New DLA Piper trainee reveals exit weeks into TC over burnout

A new DLA Piper trainee who made headlines recently for voicing her doubts about corporate life has quit the firm just weeks into her training contract, citing burnout and the pressures of an "insecure overachiever" culture.

Inês Pinheiro, part of the firm's autumn intake, confirmed her resignation in a candid LinkedIn post. "This new start will allow me to fully recover from burnout and regain my identity as I redirect my efforts away from Big Law," she wrote.

From cleaning floors to the City

Pinheiro, who is originally from Venezuela, went (legal media) viral over the summer after publicly admitting she was not looking forward to starting her TC. In LinkedIn posts, she described her unconventional journey into the City - from cleaning toilets and sweeping the streets outside City skyscrapers "at 5am", to winning a training contract with the firm after a vacation scheme in 2022.

But, thanking DLA for the opportunity, she said the long slog of interviews, assessment centres and vacation schemes left her burned out before she even started at the firm. "The amount of work it took me to obtain a TC was insane," she wrote. "The cost to my mental health was extremely high."

Big Law culture

Pinheiro said she struggled to sustain her recovery once the pressures of the SQE and her training contract began, "collapsing" after just one week at the firm. She cited the research of Bayes Business School professor Laura Empson on "insecure overachievers", highlighting how lawyers and other professionals often push themselves harder because of relentless competition.

"Sadly, Big Law is not a safe environment for recovering overachievers to heal from burnout," she said, adding that she now wants to define success on her own terms.

Burnout fears

For more on spotting signs of burnout and what the legal industry is doing to tackle the issue, listen to our conversation with ex-City lawyer Richard Martin, now CEO of the Mindful Business Charter, on The Non-Billable Podcast.