For any legal job, you need to be careful, logical and accurate. You should have a good memory and be able to think quickly.

The most recent figures show that there are at least 25,000 legal services professionals in Scotland, including 12,200 practising solicitors, 450 practising advocates and around 350 practising solicitor advocates. The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service employs over 1,800 people in roles that support the legal system, including court officers and administrative assistants and officers.

What areas can I work in?

Sectors in this career area include professional law, legal support services and patent work.

There is a range of jobs at different levels, from administrative posts such as court officer, through to professional roles such as solicitor or patent attorney.

Law degrees are also suitable for employment in other career areas, for example business management.

To see the routes to getting into each of these sectors, take a look at our Career Pathway.

What kind of companies can I work for?

Companies you may work for include:

• legal firms
• the Scottish Court Service
• the Civil Service
• local government
• Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)
• Faculty of Advocates
• public bodies, such as the Citizens' Advice Bureau.

What’s the job market like?

According to Prospects and AGCAS, 44.6% of law graduates from the academic year 2018/19 went on to full time employment within 15 months of graduating. 44.8% of those found employment in legal, social or welfare roles. Of those graduating, 12.9% went on to further study. The main legal professions require law graduates to complete further study before qualifying, which explains the fairly high percentage for further study. 

The numbers of practising solicitors are expected to rise by 5.8% between 2022 and 2027, according to EMSI UK data. This, coupled with the increasing use of paralegals, legal executives and technicians, indicate that the legal sector in Scotland is still thriving with possible growth in the future.

Competition for traineeships to become a solicitor is strong.

Facts and figures

• Following the pandemic the Scottish Government has announced a £50 million to support the recovery of Scottish courts. From September 2021, 16 additional criminal courts will be launched - 4 High Courts, 2 solemn Sheriff Courts and up to 10 summary Sheriff Courts. This additional capacity will provide support to clear the backlog of cases by 2025.
• The legal sector contributes up to £1.7 billion to the Scottish economy.
• Over half of the solicitors working in private practice in Scotland work in firms with 10 or fewer partners.
• There were 43,632 civil law cases initiated across the sheriff courts in Scotland in 2020-21 - a 41% decrease from the previous year.

Want to find out more?

The Law Society of Scotland website has an Education and Careers section with lots of useful information.

The Scottish Paralegal Association website has information on qualifying in this area.

Sources

• What do graduates do? Prospects in association with AGCAS (2020/21)
• Competition and Markets Authority - Legal Services in Scotland Report (March 2020)
• Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21) (March 2020)
• Legal Services in Scotland, The Law Society of Scotland (March 2020)
• Law Careers, All About Law (July 2022)
• Civil Justice Statistics, Scottish Government (April 2022)

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Career Pathway