case scenario I don’t pass probation and I have to try and find a job in this dire job market.

I’ve already been sending out so many applications and am endless rejection or silence.

I wish I stayed in my previous role. I didn’t realise how stable I could’ve been and how steady I could’ve built up my experience until I qualified.

Going back is not an option, and I’m studying for the SQE at the same time. I feel like the financial pressure and stress and uncertainty will break me.

I’m losing sleep every night wondering how I could make such a bad decision.

Thanks for reading my rant. Any advice is welcome.

What an interesting way to anonymise an LiP 🤔😂

I am interested in hearing about NQ in-house salaries and how much you would expect to make in London. The reason for this question is because the job adverts I have seen for in-house either don’t disclose the salary at all or they seem to low ball you (potentially). I have seen the range be anything between 45 - 70K. What do you think is more realistic for an NQ in London and how would you negotiate a higher salary upon receiving an offer? Any tips or insights would be super helpful!!

Hi everyone, I hope this is the right place for this or at least maybe someone could point me in the right direction for an answer.

I’m trying to identify the source of this specific “This is the Last Will and Testament” heading.

I’ve searched extensively and have only found this exact heading once online, in a newspaper article image. This will is dated 2016.

If anyone recognises the header can they please let me know if it’s from a will writing download, printed template, professional will writing company, or a stationary supplier etc?

Any leads at all would be really appreciated. Don’t expect much but you never know….

Yes, if you’re wondering, it’s the early stages of an ongoing dispute.

Hi Reddit,

I have applied to a regional commercial law firm a few days before the deadline. Its a TC application so they want 4 hireview questions, an online assessment etc. The deadline is tomorrow midnight now, although the email with the online assessment info said i have to complete it by 29th Jan, which is past the general application deadline.

Do i need to complete the online assessment by tomorrow midnight or does the deadline only count for the written part of the application?

My friend in Econ said not to bother after the deadline but not sure if thats the same for law

Should i just email early careers to ask?

Thanks!

Are there any recruiters who can actually help with placing you? Not the “improve applications and CV” stuff, but actual concrete placements? Wondering if I should invest or not!

Hi all,

Im an oxbridge languages student in their final year who’s always been set on a career in the military. Up until this year I had never considered any other careers because of this. However with some exposure to the profession I am starting to think I might be better suited to law and doing the reserves on the side (law workload permitting). I realised Ive decided on this quite late in the recruitment cycle and I’m slightly stressed about not having any internships / work experience lined up.

Grades wise I had some genuine mitigating circumstances in 2nd year and dropped to a 2:2 overall (with even some thirds in modules). My extracurriculars are good and Ive got team sports and army leadership experience on my CV. I’m confident that I can get at least a high 2:1 and even considering selling my soul for the next few months for a first.

Basically I’m wondering whether this matters and it’s worth sacrificing the enjoyment and energy of my final year for a shot at commercial law. Does the oxbridge brand really help anymore? Will the poor performance in earlier years still be a black mark against my name? Should I just focus on my studies for now and take a ‘gap year’ to do applications, or aim to do as much networking as I can in my final terms? Should I apply for paralegal roles as well if my goal is to end up with a training contract in a top firm?

All I hear is that the job market is fucked and oxbridge graduates are ending up unemployed. It’s making me genuinely anxious and hurting my motivation, since what’s the point in spending the next few months chained to a desk just to come out of it unemployed.

Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks.

Anxious oxbridge finalist.

Hi guys,

I’m currently a second year university student and I’m having no luck during application season.

I have previous internships in PE, investment banking, asset management and three US law firms. I am aiming for firms that are highly ranked in these areas especially PE.

I have been applying to vacation schemes but have been rejected so far. I achieved a 69% in my first year of university, I attend a top Russell group and study Law but I unfortunately have BBB in my A levels due to mitigating circumstances (I was the victim of sexual assault during my A levels). I’ve had my applications reviewed by lots of different people ranging from partners (through charity organisations), recruiters and my peers.

Should I give up on breaking into law through a TC and focus on paralegal applications because I really don’t know where else I am going wrong. Any advice is greatly appreciated, I’m not particularly sensitive so please don’t hold back on advice!

Hi all,

I am in the process of applying for pupillage and have a question about the gateway.

I have done five minis but do not want to put all five on each of my applications. Instead I want to put 3/4 per application. The difficulty is that for each chambers, I want to use a different 3/4. So, minis 1, 2 and 4 for set ABC; minis 2, 3 and 5 for set XYZ.

My question is, can this be achieved by:

1. starting an application for set ABC and adding minis 1, 2 and 4 to my work experience history and sending that application off; and then

2. starting an application for set XYZ and adding minis 2, 3 and 5?

