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Ewan Gilchrist, from Cawdor - Partner.
"While at University it would be fair to say that starting work was not something I was ever in any mood to rush into. Through a combination of time out and postgraduate ‘study' I managed to put off the evil day of joining the real working world for seven years after leaving school.
So it was with some reluctance and apprehension that I approached the start of my traineeship with Dickson Minto. Fortunately, rather like a trip to the dentist, the reality wasn't as bad as I had feared. My fellow trainees weren't all egg-head corporate whiz kids and the lawyers and other staff I was working with were not the grindstone-nosing ogres I had been led to believe. My first training seat was in the team overseen by the Managing Partner and when he took me for a pint at the end of my first working day I realised the future might not be so bad after all.
There was no doubt that the traineeship and early years as a qualified lawyer were hard work. Getting up every morning in time for a 9 a.m. start and only having five weeks holiday every year was tough enough – having to work hard when you were actually in the office as well was difficult to bear. But, over time, I came to realise that the training, hard work and commitment combined with a little aptitude helped me to advance professionally as a lawyer and also personally to get more out of my working life because I became more confident in my abilities. Looking back I can safely say that I have enjoyed each successive year of my working life more than the previous one.
For me the best bit of the job comes when clients ask your advice on how to take something forward, act on that advice and then come back for more. As you become more experienced this happens more and more and, to me, is the essence of being a professional advisor. We are also lucky enough to be involved in many of the high profile business and other deals done out of Scotland. Of course this doesn't mean you don't still have to work hard to get them done but it helps when you read about the results of that hard work in the newspapers.
In summary there are rewards to be had for commitment and hard work – these are financial (come on, we don't just do it for the good of our health) but also in terms of great job satisfaction.
As for Dickson Minto, well many of those potentially frightening colleagues have become friends over the years and the occasional social pint is still enjoyable. Most importantly, in a world where ‘teamwork' and ‘being a team player' have all-too-often become clichés, I have always found that when I need some input or just want to bounce something off someone else then doors are always open and there is always someone willing to help."
