As part of my duties as a Trainee, I volunteer and give advice at a local centre. This week was my first time actually providing clients with advice. I had previously observed these sessions with another Trainee Solicitor, so I was familiar with the format of the evening. Luckily for me, the Trainee I observed previously, shared the advice sessions with me. It was good to have someone experienced with me in case I found myself in a tricky situation.
I don't know about other Trainees, but for me, this was one of the most terrifying experiences to go through. As part of my preparation, only minimal information was provided, so I needed to try and cover all areas and questions that may be asked when I would be with the client. These sessions could also be on any area of law so I needed to make sure that I was researching the right information. When speaking with the client, just one minor detail could put a whole new spin on the situation, and you could essentially find yourself, stuck.
There were a million and one questions going through my mind when I was advising. Do I come across as nervous? Do I sound like I know what I'm talking about? Am I even doing ok? Does the client actually understand what I am talking about and is able to go away happy with the advice that I've provided?
As a Trainee, nothing is going to be straight forward and I'm not going to find everything easy, but for someone that feels the need to understand everything perfectly, this is really a worrying and tough task for me.
Once the evening had finished I felt so much happier, and I was really happy to be pushed out of my comfort zone. I feel a lot more prepared for when I have to do the full session next time and I've learnt that I should worry a lot less about these things. I'm not going to know everything, and this is all part of the learning process!
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