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.

Meet PEAT – the stepping stone from student to solicitor

While your grandparents or family friends may think you step from the LLB a fully-fledged lawyer, ready to take on the world, the reality is a little less glamorous. For me, this was a relief – I certainly wouldn’t have been capable of running a transaction or structuring a case on the day of my graduation!

The Law Society recognises this and (for the good of both students and clients!) requires prospective lawyers to undergo a three-year programme called PEAT – Professional Education and Training -  before they finally get their wings as a qualified solicitor. This consists of a one-year Diploma in Professional Legal Practice PEAT1, a postgraduate qualification offered at six universities around Scotland; and a two-year traineeship, PEAT2, completed with a firm of solicitors or in-house at another organisation.

As the new Diploma year begins, and with the benefit of a year in practice to assist my hindsight, I thought it might be worth setting out some advice on how to get the most from the PEAT1 stage:

New skills

The Diploma is all about the skills you learn. Many, me included, forget this. I just didn’t have any enthusiasm for conveyancing, and had the idea that I could avoid a property seat for my entire traineeship. This was naïve; the skills learned in conveyancing – of quick, accurate, thorough drafting, of how to use and track defined terms – are used throughout legal practice and working on them on the Diploma gives you an advantage in most seats.

Similarly, unless you were enthusiastic about mooting, it’s possible that you’ve not had to try oral advocacy for years. The Diploma offers several opportunities in which to test out these rusty skills, in criminal and civil environments.

And a cautionary tale: the Diploma is the last chance you’ll get to ‘try before you buy’, so use the opportunity to get outside your academic comfort zone. For example, many undergraduates love delict because of the interesting factual scenarios, but baulk when faced with the processes of civil litigation. It’s worth trying things out on the Diploma before committing yourself to two years of practice in an area.

New knowledge

I, perhaps mistakenly, saw the LLB as providing ‘knowledge’, with the Diploma teaching ‘skills’. Actually though, the Diploma is a great way to expand understanding, or look at your favourite subjects in a new light through the eyes of a practitioner. This is particularly true in commercial and corporate areas, which can appear dry at undergraduate level but come alive when you’re tasked with structuring transactions and thinking about the negotiating positions of parties.

You’ll also get to take electives as a large part of the Diploma course. These can be tailored to either your interests or future traineeship. Several of my friends contacted their firms to ask whether they preferred particular subjects to be studied on the Diploma. This is a good way of preparing yourself to hit the ground running in your first seat. On the flip side, some people used their choice of electives tactically to help with traineeship applications.

New environment

I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Glasgow and decided to head across to Edinburgh for the Diploma. This was because I had a job in Edinburgh but I was also tempted by the change of scenery after a few years in Glasgow. The Diploma is, even if you stay at the same place as before, a chance to meet a whole new bunch of people; many of whom will be your future colleagues. The atmosphere is like first year all over again, with lots of fresh, slightly more relaxed, faces!

It’s not just new people – there are much stronger link-ups with practitioners. All Diploma providers hold events in which practitioners from varied fields talk about their work. Better than this, all of your tutors will be actual practitioners with more-often-than-not very amusing and inspiring stories from the coalface of legal practice. Several people I studied beside on the Edinburgh Diploma used these links very effectively and secured traineeships through them. This is a particularly well-worn path in the criminal field.

New opportunities

One of the things I enjoyed most about undergrad was the array of opportunities it offered to try out new things, like studying abroad, competitions, or work placements. The Diploma is no different. Several of the Diploma providers have legal advice clinics which students are encouraged to assist with. Edinburgh’s FLAC, for example, gives students an opportunity to assist real life clients before commencing the traineeship.

There are also a multitude of external competitions to get involved in. Many Diploma providers run the Scottish heats for worldwide competitions such as the International Client Consulting Competition, the International Negotiation Competition, and several mediation competitions. Taking part in such competitions is a great way to improve the soft-skills that you’ll be relying on every day during a traineeship, as well as a good way to earn yourself a trip abroad!

And finally…

One last word of advice: the examination requirements are different at different Diploma providers so check what they require. Whether you want to stay where you are or take it as an opportunity to move to a new city, you should have a look round to see what will fit you best.

To find out more about what PEAT 1 (the Diploma) involves, please click here. To find out more about PEAT 2 (the traineeship) please click here.