Vantaggi
Interesting work . Essential front line service. The advocacy was challenging and often rewarding. It was satisfying to feel that one is performing a service for victims and witnesses. Opportunities to meet and network with many people from other criminal justice agencies. A lot of camaraderie . At best an intellectually challenging career.
Svantaggi
Advocates are based at court and are isolated from the main offices, and management are remote and take the view of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Managers have favourited a tranche of new lawyers who were employed due to restructuring, and because of a high initial attrition rate amongst the newcomers (a result of poor training and back to back days in court with no time to prep work beforehand) , have now instigated a policy of fast-track promotions for new staff whose faces ‘fit’ and who will best serve the culture of bullying managing tactics, and divide and rule. There are soon to be more managers than staff to be managed - and most of those have NO managerial experience. The service itself is still beset with many glaring systems and control failures, and it seems that they try to paper over the cracks by making staff work like donkeys- for example, Associate Prosecutors (soon to be phased out, but kept in the dark about when) are sent to court on a daily basis and often deal with 30 - 45 cases in one court session. There is no preparation time (if you want to make sure you are prepared enough not to look like an idiot in court, the CPS expects you to go home after your long court day and start reading your 40 files for tomorrow) ..despite not paying overtime and the poor civil service salary. The failings in the service (as evidenced lately, for eg by the collapsed rape trials) are systemic and are completely the fault of bad, self-satisfied and self-serving management, and lack of resources (fault of the government) . There are also many rumours of corruption during the selection and interview process for promotions and managerial positions- with interview panels selected to make sure that a particular paramour or favourite will get the job - and managers developing and mentoring people that they like and whose faces fit, and keeping behind those who, even though infinitely more suitable and knowledgeable, aren’t ‘in with the in crowd’ . Talk about ‘jobs for the boys’ , there will be a Vice President of Paper Clips fairly soon!