Hired by Drumchapel Law Centre
She was also quite an effective advocate and I used to get good feedback from people she represented. Nicola often got good results for her clients she had a forceful although not aggressive style. She was very bright and very able and she was very committed to the work. It was not the sort of work you’d go into for money or the profile, so she clearly wanted to do it to help people.
Becomes trainee solicitor
After completing her diploma, Sturgeon gets a job as a trainee solicitor at the firm McClure Naismith, dealing with litigation, property law and commercial work. She works there for two years and leaves by mutual consent. A partner at McClure Naismith described the circumstances around her departure from the firm:
There was no question of Nicola staying on and I don’t think she was surprised by that decision. She just wasn’t a star, she didn’t show any great ambition to do what we did. Sturgeon was not an unusually energetic or conscientious trainee. It was quite clear even then that her interests didn’t lie in becoming a solicitor or lawyer.