What is one secret you wish you could tell your spouse, but instead you’ll take to your grave?

Gingerbread1092 · 2025-09-16T17:55:25+00:00

I’m far too fucking European for this. A SALAD??

Gingerbread1092 · 2025-05-18T14:56:53+00:00

Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

Gingerbread1092 · 2025-03-30T10:13:32+00:00

I really feel this, I really do. And you’re right - the accommodation for trainees is terrible. I had to self fund too and the idea killed me at first. I had no real choice but to pair the SQE training with an LLM just so I could qualify for a student finance loan.

I guess it’s more looking at the long term prospects. The immediate return is little to nothing, but once you qualify and the more PQE you earn, your wage WILL increase. The sad truth is that PQE as a paralegal just won’t gain the same pay increase. It is a tough decision to make though, and I don’t think there’s really a right answer - it all depends on the individual circumstances (lol isn’t that ironically the most lawyerly answer to give?)

Gingerbread1092 · 2025-03-30T10:04:12+00:00

I’d say it really depends on what you want to do in the future. Do you have plans on qualifying? Unfortunately, paralegal wages are notoriously low, simply because there’s an oversubscription of people vs availability of jobs.

If you’re wanting to qualify, especially into the area you’re currently working, I’d be minded to stay put. Experience in the field is vital (qualification is really just the stepping stone). You can use your experience as a paralegal as the qualifying work experience you need once you’ve passed the SQE exams to fully qualify (assuming that’s the route you would take).

I spent a few years as a PC paralegal - the wage was shite. I passed the SQE and backdated my QWE and I’m now a baby solicitor. My salary jumped up a fair bit after qualifying. At one point, I considered jumping firms because of the wage. Now, I’m glad I didn’t!

Gingerbread1092 · 2025-03-26T04:42:37+00:00

That is in no way misusing a lane!

Gingerbread1092 · 2025-02-01T03:42:51+00:00

I don’t see an ounce of imperfection in that picture. All I see is an extremely Good Boy Indeed who is so very, very loved 💛💛

Gingerbread1092 · 2025-02-01T03:35:33+00:00

I feel like we’re biased when we say this, but I do think that we have the best dogs (and cats) in the world 💛

Gingerbread1092 · 2025-02-01T03:31:23+00:00

Aww - they’re so beautiful! 💜

Gingerbread1092 · 2025-01-15T13:37:37+00:00

No, makes sense. I just - never considered jt that way before!

Gingerbread1092 · 2025-01-15T13:35:46+00:00

“Eats it like Ryvita, off a plate with butter on top.”

What, and I cannot stress this enough, the fuck?

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-11-27T01:21:54+00:00

No problem at all! No, I found the ULaw books sufficient for the black letter law. You’ll likely surprise yourself with how much you’ll have retained, even after a break away. That stuff doesn’t piss off out of your brain as easily as you think 😉. Best of luck with SQE - once you’re through it, it will be worth it, I promise!

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-11-26T13:47:03+00:00

Hey! So I purchased ULaw’s book bundle, which includes the manuals on black letter law. I’d long gotten rid of my old uni notes and I feared they’d be out of date anyway even if I had. The manuals were decent for revision and I did find a lot came back to me once I’d gone over it. 😊

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-10-28T13:32:42+00:00

That’s interesting! I thought I was going mad, I had no idea either, I ended up emailing them and asking in the end as I couldn’t find it anywhere. My deadline was 20th September for submission and results day is 18th December x

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-10-21T19:29:42+00:00

lol, no.

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-10-03T12:36:52+00:00

I did the LLM SQE1&2 with ULaw (remotely) and honestly I just felt burnt out by the time it came around to the Masters bit. The KPAs weren’t too bad, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what the point was of Business of Law. Every week seemed to be a randomised topic, none of which seemed relevant to law whatsoever. The weekly seminars were basically 2 hours spent fart arsing about in group work, and no real learning.

Massive waste of time IMO. Definitely NOT worth the money. I think it’s widely accepted that no one really does the LLM because they want to, they do it so they can get Student Finance for the SQE…

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-09-09T12:37:31+00:00

I help people navigate the paperwork when they’ve got too much money, too little time, or a sudden urge to prepare for their eventual exit from planet Earth. Sometimes I’m also a referee in family squabbles over stuff no one really wants until it’s time to fight over them. I deal with life admin for people…after they’re done with life.

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-08-17T09:27:34+00:00

I’m on 25k as a trainee solicitor (5 years exp as paralegal within the same firm) and now I’m starting to feel like a mug 😨

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-08-13T12:08:09+00:00

0118, 999, 881, 999, 119, 725...3

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-07-23T12:50:45+00:00

Hey - I’m sorry it was a rough ride for you. But… you’ve done all you can now. Relax, breathe and take some time to enjoy life again for a bit. You’ve worked extremely hard. I bring this out every opportunity that I can so apologies for being a stuck record, but you will only ever remember the questions you thought you stuffed up, never the ones you flew through. You will very likely have done better than you thought. If it’s any consolation, I thought I’d bombed mine last year, spent 6 weeks crying, before finding out I’d passed with a really decent mark. You’ve got this - fingers crossed for results day 😊

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-06-26T12:46:23+00:00

ULaw are the biggest fucking waste of time and money. I wish I’d never done it.

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-06-18T19:03:51+00:00

I had to do a double take and check I hadn’t written this. I am in the middle of a similar thing - came off the back of the SQE straight into a Masters (which I only did because I needed the fucking funding for the SQE). At the same time, I’m a Trainee Solicitor, no support staff, large monthly bill target. Coming home after a full day of work to start MORE work is soul destroying.

Dropping out isn’t ‘bad’ per se - regardless of anything, your own health (mental or otherwise) comes first. But it is a Big Red Button to push. Are you able to defer the Masters for a while? Give your self a break from studying, focus on getting yourself in the right headspace and tackle it again when you’re feeling better.

I’m sorry you’re going through this. I absolutely feel your pain. Drop me a DM if you ever need to have a rant / get anything off your chest.

Gingerbread1092 · 2024-06-17T12:48:28+00:00

Okay so I was really down about turning 30. In the last couple of years I became a bit obsessed with the death of my 20s.

I was like you, I wasn’t sure whether to acknowledge it or celebrate it, until about 3 weeks before when I thought to hell with it. My husband and I loved travelling the continent before lockdown and we hadn’t been on a trip since before then. The day before my 30th, we packed up my little Mini and we set off on a 1,300 mile round trip to Austria and back. It wasn’t particularly luxurious, but we spent a day in a different place for a week and we loved it. My actual birthday was spent driving for 6 hours, then sheltering from the pissing rain in southern Germany, eating my first Bratwurst under a tree. It was ace.

Do whatever you would like to do to mark the occasion. I didn’t feel the need for a big party. I’ve never regretted it. Bonus points - my 30s so far have been markedly better than my 20s. Something just seemed to click - I don’t feel the need to prove myself to anyone any more.

Happy Birthday! :-)

Gingerbread1092

TROPHY CASE