Trainee blog - John Morgan

John Morgan is one of our new trainee bloggers, from Brodies LLP. John grew up in Coatbridge in North Lanarkshire and attended the University of Glasgow for his LLB, spending time abroad at the Universities of Toronto, Connecticut and Cagliari. He then ventured to Edinburgh University for his Diploma. He is currently nearing the end of his first seat in the firm’s Banking and Finance department, and will be moving to the Employment department for his second seat at the start of April.

In defence of the trainee lawyer

I recently attended an event at Edinburgh University where Diploma students got to quiz current trainees about their traineeship. At that event, several students seemed confused by trainees (and there were several) who had an interest in human rights or politics but had “ended up at big, commercial firms”.

The necessity of the rule of law

I can only speak from my own experience, but I don’t see the two as mutually exclusive. There may be something old fashioned about it, but there’s surely something almost honourable about being part of a profession which plays a key part in upholding the rule of law – something fundamental in protecting individuals, and creating both a fair society and a prosperous economy.

From my short time in the profession, it is stark how obvious – and necessary – our connection with the rest of the economy is. We rely on businesses to continue doing what they do as much as businesses rely on us to provide our services. Where there’s a growing business, lawyers are needed. Where there’s a new building, or a big infrastructure project, lawyers are needed. We help at some of the most challenging parts of a person’s life – whether it is drawing up their will, dealing with family or employee disputes, or buying or selling property.

Even in my time here, Brodies has been part of some great local success stories like ensuring the survival of the last commercial shipyard on the Clyde, or assisting with the launch of the world’s largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses. Ultimately, lawyers – and that includes trainees – help the rest of the economy tick over.

A service industry

Law is, at its heart, a service industry, where your client is the be-all-and-end-all. Waking up each day knowing that you’re heading to the office to help a business complete a great deal which will generate thousands of jobs, or helping an individual through one of the trickiest times of their lives – whether that be the death of a family member or a dispute with a neighbour – is very fulfilling.

For many lawyers, the ‘good feeling’ you get when helping out a client can also lead to making sacrifices – such as missing family events or just taking a client’s concerns and issues home with you at the end of the day. This is, of course, true in any profession, but the emotional baggage which many lawyers take home can be considerable. Many students cite this as one of their key concerns about becoming a lawyer, but fortunately the profession is now much more clued up on the issues that stress can cause than before, with support available at the drop of a hat.

Taking action

If you’d prefer direct action, opportunities abound. Anecdotally, pro bono work appears to be on the rise, and on any given day you’ll see a news story in which ‘big firm’ lawyers carried out great pro bono work. Larger firms have initiatives where you can give back and help out with some great causes. Brodies, for example, has our PRIME programme on which I’ve taken several sessions this month, as well as our support for charities such as Maggie’s cancer centres, and our sponsorship of sporting events like the Scottish Schools Swimming Championships. It seems that many firms are also pushing their lawyers to help in community or university law clinics and other projects in a way that didn’t really happen a generation ago.

There are other ways of making a positive difference in the profession too. Last year I had the great honour of winning the Frank Maguire Memorial Award, named after perhaps the best campaigning lawyer Scotland has seen. The influence that lawyers such as Frank have on the law isn’t something you’re taught about at university, but it’s an impact that can’t be missed once you join the profession. Having legal knowledge helps you to do more than just put pressure on a government; it means you can get truly involved in the nitty-gritty of changing something you feel is wrong.

The message I’m trying to get across is that if you want to make a difference, the legal profession isn’t about to hold you back. Instead, it will provide you with the tools for you to do more than you could have ever thought possible.