Trainee Testimonials

James Downie, Partner

I joined Stronachs as a trainee in 1994 and I’m still here. I am not alone in the firm in being someone who joined straight from university and then progressed through the ranks and into the partnership. I am now a partner in our Energy Team.
You might ask me:

Are you lethargic?

Are you unambitious?
Are you happy to sit at a desk in Aberdeen?

Are you happy to forego the chance to carry out high value, high quality City of London work?

The answer to all of these question is a resounding “NO!

Our client base includes businesses and organisations of all sizes, from start-ups to multi-nationals from all over the world. Of course clients based in Aberdeen make up an extremely important part of our client mix.

Throughout my time at Stronachs I have worked on deals across the world for interesting and vastly differing clients. Travel has included trips to the US, South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, across Europe and Africa. Other members of our team have worked in China and in Australasia to name just a few places.

The work has been interesting, often highly complex and occasionally has involved deal values in the billions.  It is certainly work on which City of London firms would be happy to get their hands. Like many other lawyers here the exposure to good quality work which I have had at Stronachs has meant that I am now ranked in Legal 500 and Chambers.

An important feature which keeps people here is the culture. I have found the firm to be a friendly place with a reasonably flat structure and good interaction between team members. I can count on the support of my colleagues when I need it and they know that they can count on me.

I remember my traineeship interview at Stronachs all those years ago, how the interviewers put me at ease and how they tried to establish what I was like as a person and how I might fit into the “Stronachs’ family”. In my role as one of the team which deals with trainee recruitment I take the same approach when interviewing.

Trainees are a crucial part of our business. We are not simply recruiting trainees who will be with us for 2 years. We are trying to spot lawyers who we are willing to invest time and effort in the hope that they will become first class solicitors and perhaps future partners in our business. VIEW PROFILE