Iona studied for both her undergraduate LLB and the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice at the University of Strathclyde. After completing her legal education in June 2020, Iona spent 9 months volunteering as a Seminar Assistant at Legal Services Agency in Glasgow and worked as a Paralegal at a small personal injury firm for a few months prior to starting her traineeship with MSHB.
Tips for getting a traineeship:
Identify the areas of law you are really interested in and try to relate your experience and skills to show how you would work effectively in these areas. Don’t forget to include any non-law related experience that has given you transferable skills. For example, working in hospitality gives you experience dealing with the public and improves communication skills.
Your experience of the firm/the work you have been involved in:
I am in my first seat in the residential property department where I assist in acting for clients in their sales, purchases, transfers of titles, equity releases etc. At the beginning, I would sit in on client meetings and work collaboratively on transactions with experienced practitioners. In my fifth/sixth month I began to run transactions with less supervision and deal with clients on my own.
The advantages of choosing Miller Samuel Hill Brown for your traineeship:
MSHB has a friendly open-door culture where you feel comfortable asking questions and being guided appropriately. With the seats being 8 months long, you are able to gain more experience in a given area of law and are not moved on as soon as you get to grips with the practice.