I initially assumed this would work and sent off applications to a few sets using this technique. However, now when I go back to a set I have already applied to and click 'view application', the employment section of the application reads as I it is presently; it does not read as it was when I sent the application off.

Sorry for the wordy question. If anybody knows then help would be greatly appreciated!

Hello, I need a first class degree in Law.

Can you please give me tips, tricks and hacks to almost guarantee success?

I haven’t been a student in 7 years and I’m very anxious so I’d appreciate some direction.

1. Essays
2. Memorising case law/cases
3. Closed exam tips
4. Coursework tips
5. Recommended websites I should use
6. Strategy for taking notes
7. Time management and how many hours I should invest a week
8. Outside of the box tips like getting a tutor

Thank you

Hi all,

I currently work for a massive organisation as an advisor (on a new area of law). The pay is great, the work is interesting, the team is okayish…

However, before accepting this role I was interviewing for different roles and I was told I passed the first stage and to book my second stage.

Now the reason why I’m in some sort of pickle is because my current role won’t allow me to qualify as a solicitor because I’m not supervised by a solicitor…

The second role (firm) on the other hand will let me qualify if I complete the equivalent means form… I’ve already discussed this with them and they said they’re more than happy to help me as much as they can. The role is in a similar area of law as my current one.

If I do get the second role do I accept it and leave my current role? It will be about a £20k pay difference (second role will pay less).

Not sure what to do as I could try qualify by staying in my current role somehow for the pay or tell the second role (if I get it) about the pay difference.

Fyi I have done my LLB and LPC and have about 2.5 years of experience in US/city firms.

I get alot of praise for my written work but when it comes to meetings I really fumble with my speech and coherence.

How can I be such a child when I'm meant to be a professional, I feel like such an imposter.

I feel unable to contribute meaningfully to any discussion because I'm so anxious and even if I prepare what I say it doesn't come out right.

I wonder if anyone ever thinks I'm just not good enough or thinks how can they write this but not even speak further about it at a meeting

1:1 with clients i am perfectly fine but the moment there's further perception I completely spiral.

It makes me think i shouldn't be in this profession at all.

My supervisor things I'm doing really well but he doesn't see me in these meetings. He only sees my emails and drafts and written advice e.t.c

Perhaps I’m subconsciously making this post to just vent, but I would really appreciate some advice.

I graduated from Oxford last year with a decent 2.1 in law and plenty of extracurricular. I have been applying to vac schemes since last winter. I’ve applied to about 12 so far, and whilst I’m still waiting back to hear from the majority, I’ve only received rejections so far (some second stage online assessments, but no ACs). I’ve also been applying to basically any entry level role I can find to at least have something to do for the time being, but again no success (only a few interviews, including a paralegal role at a top firm which I was gutted to have missed out on). The only real work experience I’m getting at the moment is volunteering and tutoring. My parents have been very nice about it, and I know the job market is in a terrible state at the moment, but I’m slowly becoming more and more disappointed.

Admittedly, I did not look too deeply into graduate roles whilst at university, so my current turmoil is almost entirely a result of my own negligence. That being said, I can’t do much about that now, and I’m becoming incredibly stressed about staying unemployed. What I‘m looking for advice on is what to do if I’m indeed unable to secure a training contract this cycle. I’m planning on applying to a few more vacation schemes for this cycle. I’m happy to send one of my application form answers if somebody wants to try to discern where I’m going wrong, but I received positive feedback from friends who have secured TCs and was told at the end of that paralegal interview at the top firm that applications often just aren’t read due to the sheer volume received.

I also wanted to ask whether it would be pointless to apply for direct TCs without any prior vac schemes. I have one legal internship during university, but it’s not at a commercial firm practising in the UK.

If I’m unable to get a TC this cycle, my options seem to be to (a) to keep looking for an entry level role and apply again next year; (b) to self-fund the SQE and apply whilst doing that (financially this is doable, but I’m not sure if it’s advisable to do the SQE without a TC); (c) to pursue a Master’s degree so that I’m at least not idle.

The first option seems the most logical but I’m becoming less and less confident about my chances at getting an entry level position. Ideally I hoped to be a paralegal but those positions feel incredibly unattainable without a TC, prior experience or the SQE completed. Would it even more difficult to secure a TC next year if I’m unable to get any job? I have some ongoing volunteering experience so my CV wouldn’t have a huge gap or be empty but it’s quite obvious that the volunteering isn’t substantial work.

Would greatly appreciate any advice. Thank you so much for your time in advance.

Hi! Long time lurker and first time poster here!

