Sophie Reid

As I sit down, morning coffee (vanilla, of course!) in hand, one of the solicitors in the team taps me on the shoulder. She tells me to grab my jacket, and laptop (with a notepad as back-up). She lets me know that we have been tasked with assisting and instructing counsel at a Court of Session professional negligence procedural hearing. Of course, not every day starts off trying to hot-foot it too the courts for 09:30 – most hearings can be and often are, done by way of online platform – but you never quite know what your day will look like until you step foot in the office. I would say that this issue is one of the many things that I love about my seat in dispute resolution.

A typical day for me usually starts with prioritising any emails that have come in overnight and making a ‘to-do’ list of things that require to be actioned that day. As a trainee in disputes, I’ve slowly come to realise that even with all the will in the world, you can bet that the list is going to change in a matter of hours, if not minutes. For example, recently I had planned to review and analyse medical records for a case which involves an action to reduce a will. (Un)predictably, by 11 am, it was clear that my afternoon was instead to be spent negotiating the return of a horse back to Northern Ireland under the Consumer Rights Act. The horse had various underlying health issues which meant that he was unable to be kept at our client’s livery yard long-term. From considering the logistics of returning a 14 hands high horse to Northern Ireland, to ensuring that our client was protected from the potential of any claims being raised during and after his return, it was definitely an interesting afternoon.

Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of the role is the level of responsibility at an early stage – I am responsible for managing my own case load and interacting with clients but the experience you gain is invaluable. As well as this, the support not only from my team but the close friends that I have made across the different departments have made this easier – from needing someone to vent to, to coming up with an action plan on how to tackle the problems or your concerns. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and seek advice when you need it.

Looking back from when I started, I have come a long way – not only professionally but personally too. If I had one piece of advice for past trainee me who was new in the door, it would be that at some point you are bound to feel a little overwhelmed, and that’s ok. You’re in a new environment, with new people, creating new norms. One thing I would say though is that your new norms very quickly become your norms, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Sophie Reid is a trainee at Aberdein Considine