Applying For a Traineeship
Traineeships are available in many Scottish solicitors offices, ranging in size, geographical location and type of practice. Although most traineeships are in private practice, there are also opportunities in other organisations which employ solicitors in-house.
Entrance procedures to the profession of solicitor in Scotland are governed by the Admission as a Solicitor (Scotland) Regulations 2001, copies of which can be obtained from the Education and Training Department.
Before starting a traineeship, all intending trainees must complete an Application Form for an Entrance Certificate to enter into Post Diploma Training. This document must be submitted to the Society at least four weeks before the start date of training. A copy of the 'Entrance Certificate - Explanatory Notes and Application Form' can be viewed and downloaded using the link to the right of this page.
Together with the Entrance Certificate, the Society will send to you a standard training contract. This must be completed by the trainee and the firm and forwarded to the Society for registration within three months of the start of the training contract.
There is no foolproof way of securing a traineeship. Many of the large firms recruit future trainees during the undergraduate degree. However, nobody should be discouraged if they do not have a traineeship by the time that they graduate. Smaller firms are often unable to finalise recruitment plans far in advance and traineeship opportunities arise all the time.
Larger firms often market themselves in the universities. Others advise diploma units and careers services of vacancies. Some organisations advertise in the recruitment sections of newspapers. As some firms do not advertise training vacancies, it may be worth sending speculative letters. The White Book, published by Lexis/Nexis, includes details of all practising solicitors and their firms and employers.
Advice about how to prepare a CV and application is available from the careers office of your undergraduate university (even after you have graduated). The Society offers the following general advice:
- Research the firms to which you are applying and ensure that each application is tailored to that particular firm.
- Address the issue of what makes you stand out from everyone else with an LL.B. and Diploma.
- Be prepared to explain why a particular job is of interest to you
