We recently welcomed Trainee Solicitor, Alex Aitken, to the team in Sibbald Walk. A new face means a new set of Q&As posed to find out more about the latest recruit!
Did you always want to become involved in the legal profession?
“There was always an idea of doing Law for me, but I didn’t fully decide on it until I was doing my history degree and had a module which looked at historic legal reforms. I thought this module was incredibly interesting, and it led me to look into converting to law at the end of my degree. Prior to this I had always wanted to be a detective.”
Which school subjects do you think were most useful for getting you on track for a legal career?
“At school I studied English, geography, history, product design, biology, business management and philosophy. I’d say the best subjects for preparing me for law were history and philosophy. History helped me learn to manage large amounts of information and research topics while philosophy helps develop my ability to approach issues/questions and think of solutions outside of the box.”
What makes a good legal professional?
“I would say someone who can be very aware of the client’s personal situation. Being able to anticipate how their situation may make them behave so you can address any points they may have concerns about early on and put them at ease during a stressful time.”
What drew you to join VMH?
“What attracted me most was the fact that many of the employees have been with the company for such a long time. I was cautious of firms which see a large number of people go in and out in a short period and felt that the long careers people have had here showed that the firm was a good one to work for and offered a rewarding career.”
What are the best things about your job (so far) and what are the biggest challenges?
“The best thing about my new role is the increase in the types of cases/work I am exposed to. New situations which I did not have experience working on before have allowed me to grow my skills and knowledge and made me feel like I am learning more again. It has been exciting working on these which also ensures the role feels less repetitive.”
Who or what inspires you?
“The people who inspire me most would be my parents. All through my childhood, university and my first serious job they were always supportive and pushed me and my siblings to do the best we could. I learnt lots of valuable lessons from them and they were always there to give me the push needed to keep on working through tough times, to come out on the other side successfully.”
If you could change one thing about the way the property market/legal system operates in Scotland, what would it be?
“An aspect of the property market I would want to change, personally, would be the current ‘offers over’ system for buying a marketed property. I think that the blind bidding system of having to guess a purchase price over the offer amount and between or over the home report value confuses a lot of prospective purchasers and creates a lot of frustration.
“A bit more guidance on the purchase price so first-time buyers can be a bit more confident in what to offer would be beneficial. Perhaps removing the blind bidding system so each property’s offers are logged anonymously, like the Swedish system. A person offering can see where they stand and can offer their maximum. This would eliminate the chances of people wasting capital in blind bids and encourages budget control where people can confidently offer and walk away if the price goes too high.”
What are your interests or hobbies outside work?
“Outside of work I like to be active, regularly golf with friends and have recently started to take on Munros with them. I keep my interest in history alive by pairing it with my love of travelling, going on holidays abroad and in the UK to explore new places.”