My name is Chloe and I am a first year trainee here at Blackwood & Smith. The firm specialises in three main areas of law; Conveyancing, Private Client and Family Law.
I have been focusing solely on Conveyancing transactions, and I have enjoyed every minute so far. The pace is fast and the work that I have been involved in has provided me with responsibility from the get-go.
Although this blog is about “a day in the life of a trainee”, I can safely say that no day has been the same – which is something I am thankful for!
7.40AM: I have been fortunate enough to start my traineeship in the office and not WFH, so for me, I leave my house in Falkirk in plenty of time and head off to Peebles.
8.45AM: I arrive at the office early, which gives me enough time to start up my machine and make myself a coffee.
9.00AM: I begin my day by going through my emails and responding to anything urgent. I then have a look at my to do list, which I make a point of writing out the day before. I work out which tasks are urgent and which can wait.
10.00AM: I have a meeting with a client to discuss the sale of their house. The transaction is nearing settlement, and the client has some questions about settlement. Following our meeting, I type out a file note of what was discussed for our file.
11.00AM: One of my colleagues who is acting in an executry for a client, asks me to draft a Disposition to transfer a property to a Beneficiary. I read over the various documents, including the Certificate of Confirmation, Trust Disposition and Codicils. I quickly realise that this will be lengthy task, so I make sure anything urgent which has come in that day is dealt with first.
13.00PM: I head off with a colleague for lunch. Peebles is such a beautiful place with lots of places to sit out and eat. My favourite thing to do at lunch is to pop into a local cafe on the High Street and then sit down by the River Tweed and switch off for a while.
14.00PM: After lunch, I will usually have a title to examine, be it Sasine or Land Registered. So, I make a start on my Notes on Title. Once I have examined the title, and considered all searches, I then draft a letter to my client who is purchasing the property. I explain the title and highlight anything which they need to be made aware of, such as any access issues or unusual burdens on the property.
16.30PM: I write out my to do list for the following day. I also have a catch up with one of the partners, Struan, to discuss anything I have been unsure on.
17.00PM: Once I finish what I have been working on, I pack up and head off back to Falkirk – ready to do it all again tomorrow!
