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

As of May 2025 there was 14,900 legal professionals in Scotland, down from 16,800 in March 2024¹, including over 700 accredited paralegals. ² The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service employs around 1,900 people across 50 locations in Scotland in roles that support the legal system, including court officers and administrative assistants and officers. ³

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, 53.4% of law graduates from the academic year 2021/22 went on to full time employment within 15 months of graduating. 45.5% of those found employment in legal, social or welfare roles. Of those graduating, 9.4% went on to further study. A further 15.4% continued to study whilst working. ⁴
 The Law Society of Scotland currently has over 13,000 members.⁵ The number of trainee solicitors in Scotland as of 31 October 2024 was 764 and in 2023 there were 759 newly admitted solicitors, an increase from 622 in 2022. ⁵

Facts and figures

• The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) represent the interests of over 4,600 practising patent attorneys and other intellectual property professionals. ⁶
• As of 2023, 58% of practising solicitors were female. ⁵
• As of the end of March 2024, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) employed 2,373 full time staff. They also had 59 trainee solicitors and 42 Modern Apprentices. ⁷
• There were 60,943 civil law cases initiated across the Court of Session and Sheriff Courts in 2022-23. This represents an increase of 13% from 2021-22. ⁸

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

¹ Annual Population Survey - Occupation by sex, employment status and full/part-time -  Scotland, NOMIS (May 2025)

² Accredited Paralegal Roundup: Reflecting on the year (Laura McBain), The Law Society of Scotland (11 December 2024)

³ People Strategy 2024-2028, Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (2024)\

⁴ What do graduates do? Prospects (part of Jisc) and AGCAS (2024/25) 

⁵ The Law Society of Scotland Annual Report 2024

⁶ The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) website (May 2025)

⁷ Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) Annual Report 2024 (September 2024)

⁸ Safer Communities and Justice Statistics, Scottish Government (April 2025) 

Video

Career Pathway