The Unloved Lawyer: Maggots of the legal jungle

Life in the legal profession can sometimes feel like you’re stuck in the jungle. That was certainly my experience for many years. 

I would be at my desk from 7am until about 10pm, all week. Unlike those on I’m a Celebrity…, I physically could have left the office, got into my car and gone home, but I had so much work to do and so much pressure that to have gone home earlier would have meant either longer hours for the next few days, or a bigger pile of work that I would have found impossible to tackle due to feeling overwhelmed. 

When you have 20 things that are urgent and no assistance, where do you even start? I usually started by crying at my desk before anyone came in, wondering how I would ever get out of this situation. At least in the jungle, you are surrounded by others in a similar situation who support you, unlike the dark, cold, creaky office where you roam before and after hours like the ghost of Christmas past.

Spiders and snakes

In terms of creepy crawlies, the worst there was in the office were the massive spiders that would crawl out from under files or through the old fireplace holes. However, I had plenty of experience of colleagues who could only be described as snakes – those who could see your potential in terms of your legal knowledge, business awareness and ability to run a team, but all of these threatened their perceived top spot. 

I have come across this professionally on a couple of occasions: partners who have no ability to understand that multiple partners can co-exist with their respective skills, and that it is not a race to the top, trampling on anyone that you see as a threat in order to do so. This manifested itself in terms of partners talking behind my back and spreading rumours – the type of behaviour you thought you had left behind when you finished school, but unfortunately you hadn’t. These partners may now be at the tops of their respective trees, but what about the trail of destruction they left on the jungle floor?

To be fair, I have never been asked to eat bugs or put my hand into a boxful of maggots during my time as a solicitor. However, I have been asked to undertake various types of work that are outwith my area of expertise. While it might be easy for you, dear reader, to say “Just say no”, we all know that this is a phrase reserved for the scene in Trainspotting where Sick Boy is advising Renton on his drug use, and is much less realistic in the legal profession. 

At one firm I did express my concerns, using the partner perspective of “I think there is risk in this if you ask me to continue with this work that I am not experienced in.” Answers included “Just have a go”, “Ninety per cent of being a lawyer is creativity”, and “You got a first class degree – I’m sure you can manage this”. I’d rather have eaten live maggots than undertake some of the work I was given.

When the fire dims

I could not believe that these people were in charge of law firms, and could only reasonably conclude that they had been made partners due either to time spent or as a succession plan, which I know very well a lot of firms struggle with. Life in the law under these conditions made me feel alone, underappreciated and insecure in terms of who I could truly trust. 

As a result of these experiences, I wanted to leave the law – a career I had spent years studying, training and working hard for. When I began university, the world was my oyster and I had a sparkle in my eyes as if I was looking at the bright lights of fabulous Las Vegas. Over the years, those lights dimmed to complete darkness, like the fire in the camp towards the end of I’m A Celebrity...

In these situations, I realised that those firms would never improve or change, and after declaring to myself “I’m a solicitor – get me out of here!”, I took a metaphorical helicopter trip out of the legal jungle for a while. I have ended up on an island that is very peaceful, but in the distance I can see the jungle… There is always a torch glowing into the night, the snakes are slithering around the trees and you can hear the crunch of insects as those still stranded do what they need to in order to survive. If you ever hear yourself saying the words “I’m a solicitor – get me out of here”, then work on your exit plan and it will be the best decision you ever make.