Trainee record broken again as strong growth continues

The record for the number of new Scottish solicitor traineeships has been broken for the third time in five years, underlining continuing strong growth for the legal sector in Scotland.

Law Society of Scotland data shows 796 new traineeships were commenced during the 2024-25 legal practice year through to the end of October.

Among the new traineeships:

• 73% were based in Edinburgh or Glasgow
• 33% were with smaller firms with 1-5 partners
• 28% were with larger firms with 31 partners or more
• 70% of new trainees were women, with 30% men

More than 3,800 traineeships have commenced in the past five years during a period of unprecedented growth for the solicitor profession in Scotland.

• 2023-24 – 764 traineeships
• 2022-23 – 765 traineeships
• 2021-22 – 788 traineeships (then a new record)
• 2020-21 – 744 traineeships (then a new record)

Law Society of Scotland President Patricia Thom said: “It’s great news to see nearly 800 talented people have begun training to become Scottish solicitors in the past year. The profession’s strong and sustained growth over the past five years has been phenomenal.

“Breaking the record for new trainee numbers three times in the past five years is a testament both to the health of Scotland’s legal sector and to the depth of talented people whose hard work and dedication leads them to securing a traineeship.

“These trainees are the future of our profession in Scotland, and the Law Society is committed to supporting them by maintaining high training standards and then ongoing development opportunities and assistance throughout their legal careers.

“The spread of traineeships by location and firm size reinforces the sector’s general good health. We are concerned that relatively fewer men are entering traineeships, mirroring the demographics of law students graduating, and believe this is an issue just as much as the continuing underrepresentation of women at partner level.”