Being a trainee is tough. In my quest to get called to the bar, perhaps this is the toughest. Law school was generally a breeze compared to being a trainee. The faculty at the SUSS School of Law is very understanding that most of the students juggle school with work and family. It is not the same when you graduate and start your traineeship.

Now it did not help that there was a change in the traineeship period. What was initially six months is now a year. When I entered law school, I budgeted for 5 years in total. 4 years of studies and 1 year for both the traineeship and the bar exam. Now that period has been extended by another 6 months. It does affect individuals who are embarking on a mid career switch to law. I squirrelled away a large enough amount of savings such that I could afford to pay for all my expenses. I have a family to take care of and it is not like the $160k – $170k in law school fees were paid by my parents. I paid for my first degree from NUS 20 odd years ago and I paid for my law degree as well.

What is trainee pay like you may ask. Well it is about $2,000 to about $3,500. Based on everyone I know around me.

However, money is not the main concern. It is about having to endure a year as a trainee. I am taking my traineeship very seriously. I commit to being the first one in the office on most days. I send my daughter to school and then head off to the law firm. An empty law firm is the most conducive place in the morning to work on matters. What am I refining? The way I draft documents, the way I craft my emails, the way I scope my advice. Does the law firm make a difference? Yes. You learn from looking at what others do. The frustrating thing is that I used to be the one who makes decisions about what my company does. Now I need to take instructions. On one hand it is invigorating. Not having to mull over every matter that the company is dealing with. On the other, it is extremely frustrating. If I had entered law school just a year earlier, I would be able to get called to the bar and I probably would be able to appear and speak in hearings.

Juggling family with being a trainee is difficult. The flexibility which a parent sometimes requires is somewhat incompatible with being a trainee. I have had trainees working for my company previously. I hated it when they systematically took MCs. It would happen on days when there was something important. For the last four months, I took 2 days of MC.

For a valid reason of course…

Influenza B… I got Influenza A the year before. It seems like I am making this an annual thing. I am looking to get vaccinated against influenza on an annual basis. This was three weeks ago and I am still feeling congestion in my lungs.

A 44-year old family man is distinctively different as compared to a 24-year old fresh grad. Responsibilities are mainly to your family. You not only have to be concerned when you fall ill, you also have to take care of your family when they fall ill. Your child is not going to go to the doctor himself or herself. That is your responsibility. But yet you need to be in office because something needs to be drafted by 12 noon. You read not only the matter that you are working on. But also your child’s textbooks. Primary and secondary school math is not as simple as it once was. The next generation has it tough for them. Standards are a lot higher. They turn out smarter too. If not how can they afford million dollar HDB flats? My daughter wants to be a YouTuber. She has her own YouTube channel with over a thousand subscribers. Perhaps I am worrying excessively. As a parent you have to worry. You need to worry about both the work at the law firm as well as your family.

So why am I sharing this? For many who embark on law as a second career, you would start off saying that law school is tough. As assignment or two every week during the semester (although I believe artificial intelligence is assisting a great deal with this now?). There are loads of readings and of course there is the examination. I am here to tell you that that is not the tough part. The tough part is the traineeship. One year of being a trainee. Trying to perfect every piece of work while learning from the people around you.

I could have been two-thirds of the way through based on the previous training period. Now I have two-thirds the way more to go…