Lawscot Trainee CPD

The Lawscot Trainee CPD programme has been completed by over 600 trainees since 2019 and is highly recommended by past participants. 

A previous delegate said: 

"I found the TCPD training to be a highly valuable and engaging experience. The programme offered a well-structured overview of key areas relevant to early-stage legal professionals, and I particularly appreciated the practical focus throughout. Topics such as professional ethics, client care, and risk management were especially insightful, as they provided real-world context that I could immediately relate to my current role."

Each of our modules are interactive, provided by professionals in their field and based off experiences that trainees can apply to their own day-to-day working. Sessions include working with Anti-Money Laundering and Data Protection specialists; Law Society of Scotland teams such as Professional Practice and Professional Conduct; and experts in topics such as Trauma-Informed Law and Legal Technology.

Find out more about our range of trainers here - Meet the team | Law Society of Scotland

Our TCPD programme equips trainees for the ever-evolving legal landscape with modules and workshops designed to promote forward-thinking and creative solutions. Regardless of if they are private practice or in-house, trainees can select a range of training depending on interests and specialisations. Our programme empowers trainees with the skills needed to thrive in the future of law, with topics including: Legal technology and AI; Trauma aware law; Commerciality; and Plain English for Effective Communication.

Our Lawscot Trainee CPD package, valued at £2,080 + VAT, can be purchased for only £1,155 + VAT. This price includes 40 hours of live training chosen from the modules below, allowing trainees to meet the 40 authorised CPD hours required. In addition, access to 20 hours of live and on-demand non-authorised training from our regular CPD event programme is offered free of charge. This means that the package allows trainees to complete their full TCPD requirements in one affordable and easy bundle.

This comprehensive programme ensures trainees cover all PEAT 2 competencies, allowing them to meet all regulatory requirements. The PEAT 2 Outcomes are learning outcomes set out by the Society and encompass Professionalism; Professional communication; Professional ethics and standards; and Business, commercial and practice awareness. Substantive and relevant legal knowledge underpins all of the PEAT 2 Outcomes.

There can be viewed here - PEAT 2 Outcomes | Law Society of Scotland

Excelling as a solicitor doesn’t just require a firm grasp of the law – trainees will also need to be adept at building productive working relationships, organising workload and developing their commercial sense and risk awareness. These skills aren’t easily picked up in the lecture theatre or by reading a textbook: most will be improved through day-to-day work. This module will encourage trainees to reflect on their strengths and areas for development, to set achievable goals, to reflect upon past successes and failures, and to plan for the future.

This training day includes expert-led sessions on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Wellbeing and Legal Technology, as well as an interactive workshop focusing on problem-solving and presentation skills.

• Training day (7 hours)

• Independent learning (3 hours)

It is imperative that solicitors maintain the highest ethical standards, and as such professional ethics is a mandatory component of trainee CPD. This module must be taken between the 9th and 24th months of a traineeship and will fulfil the required professional ethics and standards PEAT 2 outcomes.

Trainees will gain insight into issues that can arise from client confidentiality and conflicts of interest, and this is emphasised by preparation and participation in an ethical debate led by a senior solicitor from the Professional Practice team at the Law Society. Experts in Anti-Money Laundering and Data Protection also lead the trainees through presentations and exercises that require critical thinking and practical application of professional ethics.

• Pre-reading (1 hour)
• Professional ethics training day (7 hours)
• Reflective essay (2 hours)

Learning to communicate effectively with clients and solicitors is a key part of a trainee's development. This module is intended to to hone skills in this area, including conducting negotiations with other solicitors and interviewing clients.

This module is led by senior solicitors from the Professional Conduct team at the Law Society of Scotland and supported by external actors who are cast as clients. During the training day, which is centred around our specially selected case study, we try to create a real-life environment where trainees conduct client-solicitor interviews and participate in negotiations with opposing legal teams. 

• Preparation: case study familiarisation (1.5 hours)
• Training day (7 hours)
• Independent work: write client letter and reflective essay (1.5 hours)

This module will focus on developing a trainees commercial knowledge and their ability to lead and manage. In a series of sessions and practical exercises led by Chief Operating Offices from Balfour & Manson, Scott Foster, trainees will be placed in a management role at a law firm and confronted by dilemmas that will test their judgement and risk awareness.

This module will focus on developing understanding of internal and external business contexts and allow trainees to begin to foster a more cohesive sense of their environment and understand the bigger picture of a law firm. Relevant issues such as time management, risk, and regulatory and fiscal frameworks will also be addressed.

• Preparation: case study familiarisation (1.5 hours)

• Training day (7 hours)

• Independent work: responding to client letter of complaint and reflective write-up (1.5 hours)

An O Shaped lawyer is well-rounded, an expert not only in the law, but also people centred, emotionally intelligent, focused on growth (both personally and professionally), and adaptable to change. All of these skills are essential for modern-day lawyers to generate value for their clients and colleagues.

This module will develop a trainees understanding of the mindset, attributes and skills of an O Shaped Legal Professional, and their potential for both personal development, and interactions with colleagues and clients. This will be achieved through a series of trainer-led sessions and practical activities. Trainees will be able to reflect on their current mindset, skills and attributes, and evaluate how these can best be developed to achieve their personal and business goals.

• Preparation: familiarisation materials (1 hour)
• Training day (7 hours)
• Independent work: developing a target case study and development plan for application of O Shaped attributes (2 hours)

Plain English enables you to get your meaning across clearly and concisely to your audience, with the necessary impact and the most suitable ‘tone of voice’. Whether you are writing conventional letters, reports or proposals, or using electronic media, the principles are the same. Plain English will enable you to convey the same message using fewer words, which enables the reader to grasp your message faster and, incidentally, uses less paper or electronic storage space.

By the end of the workshop, delegates will:

• Be able to write in a Plain English style in all documents

• Express ideas more clearly, concisely and interestingly to the reader

• Organise and structure information more effectively

• Be more aware of their writing style

• Learn some techniques on time management and personal effectiveness

• Overall, feel more confident about their ability to project a professional image of themselves and their organisation through their writing style.

The hours for this module are:

• Training day (3 hours)

• Independent work following training day (2 hours)

Please note that this must be taken in conjunction with module 7 if selected as part of the package.

Trainees on this course will gain a theoretical and practical understanding of trauma and how it impacts behaviour in ourselves and other people, including tools and strategies to help.

Course aims:

• Develop an awareness of the perceived threats and risks a person may associate with authority figures

• Explore recent case study examples where a trauma-informed approach has been applied successfully

• Understand triggers and how to prevent/repair relational rupture in helping role

• Learn tools and practices to effectively relate and respond to those dealing with trauma

• Learn about vicarious resilience, understanding the dynamic of post traumatic growth 

Please note that this must be taken in conjunction with module 6 if selected as part of the package.

Trainees will also have complimentary access (up to a total of 20 hours) to our live conferences and seminars and on-demand CPD (excluding certification and essential skills courses), allowing you to make up the remaining 20 hours of unauthorised TCPD.

Our 2026 modules are available to book now.

Dates in bold will be held in-person at the Law Society of Scotland's offices in Edinburgh.

Dates marked with * are fully subscribed.

Our 2027 modules are available to book now.

Dates in bold will be held in-person at the Law Society of Scotland's offices in Edinburgh.

Dates marked with * are fully subscribed.