Route to qualification / requalification

Beginning a career in law FAQs

Please read below to find out more information about a career in law. You can also download the following careers leaflets:

Studying Law in Scotland

Professional Education and Training for solicitors

Careers with a law degree

Work experience and traineeships

What does a solicitor do?

The easiest description of a solicitor's work is that he/she solves legal problems and then gives the client the answer. A solicitor in private practice can be described as a general practitioner in law. However, as law has become more complex, specialisation has become more prevalent.

What sort of day does a solicitor have?

A solicitor can be in the office, answering the telephone, seeing clients, drafting letters and technical documents, conducting negotiations, going out to court to defend clients, inspecting properties and visiting other solicitors for meetings.

What type of person should a solicitor be?

Solicitors should be:

• responsible and trustworthy, as they are often entrusted with very confidential information and with clients' funds
• able to think clearly, get to the root of a problem and quickly recognise what is important as well as being able to express themselves accurately and clearly in writing and in speech
• able to deal with several matters at once - there will be deadlines to meet, telephone calls to answer and clients arriving in the office unexpectedly
• able to think quickly and clearly to answer, for example, points being raised by the opposing solicitor or the judge in court
• interested in people as those who come to them will often have problems and difficulties

Clients may be under great stress and solicitors have to listen patiently and bring matters to a sympathetic conclusion. They need a wide range of knowledge and understanding of people.

Do I need any additional skills?

In addition to legal knowledge, you must remember that a solicitor in private practice is essentially self-employed and faces responsibilities attached to running a business. It will be helpful in dealing with matters such as staff, premises, accounts, equipment and office systems if you are a good manager. In very large firms of solicitors there is often an office manager or a managing partner, but for most solicitors the responsibility of managing the practice and ensuring it complies with Law Society rules falls on their own shoulders.

The Regulations

The Admission as Solicitor (Scotland) Regulations 2001 are the relevant regulations for those seeking to qualify and requalify in Scotland.

The route to qualification

The present route to qualification will change in September 2011.  See our Education and Training Policy section of the website for full details. 

First stage: LLB degree (the Foundation Programme from September 2011)

It is possible to study for a Bachelor of Laws, or LLB, degree at ten Scottish universities. The LLB is offered as an ordinary degree, studied over three years, or an honours degree for which four years of study is required. Some universities offer a part-time LLB course or a two-year accelerated LLB for thsoe who have already completed a degree.

Admission requirements to the LLB are high. Each university will be able to offer you advice about its own admission requirements. The only preferred subject at Higher is English. Apart from this, students with a background in science and those who have studied modern languages and/or history, geography and modern studies are equally acceptable. If you wish to study law at university, you should make every effort to attend open days at the universities. This will help you make a more informed decision about where you wish to study. More detailed information about the content of the LLB can be obtained from the law schools at each of the universities.

Before embarking on a LLB, you should be aware that acceptance by a university law faculty does not guarantee future employment in the legal profession in Scotland, nor even a place in the vocational post-graduate Diploma in Professional Legal Practice. You should bear in mind that a law degree is a well respected qualification which can be used as a stepping stone to many careers. Think about other career opportunities which might be open to you with a law degree.

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Law Society examinations

In order to be eligible to sit the Law Society's examinations, a candidate must be in full-time employment as a pre-Diploma trainee with a qualified solicitor practising in Scotland. The pre-Diploma training contract lasts for three years during which time the trainee must receive training in the three prescribed areas of conveyancing, court work, and either trusts and executries or the legal work of a local authority. Further information about this qualification route is contained in our leaflet entitled Pre-Diploma training.  In depth information regarding the in-office training of pre-Diploma trainees can be found in our Guidelines.

Second stage: Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (professional education and training stage 1, or PEAT 1)

After completion of the LLB or professional examinations, all intending solicitors require to take the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice. This seven-month course can be taken in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Diploma course has been designed to teach the practical knowledge and skills necessary for the working life of a solicitor.

Although the course takes place at a university, much of the teaching is carried out by solicitors and its content is highly practical and skills-based. To gain admission to the Diploma course, entrants are required to obtain passes in the professional subjects in their LLB (or Law Society examinations). A good examination record is important as it is taken into account by the universities when they are considering applications for places on the Diploma in Legal Practice course.

The post-Diploma practical training, or traineeship (professional education and training stage 2, or PEAT 2

The two-year period of work-based training hones the trainee's knowledge, skills, attitudes and values in a working environment. This is the final stage in the route to qualification asa solicitor in Scotland. Traineeships can vary hugely depending on the type and size of the organisation but all trainees' work must reach a required standard.

Traineeships are available in many solicitors' offices, ranging in size, geographical location and type of practice. Most traineeships are in private practice but there are also opportunities in organisations that employ solicitors in-house. Some firms operate a rotational traineeship system allowing trainees to spend time in different departments, known as 'seats'. Others will involve you in different types of work while staying in one place. There are no prescribed areas of law that must be covered in a traineeship but all trainees must have substantive and relevant legal knowledge in order to successfully complete the traineeship.

All trainees are required to carry out 60 hours of continuing professional development, keeping a record of the traineeship through an online log and meeting on a quarterly basis with a supervising solicitor to assess progress and development needs.

With the consent of their employers, trainees may apply to the Law Society for permission to spend up to six months of their training in a European Union country.

Trainee solicitors are normally paid by their employers at a mutually agreed rate, based on salary scales recommended by the Law Society of Scotland. 

On successful completion of the traineeship, a trainee will have reached the standard of the qualifying solicitor.The training contract is discharged and the trainee is entitled to apply for a full practising certificate.