A secondment is an opportunity for you, during the course of your training, to work elsewhere. This work can be in Ireland or abroad and need not be in a solicitor’s office. In order to go on secondment, you must demonstrate that the work would be advantageous to further your education or training (or both) and to your preparation for admission to the solicitor’s profession.

The secondment should be undertaken in one block. There is no minimum time limit but a secondment cannot be for more than six months. The needs of your office will have to be considered together with the demands of the secondment placement.

There is an exciting range of work that can be undertaken during the course of a secondment and no limit to what would be considered suitable providing it satisfies the test set out above. A secondment could be an opportunity for you to experience a totally new area of law, or a new culture if take abroad. It could help you in shaping your career without burning any bridges or having to make any major commitments. A secondment is only temporary. You always have the security of knowing that you return to the office of your training solicitor when the secondment is over.

In some cases, secondments are compulsory, particularly if your training solicitor cannot offer you experience in the key areas of legal practice. If your training solicitor cannot offer you experience in the key areas, they are required to declare this to the Law Society when seeking consent to enter into Indentures. Your training solicitor should also assist you in finding a suitable secondment.

Generally, the office to which you are seconded will pay your salary rather than your primary training solicitor/office.

If you would like to explore the possibility of going on secondment, you should first talk to your training solicitor. There is no obligation on a training solicitor to allow you to go on secondment. For many practices, it would be unworkable for a trainee to be absent from the office for a lengthy period of time.