Criminal law career appetite remains

Introducing students to the rewards of a career in criminal law

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.

PDSO is part of the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s (SLAB’s) Client Legal Services directorate, which also includes the Civil Legal Assistance Office (CLAO) and the Solicitor Contact Line (SCL).

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. However, PDSO can offer law students valuable practical experience in two specific ways: work-based learning and internships.

Gaining practical experience

From January to March this year, three diploma students from the University of Strathclyde have been participating in work-based learning across PDSO offices in Ayr, Edinburgh, Falkirk and Glasgow.

This has provided each student with eight days’ experience of shadowing PDSO defence practitioners in their daily work. They’ve gained first-hand insights into working in legally aided criminal defence.

Building on the PDSO’s aim to open students’ minds to careers in criminal law, the first diploma intern was also welcomed by its Dundee office in March. This paid role offers six months’ experience of working part-time in a busy criminal defence practice.

The students have been completing reflective journals to help shape future programmes. Crucially, their feedback also provides a more nuanced understanding of the perceptions that may be dissuading law students from considering a career in criminal defence. Earning potential is undoubtedly a factor, particularly when compared with other legal specialisms.

Discovering rewarding work

However, from their ‘coal-face’ experience, participants have identified many compelling aspects to criminal defence work of which they would have otherwise been unaware.

Notable observations include the positive impact that defence solicitors can have on the lives of their clients, the interesting and varied workload and the professional camaraderie in court settings.

Participants’ feedback provides some highlights and emphasises the value of this programme:

“This first-hand exposure has bolstered my confidence and enthusiasm, particularly in considering a potential traineeship that incorporates criminal defence aspects. There’s a lot of stigma around criminal law…[the work placement experience] definitely opened my eyes to why criminal lawyers are necessary and why people need someone there for them.”

The work experience has also changed participants’ understanding of criminal work:

“Obviously I’ve only been here for a day a week for the last eight weeks but the one thing that criminal law has over every aspect of law – I’ve seen conveyancing being done, I’ve seen immigration being done and commercial work – is that the work is amazing.

“If more students knew about that it would change their entire perspective about criminal work. Unless they are really money hungry.”

And the exposure to daily court work has given them an insight not obtained through their studies:

“It’s been a huge jump from university going into the courts. Strathclyde is quite advanced in that they do things quite differently from other diplomas. There’s a lot more practical work. But this is a big change. It’s definitely changed my view on what type of law I want to pursue a career in.”

Feedback is also being gathered from the current intern based within PDSO Dundee.

Learning gained will inform and help to structure future initiatives, including plans to create traineeships that provide experience of both criminal and civil legal aid work.

Encouraging entrants in the field 

This new approach is not only about the work of the PDSO. We hope that the time invested in these schemes will be of benefit to the wider criminal defence sector by encouraging more students to consider applying for job opportunities, including trainee roles.

It is hoped that targeting a small amount of funding to expose students to the practicalities of criminal law will encourage upcoming solicitors to consider becoming highly trained criminal practitioners, helping to build a future generation of specialists in this field.

We also see PDSO and CLAO as having a useful role in providing sound training for solicitors to then choose their own professional pathways. Traineeships and vacancies for practising solicitors based in various locations around Scotland are advertised on our website when they arise.

As has happened in the past, some of our trainees will choose to enter the employment market as newly qualified solicitors, ready to hit the ground running. Some of PDSO and CLAO’s experienced solicitors have also gone on to create their own firms or to join other firms.

Looking at the bigger picture, we recognise the challenges for SLAB – including PDSO – and the profession in working with a dated and inflexible legal aid system and the importance of making progress with the next stages of legal aid reform. We will continue to consider what else we can do to support the profession while we work with the Government, the profession and other stakeholders to explore options for legal aid reform.

If you wish to find out more about the work of Client Legal Services, please get in touch.

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