There are few firms in Alicante that can afford to have someone do an internship
The panorama has not improved, where in other offices they offered to put her to work as a false freelance. Between 600 and 700 euros per month and to pay the expenses out of pocket. “Until They sent me to cover trials outside of Alicante and I had to pay for the gasoline“, Explain. Faced with this scenario, in which she went from intern to false self-employed, she decided that the best thing was to set up her own office with other colleagues and share expenses.
Faced with an extraordinary situation, the best advice for beginners is to try to specialize »Featured
According to a 2017 survey by the Spanish Confederation of Young Lawyers (CEAJ), conducted among lawyers with less than five years of practice, half of those who worked for law firms did so as false self-employed and 40% received a salary of 500 euros monthly for 60 hours per week. When the Supreme Court ruled that Glovo’s distributors were false self-employed, there were many who remembered that in the law firms there were professionals in such a precarious situation as these raiders. Situations that in other professions would be reported, «There are even those who have thrown in the towel as soon as they start, when verifying that you earn more as a cashier in a supermarket», Says Cayetana Martínez.
“In Alicante there are few large law firms that can afford to have people in practices or starting to work,” says Héctor Martínez, a future lawyer who is waiting to take the entrance exam and is doing an internship in Alicante. “There are colleagues who are starting to set it up on their own and they set up the office sharing expenses,” he explains.
In the end I had to set up my own office because in some places they want you to work for free
Markel Calafat, also a practicing lawyer, is clear that “this is a long-distance race. With the experience you gain, you end up having your own portfolio of clients and you make a position for yourself. The first years are always difficult, ”he explains. Although he assures that in his case he has been very lucky in his internship, «I know that there have been colleagues who have not even been given work because of the pandemic. They could not go to court, they were not commissioned to prepare writings and they have been doing nothing, “he explains.
There are colleagues who have passed the practices without doing anything because of the covid restrictions
Getting started in a profession has never been easy, but in times of the pandemic it is even worse. Last year, due to the state of alarm, the examination for access to the Legal Profession, a necessary test to be able to practice, was postponed due to restrictions. Many aspiring lawyers were unable to enter offices where they had already agreed to start working. The situation has not been much better the rest of the year with the restrictions on access to judicial headquarters. “An important part of the training of the young lawyer was the access of the students of the judicial school to the hearings. With the capacity limitations this is no longer possible ”, explains Cristina Sirvent, president of the Association of Young Lawyers in Alicante. According to the data of the group, of the fifty students of the Alicante School of Legal Practice, only ten obtained internship contracts in the offices. Little experience and training limitations lead this group to follow the path of precariousness. “Faced with an extraordinary situation like this, the best advice for beginners is to specialize». The off-road lawyers, who handle matters from various jurisdictions, are no longer carried, but the specialist is more sought after. “We have a situation in which the regulations do not stop changing due to the health emergency; while the University and the College are giving specialization courses, “he assures.
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