I am a legal graduate in a huge amount of debt with a high street bank to pay for professional studies. In light of the legal profession being in a poor way due to the recession I have not been able to secure a training contract-the final step to qualify as a solicitor and hence am on a poor wage with £400 monthly payments from that loan. My salary is not huge and I have another loan that is £99 a month and catalogue repayments of approximately £100 per month also.
I want to know the exact implications for my career if I embark on an IVA. I am scared that if I do, I will be unable to become a solicitor in the long run. I had, perhaps follishly hoped that by the time my 10-year loan repayments kicked in that I would be one year qualified but there just aren't any jobs and the jobs that there are out there have fierce competition as they are so rare.
I just don't know what to do. I have also, foolishly I know, gotten involved with PayDay loans to tide me over till next month but know that they will continue to be rolled over and I owe about £800 on those. I am yet to miss any payments but am living on borrowing.
Would I be eligible for an IVA and what would the implications be to my career?
I have just calculated I am in £26,000 (circa) debt.
It is clearly essential that you make the correct decision about your financial situation in view of the line of work you are entering into. I would suggest getting advice from a variety of sources before taking any action.
An IP that I have worked for in the past did agree to represent a practicing barrister, whose IVA was approved with no effect on their ability to continue practicing. This person worked for a legal chambers on a self employed basis. Your own personal circumstances with regard to the specific requirements of any future employer, however, may very well be different.
Hopefully a forum expert can provide further detail.
Best of luck in getting the situation sorted.
Ralph Paxton
Insolvency Specialist
Rooney Associates
Good advice above, you do need to speak to an expert. Visit www.iva.com for a list of companies and reviews and give one or two a ring for some free and impartial advice.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Hi - it's tough out there at the moment but stay positive! Take some professional advice as the others have suggested but also speak to the Law Society and check whether they have any constraints on what you can and cannot do to resolve your debts. best of luck and keep us informed x
I have a few members of the legal profession at various levels of their career currently in IVAs with my firm, and you are permitted to enter into an IVA by the Law Society. If you are a solicitor in practice you would need to inform the Law Society of the IVA under one of their bye-laws.
It would seem more important to arrest your debts at this stage and concentrate on building a brighter future. You operate in one of the most competitive marketplaces, and an ongoing debt burden will just drag you down, whereas if you box it away now you can use all of your efforts and energies to seek that lucrative training contract.
Thank you all so much for your advice. I just don't know where to turn.
I have agreed to speak to an IP and will also be contacting the Law Society and Solicitor's Regulation Authority to discuss my options. I know that if I enter into an IVA there is a chance that I can still be admitted whereas if I ever went bankrupt that would unlikely be an option.
Jambam - look at the links/reviews on here - speak to a few companies. make sure you feel comfortable/able to speak to them if you have any issues and mostly importantly read/reread everything. 5 years is a long time to have an agreement with a company. Use the forum for queries/questions or just a good moan
I agree 5 years is a long time but my current loan is set to run until 2017![xx(] Also a long time. At least with an IVA I could be on top of things and be able to have a normal standard of living.
Jambam - while at this early stage think about a new bank account (unrelated creditor) at this stage you may be able to get a full account (no overdraft) avoid HSBC/First Direct as they tend to close account once your IVA status is known.
Any loose cash/change put in a savings account for emergencies during the IVA.
5 years is a long time, and the household budgets can be tight - but at least at the end you can start a new bit of your life debt free.
At mentioned before ring around a few companies - and use the forum for any questions etc
