Irwin Mitchell Reviews

In this role I had one to one meetings with my manager every month and after the third meeting I knew that unless a lot of things changed I would leave. The main reasons being that the amount of pressure paralegals are under, combined with high expectations and lack of support was unmatched to anything I have ever experienced before. The expectation on me personally was to excel with my own caseload, whilst assisting every other fee earner and get things done with very tight deadlines with minimal support. The worst aspect of this was being told in my third or fourth month of working, that I should stop asking obvious questions and find the answers to things myself. I only asked questions when the answer online or in training was unclear and even then, only asked so to ensure that the work I did was of the best quality possible. We owe it to our clients to do our best. The most confusing part was when a month later, I was told to ask more questions and that support was available if I ever needed it. These mixed signals made for a very ineffective, confusing and unhealthy work environment. The few times I mentioned any of this to management it was only vaguely addressed and no action ever followed from them. I have worked for over 11 years and never experienced a worse working environment. I always speak up and try to work things out in any role that I take on, but for the first time I felt that it would be completely pointless to even try. The effect this had on my mental health was so negative that I find it hard to describe in words and it’s still hard to believe how uncomfortable of a work environment I was in that led to this. It was both a very difficult and easy decision to leave when I finally made this decision. The relief, both mentally and physically is amazing. I wrote this detailed review so that potential employees can have an honest and transparent view of what they might be experiencing. Court of protection in general is a very niche area of law and because of how unique it is, you really need a good and supporting team.

- Forced out as part of a re-structure after 8 years of service - Alienated and ostracised, kept in the dark for months only to be informed we're not part of the plans. Headed up by a team of callous contractors with little regard to the human cost of their actions - Hugely political - Don't believe the 'Expert Hand, Human Touch' tagline stretches to colleagues on the inside. It's a large corporate monster that won't think twice about sacrificing those at the coal face to make sure the equity partners get their slice - Lots of 'talking the talk', but very, very, very little 'walking the walk' - i.e. an IT structure and provision that belongs in the 90s.