Transition experiences of candidate attorneys in South African law firms

Abstract

This study explored the school-to-work transition experiences of new candidate attorneys within South African law firms. The participants included a purposive voluntary sample of 13 candidate attorneys (female = 76.9%, black = 69.2%, mean age = 24.7 years). They completed semi-structured in-depth interviews on the barriers and facilitators of their transition experiences in the working world as new employees leaving university. Thematic analysis of the data identified the following school-to-work transition barriers: (i) adapting to the world of work; (ii) misaligned, high and unrealistic expectations; (iii) organisational culture; and (iv) candidate attorneys’ experience. The candidate attorneys identified (v) positive organisational socialisation, and (vi) coping strategies as school-to-work facilitators. The findings indicate a need for work induction support programmes and workplace culture changes to mitigate the barriers candidate attorneys experience when entering the world of work.