I grew up in Edinburgh and started my traineeship in employment there – a great first seat to start learning the ropes. But I'd studied at Aberdeen Uni and really liked the city as a base, so when it was announced that Brodies was opening an Aberdeen office, I stuck my hand up to be its first trainee.
In 2010/11 the central belt was still suffering the effects of the credit crunch whereas Aberdeen was experiencing an oil and gas boom, so I was keen to get some different experience and try out new places and teams during my traineeship. I've always found it a friendly and fun office to be part of – even as it has grown from five to 100+ people, you still get to know most folk by name. There's a really supportive atmosphere – both workwise if you need a hand – but also on the social and charity events front – they're always very well attended.
I realised pretty early on that I wanted to focus on real estate, but what was so valuable was also getting a bit of experience with litigation, banking, corporate etc during my traineeship as all of those elements come up in property deals and vice versa. As the Aberdeen office is smaller in size, it allows opportunities to help support other teams and do split seats. I'd thoroughly recommend Aberdeen – both as an office and as a city – there are lots of exciting opportunities and a lovely office to enjoy.
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