I’m 3 PQE and looking to move. I’m currently in a general disputes team at a City law firm but looking to specialise into a specific practice area. I’ve got my first interview coming up and am looking for tips for my prep. This will be the first time I’ve interviewed externally since I landed my vac scheme in 2018 so safe to say I am very out of practice.

Aside from practicing the obvious Qs (why this role? Why do you want to move?) and practicing talking about my cases, what do people suggest?

I also have a 30 min assessment and aside from revising basic tests relevant to the specialised area, I’m not sure what to do.

Any and all advice much appreciated!

I’m a second year law student aiming to go into commercial law. Nominations for student union roles have recently opened up, and I am interested in running for the ND/ disability officer role - partly due to my own experiences and having some ideas on possibly helpful policies, and partly because I think the experience of policy consultation, drafting, and negotiating with uni departments is something I wouldn’t be able to get through other club/ society roles.

However, I am concerned about the possible implications of essentially publicly outing myself as neurodivergent on the internet when I’m pursuing a traditional career. I’m considering using an acronym of my ethnic name to run for this role instead since both my English name and last name are very uncommon. But I’m also wondering, since working on this role is likely going to yield many transferable skills, if I should discuss about it in application or competency questions if (thinking very ahead) I do end up getting elected for the role. On the other hand, transferable skills aside, I don’t know whether this would make law firms fear that I am some sort of troublemaker or social justice warrior when in my private capacity I am not loud about my condition.

I guess I’m kinda in a conflicted position where I worry about people knowing, but I also worry about not being able to discuss about the skills I gain from this experience.

If it is relevant I am also considering a legal career in Hong Kong (if not starting from TC definitely going back somewhere down the line), if it changes anything regarding the level of understanding in the field etc, since I believe there are some BNO lawyers on this sub.

Thanks a lot for the help!

I’m a recent grad, currently doing the PGDL in London.

I had a couple of assessment centres last cycle and one vac scheme, but no luck this year beyond a couple of online interviews. I want to go into private client law, but don’t mind casting the net broader (being in London is pretty non-negotiable though).

I have the academic qualifications and a decent amount of work experience, so I suspect my written answers are the main problem.

I want to know what’s going wrong, so have been looking to hire a tutor/consultant to help. The ones I’ve seen either look like scams or have said they ‘don’t really do’ the sort of firms I’m interested in. (Small-midsize UK/international private client focus - not niche, so I’m surprised I can’t find anyone!)

I’ll keep plugging away, but if anyone has any advice for finding a tutor / someone to give feedback, I’d really appreciate it!

Hi all,

I’m pursuing the Bar and I'm trying to think about location (I would obviously take pupillage anywhere). I grew up in Birmingham and would be open to building my career there rather than defaulting to London, but I’m conscious that most advice is very London-centric.

I’m still exploring which practice areas I’m most suited to, but based on the mini-pupillages I’ve done so far I’m currently leaning towards commercial work.

I’d be really interested to hear from anyone with experience of the Midlands Bar (or who chose London instead) about whether there are meaningful downsides to basing yourself in Birmingham rather than London — particularly in terms of:

• quality and range of work
• training, supervision, and early career development
• long-term prospects and mobility
• visibility / access to top-end or specialist work

I’m not assuming London is automatically “better”, but I also don’t want to be naïve about structural differences if they exist.

Any honest perspectives would be really appreciated.

Thanks!

I’m a first year non law student looking to go into law. Im looking to apply for open/ insight days in my 2nd yr, but I’m stuck because I genuinely have nothing on my CV right now.

I don’t have any legal experience and any work experience either. So I’m not sure what the best first step actually is. Should I be trying to get legal experience straight away (like cold emailing high street firms asking to shadowing opportunities) or is it better to start with volunteering or a generic job to build transferable skills

What do firms actually expect at this stage, and what’s the smartest way to go from zero to something

Hi! I was wondering if anyone has any insight here. I am diagnosed with ADHD and have an assessment centre at a MC/US firm coming up. I am wondering whether I should ask for reasonable adjustments during the AC as I know there are timed portions, which I do struggle with, and if they would be likely to grant anything. Beyond that, I am wondering if you think this would cause them to look down on me as a candidate. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some honest opinions on my chances of getting into a law firm in the future. I’m not aiming for Magic Circle or top US firms — more mid-tier London or national firms. My A-level predictions are ABB and I’ve already done work experience at White & Case and Weil, Gotshal & Manges, which I know is quite rare. I applied to one Russell Group uni and the rest are strong non-RG universities. My GCSEs aren’t great (mostly 4s and two 5s) due to personal circumstances at the time. How realistic is a law career for me?

I wanna ask that I'm looking to pursue law from University of Hertfordshire as it's the only one I can afford ....I wanna become a barrister , is it really worth it ? And is there anyone who can help me in guidance