Classroom to courtroom — New internship offers aspiring solicitors real-world legal aid criminal defence training

A new internship at Falkirk Public Defence Solicitors’ Office is giving law students real-world experience of legally aided criminal defence work, says the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s Carolyn McLeod.

Over the past two years we have been actively promoting the personal and professional rewards that a career in legally aided criminal defence work can offer.

Through a mixture of work-based learning opportunities – including shadowing and internships – we have given a growing number of law students first-hand insights into working in legally aided criminal defence. Learning from last year’s work-based learning initiative with the University of Strathclyde has helped to shape our approach.

The intention is to embed the appeal of criminal work at an earlier stage in aspiring solicitors’ development – and make a meaningful contribution to attracting talent into this critically important area of law.

The value of real-world experience

A report compiled after last year’s pilot internship at the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office (PDSO) Dundee underlined the value of law students getting hands-on experience of legal work and real-world exposure to the criminal justice system.

Following the success of this pilot, we have just welcomed a newly graduated law student to a six-week internship at Falkirk PDSO. After a rigorous assessment process, we were delighted to offer the post to James Calder, who is from Glasgow and graduated this summer from the University of Aberdeen with a Scots Law LLB degree.

He will be returning to Aberdeen in the autumn to complete the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice. James told us he was looking for experience opportunities for the summer, but said he didn’t want to apply to dozens of placements he wasn’t passionate about.

Encouragingly, we received 50 applications for this opportunity. Not only was the number of applications extremely healthy, the quality and strength of applicants was exceptional – setting a very high bar.

It was gratifying to see the level of competition, given our drive to raise interest in pursuing a career in criminal law.

Opportunities and engagement

The PDSO internships – and other work-based learning opportunities – provide an excellent route for law students to gain real-life insights into what is involved in the role of a criminal defence lawyer, supporting them to make informed decisions about their chosen career path.

Our approach to offering work-based learning is not only about the work of the PDSO. The hope is that our efforts will be of benefit to the wider criminal defence sector and will encourage a broader cohort of capable and enthusiastic individuals with a passion for justice to consider applying for criminal law opportunities, including trainee roles.

As has happened in the past, some of those we train will secure permanent positions within the PDSO; others will go on to positions in the private Bar and, in some cases, progress to setting up their own firms. Either way, our comprehensive and high-quality training will mean that they are ready to hit the ground running, upon being admitted as solicitors.

Our recent move to offering a Client Legal Services traineeship – which involves spending time with both the PDSO and our Civil Legal Assistance Office – will mean that our current cohort of trainees will have experience of both civil and criminal law, making them even better equipped to offer a holistic service to those who need it the most.

Internships, traineeships and roles for qualified solicitors based in various locations around Scotland are advertised on our website when vacancies arise. We are also committed to providing shadowing when capacity allows. Enquiries and requests can be made to: clstraining@slab.org.uk.

Written by Carolyn McLeod, Director of Client Legal Services, Scottish Legal Aid Board.