Trainee blog - Sarah McKeeve

Sarah obtained her LLB and Diploma from the University of Glasgow. After commencing her traineeship with Brodies in July 2013 with eight months in Glasgow’s Personal & Family team, Sarah flew her Glasgow nest to undertake a seat in the firm’s Edinburgh-based Corporate team. Now working in the Edinburgh’s Business Disputes and Asset Recovery (BDAR) litigation team, she looks forward to qualifying as a solicitor in July 2015.

Life as a litigation trainee: every day’s a school day

I recently moved seats to join Brodies’ Business Disputes and Asset Recovery (BDAR) division, the team which focuses on the litigation of commercial disputes, property-oriented disputes and actions for the recovery of debts and assets. Although I had enjoyed my experience in earlier seats, I was thrilled to finally be gaining experience of the litigation world.

Brodies conducts litigation across a wide variety of different specialisms, and our litigation service is sub-divided, meaning that trainees are split amongst the different specialisms. In my current seat, I do a lot of work for the division’s Debt and Asset Recovery Team (DART), who carry out various small claims, summary cause and ordinary actions in the sheriff court to seek return of assets (such as vehicles) or sums of money.

Life in DART is fast-paced and presents a number of challenges. I have my own cases to manage and progress, assessing each situation on its facts to try to reach the best commercial result for our client. In many cases, the best result is settlement, with the litigation dismissed to avoid the client incurring further costs through procedural hearings or evidential proofs.

My work often involves dealing with party litigants – individuals who, rather than appointing solicitors, represent themselves. Communications with these parties raise ethical considerations, as solicitors must take care not to exploit a party litigant’s comparative lack of knowledge or experience. For example, correspondence must be as plainly worded as possible, with litigants pointed to available sources of legal advice where pertinent.

I also support the corporate disputes team where, rather than managing lower-value disputes, I assist more senior members of the team with the preparation and progression of high-value, complex disputes in the Court of Session. This has given me invaluable experience of instructing counsel, and I have benefited from opportunities to sit in on both a debate and an evidential hearing.

One thing all Brodies trainees share is a spot on our court rota. The firm operates a rota system for its trainees, scheduling them to appear before sheriffs at procedural hearings on a weekly basis. This gives all trainees, regardless of their sub-team, a fantastic opportunity to gain advocacy experience at sheriff court level. Through the court rota, we also gain exposure to actions and procedures outside our own specialisms, such as sequestration hearings, personal injury procedure (in the sheriff court) and summary procedure.

Whether you think you’d love the cut and thrust of advocacy or that you’d prefer the careful, tactical negotiation of an extra-judicial settlement, litigation is varied and has something for everyone. Even if you decide that a career in litigation isn’t for you, a seat as a litigation trainee is invaluable.

During my time as a litigation trainee, my commercial awareness has developed immeasurably, helping me to advise clients on commercially sensible approaches to settlement negotiations. I have also become more independent, confident and ethically aware. In the life of a litigation trainee, every day’s a school day. That, in itself, is the best preparation for life as a qualified solicitor.