PRIME student to trainee solicitor: my route to a career in law

As I begin to prepare for my last seat of my traineeship at Brodies LLP, I cannot help but reflect upon the journey which has helped shape my legal career thus far. From early on in secondary school I dreamed of pursuing a career in law, however the path to qualification was an extremely daunting prospect. Fortunately, with the guidance and experiences offered by PRIME the route to a career in law seemed a lot less intimidating. PRIME has without a doubt played a vital role in helping me turn my dreams into reality.

For those who are not familiar with the PRIME initiative, it is a UK-wide project that improves access to the legal profession through work experience and offers secondary students an opportunity to gain work experience at a law firm. The initiative focuses on improving social mobility within the legal profession.

I had the opportunity to participate in Brodies' PRIME week in June 2014 at the end of my fifth year of secondary school. Throughout the week-long experience, I took part in workshops run by trainees within various departments such as family and employment law. We were also given the opportunity to attend the Court of Session to shadow a court action and we also had a visit to one of the firm's client's in-house legal teams to allow us to gain exposure to the various roles that you can undertake as a lawyer in Scotland.

My week with Brodies was a hugely beneficial experience. It was my first experience of working in a commercial office environment and allowed me to gain an insight into the type of work I could possibly undertake after university. One of the most valuable aspects of the PRIME for me was chatting with the trainees about their experience with Brodies and studying law in general. As the first person in my family to attend university, this provided me with the opportunity to ask any questions I had about their own personal journey and to obtain useful tips on the application process.

My experience undoubtedly helped me secure my summer placement and traineeship with Brodies. During the PRIME week I learned about the summer placement and traineeship application process which allowed me to plan and work towards the summer placement right from the beginning of my university career. After my week, I knew that I wanted to work for Brodies one day and this inspired me to work hard to achieve that goal.

Now as a second-year trainee at Brodies, my involvement with the PRIME initiative has come full circle and I have now had the pleasure of conducting and organising my own sessions for the 2021 week. Having gone through the process, I understand the importance of such initiatives and believe that it is incredibly rewarding to help guide and encourage students who may not otherwise have such opportunities at the beginning of their legal career. I feel incredibly proud of my challenging but exciting legal journey and look forward to continuing to work with the firm's PRIME initiative in the future.

Applications for 2022 summer placements are now open. Apply now!