Hi guys! Just wanted to vent and hear your thoughts. I work for a “law firm” here in the UK. Now. The reason why I put law firm in quotes is because they aren't your typical firm, they specialise in group action claims, and act more like a corporate business. I work with an absolutely lovely team, whomst I'm stuck on a sinking ship with.
Our interviews were good. We all have varied experience. But as a minimum, we are all graduate law students, with some having completed the UK Bar, some completed the LPC others doing the LPC, and some with double degrees. Definitely a very qualified bunch, to say the very least. We were interviews and given a job as a “legal assistant” with promises of career progression and hands on legal experience. A three month probationary period, and then finally a full time position at the end of it. Okay. Cool. Most of us moved cities and even countries for the job. With the promise of such progression, and the adamant nature of management for us to be in office.
Initially, we were put on simple tasks. Review of excels, etc. But, the nature of the work came to light. We have been working for the “firm” for anywhere from 6 to 12 months. Not a SINGLE piece of work has been legally related. We are nothing but a group of glorified document reviewers and a call center. Our initial “probation” contract states we work from 9:30 to 6PM. But we are pressured and forced to begin at 9AM to be on inbound phone calls. It's worth noting that being a call center was never in our job description. Colleagues with even the slightest hint of computer experience or qualification are made to do data work. Basically anything BUT legal work that you were promised to experience. You've gotta love getting to work, only to be yelled at by clients because of how incompetent the firm is with their data.
We have never been provided a permanent contract even after 6 months of “probation” and are labelled “casual workers” even to this date. We had been promised 5 additional days of annual leave upon completion of our 3 month probation, which we obviously never received. Paid sick leave is non existent, and colleagues of mine have come in after literal surgical procedures, only to bleed at work.
By the way. Work consists of mindlessly scrolling through excels, and client documents such as drivers licenses and invoices every day. Ah yes, legal work at it's finest.
Of course. Maybe this would all be justified if we were paid the part for all the trouble. But no. We get paid £10 an hour. Unpaid lunch breaks, no sick leave, and overtime begins after your tenth hour working in a day. We get taxed like crazy, and no pay breakdown has ever been given to us for our understanding.
Perhaps you'd be saying this is good as a stepping stone job. For job progression and such. Legal experience to go toward your training contract and such. I mean. We were told that this is going to be legal experience. But we were shot down after four months working here by being told that nothing we've done so far is qualifying working experience. And it won't ever be. Because it's too hard for a solicitor to sign off on our work. Too much admin work, apparently. An absolute loss of chance for my colleagues striving towards their LPC.
At least we are treated well, right?
Wrong. Micromanagement, listening in on our client calls, reading emails, and sexual harassment on both women and men. This has been flagged and brought up, but blatantly ignored and dismissed. This isn't a singular occurance. It is repeated, and it has occurred multiple times. We are constantly looked down on by our superiors as inferior in every way. Do we have an ethnicity board and committee for women? Yes. But any participation that us legal assistants have in particular in it is unpaid, whereas paralegals, case handlers, associates etc… are paid. Even though, we are the ones who cannot afford to take a pay cut. But are pressured into doing the committee work. We are made to do work for four departments and expected to know everything, whereas even case handlers specialise in one area.
You'd at least expect clients to be treated well, but they aren't. They are constantly bombarded by “automatic messages” that force them to resend documents by invoking a fear and panic within them by making up fake deadlines. This causes them a lot of stress and anxiety naturally. Worst part? Even when clients EXPLICITLY ask for their data to be deleted, they are simply taken off a mailing list and data is retained. You'd expect a law firm to know better. Especially when we have a data breach department. Emails are responded to after 2-3 months, calls are made haphazardly to clients, incorrect information is requested from them. The list goes on. It is honestly disgusting.
We are stuck here. They knew we were scared and desperate law graduates, and they've taken advantage of us. Because potential future employers don't want us because we have zero legal experience from this shit hole. Career progression is impossible in this firm, as higher position roles are offered to external applicants. Even when some of the more daring among us plan to resign, they are gaslighted into staying. And HR is reluctant to give reference letters. You may be wondering why I am raving about not getting legal work. It is because, in the legal field, our entire career lies in how much experience we have. We have none. And as such have wasted time, money, and energy. Hopefully we somehow claw our way out of this. But till then, we will keep surviving.