I recently completed a two-year traineeship – or training contract - in English law at Brodies. Although the firm is known for its presence first and foremost in the Scottish market it also works with many clients who operate across the UK (and indeed beyond), so there is a need for English law advice, and I knew there was lots of work for me to be involved in during my traineeship.

Having graduated with a degree in English Law from Keele University and then completed the LPC at the University of Law in Manchester, I'm now based in Edinburgh and interested in becoming dual qualified, so the training contract at Brodies was a great opportunity for me to develop my knowledge and experience in a firm that works with clients north and south of the border.

I undertook my first seat in English real estate; from day one I was exposed to a wide variety of work including dealing with stamp duty land tax and the land registry applications, disposal of commercial assets and leasing (landlord and tenant) work. I was also given the opportunity to complete research and deliver training to my colleagues in English real estate on specific points of law.

I then went on to complete a split seat in English real estate and banking. In banking, I dealt with drafting charges, Companies House applications and drafting company reports, which I found really interesting.

My final split seat was between English real estate and property litigation. During my final seat I was able to attend client meetings, draft letters before claim and prepare advice notes. Moving to a litigation seat having only done transactional work previously was a big change but allowed me to develop my research skills and assisting with negotiating settlements.

Doing split seats meant I was always involved in a range of work and my days would be varied, for example I could be assisting with the purchase of a forest one day and the next I could be drafting a suite of security documents for a financing matter. I also gained experience of working on cross border and international transactions.

Being the only English law trainee, sometimes my workload could be quite intense, but this meant I learnt a lot very quickly and was given a lot of responsibility early on, such as having the experience of leading a commercial sale, with supervision.

I really enjoyed my training contract and would recommend that any future trainees consider getting involved in English law work, even if it is not something you've done before. There is lots of training and support available and colleagues are always willing to help if needed.

Applications are now open for our 2022 summer placements, to work with us in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow or the Highlands.

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