Trainee blog - David Bales

David Bales is another of our trainee bloggers who takes a look back at the last two years as his traineeship ends and he starts his new role as a solicitor in Brodies’ real estate department in Glasgow in July.

My role and first few days as a trainee

My first eight months were in our real estate team in Glasgow, followed by four months in personal & family in Edinburgh. I have since spent the remaining 12 months in the personal & family team in Glasgow. The first three days at Brodies were spent conquering the IT system with the other trainees so, as someone who spent his formative years glued to MSN Messenger, it wasn’t really that stressful. It was also a good opportunity to meet the other trainees properly before going back to our respective cities. The first day in my first seat was pretty daunting, as all first days tend to be. As soon as I met the team, however, I knew everything would be fine. As a trainee in your first seat, you’re not expected to be brilliant from the word go. As long as you can show that you listen properly, learn from your mistakes and are prepared to go above and beyond (I had to get that in somewhere), you’ll be fine.

The positives and the negatives

There have been a lot of high points in the traineeship: being involved in some of the biggest transactions in Scotland of 2013 and 2014; presenting to the department and to clients; conducting my own client meetings; attending fancy business development events; and, most importantly, being offered a job at the end of it all. Besides work, the high point of my traineeship was probably performing with the (now infamous) Brodies house band, The Blythswood Squares, at the end of year social event in Glasgow.

The only real low point for me was having my planned secondment to a client cancelled at the last minute. Business reasons meant that it was no longer possible, but I was obviously very disappointed. This is the reason why I have spent a bit more time in the personal & family team than is normal during a traineeship at Brodies.

My advice for future trainees

1. Keep your options open for as long as possible. So many people start the traineeship convinced that they want to practise in one area and end up qualifying in to something completely different. Don’t make decisions too early and give every seat a proper chance.

2. Find time to actually enjoy your traineeship. It is no secret that being a trainee at a law firm can be stressful at times, which makes it all the more important to make the most of the social nights, the trainee lunches, the firm events or business development opportunities.

3. Use your head. Being a lawyer is a continuous learning process and you’re not expected to know everything at this stage. Common sense and good listening skills are key to being a good trainee.