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John McGonagle, Senior Solicitor in our Intellectual Property and Technology team tells us about
his time working at Brodies LLP and gives some top tips to young lawyers and trainees
>> John McGonagle: I’ve got several pieces of advice for a young lawyer starting out.
First of all, I would say don’t delay your traineeship and starting your career in the
law. I arrived at being a lawyer by quite a circuitous
route. I left school when I was 16 (the end of my fifth year at school) and I thought
maybe I would study a law degree and if I did ok, then I would possibly study a post
graduate degree in journalism. The first university phone - when I told them my marks- said “ok,
let’s talk about your possible admission into a law degree.” And then when I mentioned
that I was sixteen they hung up! The next university I phoned was the University of
Strathclyde and I told them my age, I said I was sixteen and they didn’t hang up. I
ended up finishing my law degree at the age of 20 which I think, at the time, was the
youngest person to have finished a law degree in Scotland.
What really attracted me to Brodies was that it seemed like it was a firm with a lot of
momentum at that point in time – Brodies had recently merged with Bishops in Glasgow,
giving Brodies a physical West Coast office so it seemed like a good time to be joining
a Scottish focused firm and a firm that was really going places.
There has been a lot of highlights during my time at Brodies. Proably the most obvious
highlights are my secondments – I’ve worked for several high street banks. There’s definite
benefits to myself and my professional development during a secondment and I would like to think
there are definite benefits to the client. The variety of work that I get to undertake
is huge in comparison to the work that I would perhaps be undertaking if I was back in the
office. If you work hard then you will learn plenty
and if you are fortunate you’ll work with laywers that will be really generous with
their time and will train you and give you good advice.
When you’re in the job, my advice for young lawyers would be to read everything and read
everything again. I think attention to detail is one of the big things that lawyers can
offer clients. I would also encourage young lawyers to ask lots of questions - and don’t
be afraid to ask questions - sometimes there will be a really obvious answer; you might
feel a bit silly but you’ll learn something and you’ll know next time.
I think Brodies has been a really good education for me. I realise now, looking back to when
I joined six years ago, that I didn’t know anything compared to what I know now. It’s
been great.” Interested in working at Brodies? Call us
now on 0131 228 3777 or visit our website www.brodies.com