Repost: It has been two years...

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 placement) it is still going to be difficult for a trainee solicitor to figure out how to use the skills and knowledge etc during their traineeship. To quote almost every trainee solicitor in their advice, if you aren't sure then you need to ASK! This goes for your time on the Diploma too.

I didn't have any experience or knowledge of how things worked in practice before my training and I think many solicitors/paralegals don't realise that the LLB gives you the background knowledge but not the skills, and it is more often than not given on such a basic level that it can't possibly be useful without the Diploma and/or sufficient work experience. This is something I experienced myself, expectations and assumptions that you knew certain things and how to draft the paperwork required throughout a Conveyancing transaction but I didn't know a thing. 

I would like to embark on an attempt to blog again, referring to my experiences and advice from my time as a trainee paralegal but also my experiences from the Diploma, maybe giving comparisons and extra information for those who may find it useful or interesting.

Watch this space...

(Reposting in the hopes that formatting is corrected!)

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