NQ blog - January 2015

I expect that many of you, like me, have recently been transitioning into your new roles as a NQ solicitor. I also expect that many of you would agree with me in saying it is a large leap forward in terms of both responsibility and workload. This leap brings with it the chance to work on more complex and interesting cases which, in turn, brings with it increased professional development.

I have been working with Fleming and Reid solicitors now for almost five months. Part of what I enjoy most about my new position is the opportunity to practise across several different fields of litigation, including criminal law, civil/family law and mental health law. The variety of work ensures that no two days are the same. For example, I might be in the sheriff court for a criminal or civil matter in the morning and attending at a tribunal in the afternoon, the next day I might be in the High Court with counsel.

At Fleming and Reid, we provide representation at courts and tribunals throughout Scotland. I recently had the opportunity to appear in Kirkwall Sheriff Court for a matter which lasted several days. It was my first solemn appearance which proved to be incredibly interesting both from a factual and procedural point of view…not to mention I had the chance to go out and socialise with the local solicitors and also do a spot of sightseeing which was an added bonus!

I am also gaining more experience of appearing in more civil matters as an NQ, particularly child welfare hearings (CWHs). For those of you who appear in such hearings, you will know how fraught these can sometimes be; cases might have a particularly sensitive or volatile background. Ultimately, CWHs can make for an interesting learning curve by shaping advocacy skills in a way which is distinct from the criminal courts.

Additionally, I am gaining experience in attending at mental health tribunals. These are of a more informal setting than the courtroom but the same principles apply to the extent that legal agents act on the instructions of the client/patient, eg to appeal against their order, and the agent will advocate this at the tribunal. Again, it makes for an interesting experience in developing advocacy skills; it supplements, and can be supplemented by, skills as a court solicitor.

Hopefully, you are all enjoying your new position as a NQ; it can be demanding but, at the same time, very rewarding.

I have been doing a fair bit of travelling recently, representing clients in different courts in various types of cases, which has made for an extremely busy, interesting and challenging few weeks.