Law? What was I thinking?!

ScotLIS is a relatively new and user friendly service provided by the Registers of Scotland which is free to use. It allows users to search for properties that are registered on the Land Register and shares information at no cost such as the date the property was last sold, the price it was sold for, what the Title Number is and it also shows a map with the boundaries. Properties on the Sasine Register will not show in the results for this reason it may be a useful tool to establish whether the property is Land Registered or not. There is a service provided for those who are registered with eservices which work in a similar way to Registers Direct searches but these will cost. This is a useful and helpful tool whether you have the Title Deeds at the beginning of a transaction or not. If you have the Deeds, using ScotLIS before ordering a Multisearch or Legal Report could establish whether Keeper Induced Registration has occurred and save time at later stages. If there is an

One of the most important (and first) components of a Conveyancing transaction is, of course, the Missives. For those of you that don't know what they are, it is the combination of all formal letters passed from purchasing and selling agents of one transaction which form the contract. Sadly, the Diploma gives a whistle-stop tour which, in my opinion, doesn't go into anywhere near enough detail to explain the significance of what they are or why they are there. It also doesn't provide a complete explanation or understanding of the clauses and conditions. In particular the Scottish Standard Clauses, which for the majority of my time as a trainee paralegal, and anyone else in conveyancing, were incredibly important. I am understanding that there are time constraints placed on tutors during the Diploma and that it is meant to be a basic background but I had wished throughout my classes that there would be more depth and explanation. We were told, for example, to delete

I last posted a blog post in 2015, which is crazy that I've managed to be sidetracked for so long!  In 2015, I graduated with my LLB and was fortunate to secure a job as a trainee paralegal within a Scottish-wide firm. The role as a trainee paralegal was within the Conveyancing department and I learned a huge amount skills and knowledge on the job that I had no previous experience in and which the LLB did not prepare you for.  I have now started the Diploma in Legal Practice and boy, it is hard transitioning from the daily grind of 9 to 5 to getting back into studying again! I would say though that it was the better way round because I have a clearer understanding of what will be expected of as a trainee solicitor and of how things actually work in practice.  What I have noticed so far is that the Diploma can teach you all the skills and knowledge and processes and form filling you need for the job, but without any work experience (and even with some if it was a summer