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Jennifer Wallace, from Edinburgh - Trainee
I first heard of Dickson Minto in my second year at Edinburgh University when applying for summer placements. At that time I had no idea about which firms I wanted to apply to, or what areas of law I would be interested in specialising in. After a 10-15 minute interview with one of the partners I had secured a 3-week summer placement.
The interview was very informal and we mostly just chatted rather than my being asked any scary legal questions. I was delighted to be offered the placement, and was also pleased that it was only for 3 weeks as opposed to the 8-week placements some other firms do. I still wanted to enjoy university holidays! At the end of the placement I was offered a traineeship. Throughout my time there everyone was very friendly and helpful and I even stayed in touch with some of the people I'd worked with over the next couple of years while still at university.
I'm now a first year trainee and in my second seat. In September I'm off to the London office which I'm really excited about. The chance to spend part of your traineeship in London getting that 'City' experience is such a great opportunity. And not to mention a flat, 20 mins walk from work (in London!), rent-free, and free flights home once a month to catch up with family and friends.
Before starting my traineeship I did get a bit nervous that I might be pigeon-holing myself by going to DM, in that it 'only' did corporate work. But by the end of my traineeship I will have had experience in general corporate, public company, banking, mergers & acquisitions and private equity departments. So a DM traineeship is definitely varied.
The Monday bulletin also means we regularly read articles about recent legal developments and the Wednesday morning training sessions for trainees (yes, you start at 8am but breakfast is provided!) are very informative and useful. We have also been receiving intensive training on the Companies Act '06, and we also go away for a training weekend once a year.
But DM's not all about work. There is a football team, a netball team and a touch rugby team, and any suggestions for other activities are appreciated. Social events are a big part of DM life - people are always up for Friday night drinks, and numerous events are put on throughout the year. I've also found, much to my relief, that a large part of work is your ability to get on with people - colleagues, clients and other solicitors, as opposed to solely about how intelligent you are. If you can get on with people and are prepared to make the effort, there's a very good chance you'll fit in well at DM.
Finally, in response to the scare stories - yes, there are definitely times where you have to work hard/late at DM, but I've found this no different to the weeks (or days) in the lead-up to exams at university. If you have a deadline to meet you have to pull out all the stops to meet it. But it's certainly not all the time, not even the majority of the time. If there is no pressing work then you leave the office at the normal time.
