Client Legal Services: traineeships, work-based learning and support

At CLS we offer traineeships and work-based learning experience.

We understand that access to the workplace during – and after – your legal studies is a valuable way to gain insight into your prospective career, inform your future aspirations and provide experience to help you to achieve your early career goals.

With that in mind, we have established opportunities for law students – and those who have completed their studies – to learn through internships and work-based learning, including the shadowing of our solicitors at court and in the office.

These initiatives also offer scope to build connections which can be used to provide support and advice while transitioning into the workplace.

We see PDSO and CLAO as having a useful role in providing sound training for future solicitors to equip them with skills and insights to choose professional pathways which match their personal and professional aims.

As Scotland’s largest provider of legally aided advice and representation, the CLS directorate is in an excellent position to offer experience of civil and criminal law.

Recognising our unique position, we recently introduced a new traineeship in both civil and criminal law.

CLS trainees split their time principally between CLAO and PDSO, joining other SLAB directorates for shorter placements to learn more about the operation of the wider legal aid system.

It is expected that this multi-disciplinary traineeship programme will open up a wider range of post-qualifying career opportunities for solicitors, both in SLAB and in the wider legal profession.

Media coverage: See an article on our traineeships in the Law Society of Scotland’s Journal – SLAB trainee solicitors embark on new-look civil-criminal traineeships

The Public Defence Solicitors’ Office (PDSO) is taking steps to promote the personal and professional rewards that a career in legally aided criminal defence work can offer.

The aim is to help attract talent into this critically important area of law, which can fundamentally change clients’ lives for the better.

Making criminal work appealing to young solicitors is undoubtedly a challenge given the increasingly negative view of legally aided criminal defence work over recent years, with two recurring themes being salary and the workload/work-life balance.

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 we have given a growing number of law students first-hand insights into working in legally aided criminal defence.

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.

PDSO can offer law students valuable practical experience in two specific ways:

• shadowing – shadowing PDSO defence practitioners in their daily work gives participants first-hand insights into working in legally aided criminal defence
  • media coverage: Criminal law career appetite remains
• internships – hands-on experience of legal work and real-world exposure to the criminal justice system
  • report: Report positive on benefits of PDSO internship
  • media coverage: Classroom to courtroom — New internship offers aspiring solicitors real-world legal aid criminal defence training

CLAO is involved in work aimed at increasing access to legal advice and representation through referrals, second tier advice, training, and casework.

• news: CLAO solicitors showcase breadth of casework and expertise in LSA CPD sessions

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.