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Allan Fraser, from Aberdeen - Partner.
"My first experience of Dickson Minto was as one of the firm's first summer students in 1991, a placement I have always thought was offered by mistake. The firm erroneously thought I was applying for a traineeship but, as I had risen at the crack of dawn to travel down from Aberdeen for a 9.30 a.m. interview, I think they were too embarrassed to reject me completely! It turned out to be a lucky mistake for me. I started work as a trainee with the firm in 1994 and am still here 13 years later.
I remember being worried when I was offered my traineeship that I may be specialising too early. What if I started work and found that I did not like corporate law? After all, I had applied for the position through a process of elimination. I knew that I did not want to sell houses or draft wills and litigation at the Bar looked like a bit of a closed shop. But having figured that I would end up in a career involving business I reckoned Dickson Minto would be as good a place as any to start.
Now I am a partner in the firm's banking department. We act for banks when they are lending to companies formed by individuals and institutions to acquire companies or businesses from third parties. The work is mostly transactional and provides the opportunity to work on a large number of deals in different corporate sectors. Although this area of practice is classified as specialist, an integral part of my job is to advise banks not only on the loan documentation but also on acquisition and equity aspects of the transactions. So it is impossible to do the job well without a detailed knowledge of all aspects of corporate law.
Dickson Minto seeks always to enable our trainees to attain that detailed knowledge as quickly as they are able. It makes sense for our work to be delegated as much as possible and for our trainees and assistants to be closely involved in drafting and negotiating the documentation on transactions. The more exposure that trainees and assistants have to transactional work, the quicker they develop and the more opportunity there is for them to be exposed to stimulating legal work.
Combine that with the extensive training programmes in which our trainees participate and we usually find that upon completing a traineeship with Dickson Minto, a trainee will be approximately one year ahead in his or her experience of corporate law than contemporaries who have trained in other firms.
What I have always liked about Dickson Minto is the relaxed atmosphere in which we work. There is a genuine open door policy, everyone is addressed by their first name and trainees are actively encouraged to ask questions about things they do not understand. You are quickly made to feel part of the team in which you work and everybody wants you to do well.
The firm has a strong policy of trying to recruit from its own trainees. There are no quotas. If the trainees we employ are good enough, we will look to offer them jobs as assistants. Of course, for one reason or another, not every trainee ends up staying with us after their traineeship finishes. However, of the last 11 Dickson Minto partners assumed, no less than eight trained at the firm – which can only be good news for our prospective trainees."
