From Trainee To Newly Qualified: Reflections On The Journey

In this Blog, Gethin John, an Associate Solicitor at JCP Solicitors, reflects on his journey from Trainee to Qualified Solicitor and talks about his role as a NQ:

Excited, scared, relieved, just a few of the whirlwind emotions I was feeling about finally qualifying as a solicitor. But having now qualified as of 2 September 2025, I’ve had some time to reflect on this milestone and the transition from being a trainee to a NQ.

Qualification is what an aspiring solicitor works towards for years and was the entire focus of my professional life for a long time. It’s easy to overlook what life is going to be like once you’re there, so I’m sharing my experience to give a snapshot of the journey ahead.

The training wheels are off

Being able to tell people you are a qualified solicitor certainly makes you walk a bit taller and seeing that ‘Associate Solicitor’ signature at the footer of your email gives you butterflies. What makes your stomach flip even more though is thinking that, now you are qualified, you are on your own. Fortunately, in my experience, this is far from the truth.

Yes, you are given more responsibility, your case load will increase, and you are trusted to get on with things more. But this doesn’t mean your support system evaporates the moment you qualify. Your team and supervisors are still there to help you when you undoubtedly need it.

I’m lucky enough to be part of a team that is always happy to help one another, whether it be answering a question about law or dealing with lots of deadlines rearing their heads at once (which always seems the way!). It’s been reassuring to know that just because you are a solicitor now, you are not left to navigate the legal world by yourself.

Dreaded targets

The stuff of nightmares for many solicitors heading into qualification is the anticipation that they will be expected to hit stringent targets. There is no getting away from it, targets are part and parcel of the profession. But what I found really helpful as a trainee was being given smaller targets to help me become accustomed to working towards a figure for the month.

This did not however entirely assuage my nerves that my targets would grow to dizzying numbers upon qualification but thankfully, I have found that there is a more pragmatic approach to targets for an NQ. My targets are designed to gradually increase over the first six months, allowing me to build my case numbers, further my knowledge and increase efficacy running cases. This has helped boost my confidence in hitting targets and ensure I’m planning my month to help me to do so (much better than the alternative ‘thrown in the deep end’ approach that I was concerned about facing!).

A lawyer knows everything about the law, right?

A common misconception about solicitors is that we know everything there is about the law, so as soon as you lose the word ‘Trainee’, you are now supposed to have all the answers which obviously isn’t the case.

When I arrived at work on Monday, I was a Trainee Solicitor, come Tuesday, I was a NQ Solicitor. Despite the fact that this was quite surreal, both days were more or less identical. I came into the same office, sat at the same desk, worked on the same cases and had the same cup of coffee. It’s fanciful to think that overnight I would now be an all-knowing genie of the law.

What I have come to realise, is that it’s okay not to know everything off the top of your head, you can still rely on your colleagues for guidance or look something up and lean on your legal sources.

What’s next?

Being a solicitor has been the goal for so long that of course there is sheer joy in getting over that hump to qualification, but once the dust settles, it’s easy to have a ‘what now?’ moment.

Of course, the logical next steps in terms of your role in a firm are Senior Associate, Director/Partner and so on, but as an NQ, these may be some time away yet. Whilst we wait for these opportunities to come around, I think it’s important to use this time wisely and develop our craft.

Personally, I’ve chosen to set some short-term goals to help me get there. Sharpening my skills, focusing on developing my knowledge and understanding of my chosen practice area and taking every opportunity to network, are just some of the ways I plan to achieve them.

Be proud

Overall, possibly the most important thing I’ve thought about when reflecting on qualifying as a solicitor is what an accomplishment it really is and to be proud of what you have achieved. Getting to this point in a legal career is no easy feat, all the blood, sweat, doubt, anxiety, and yes… the tears, was all worth it without a doubt!