Careers advice for school pupils
It can be difficult for school pupils to imagine what life as a lawyer is really like. We can help by offering advice on how to find work experience at an early stage and giving pupils the opportunity to meet with law students and members of the legal profession through various careers events.
Attend one of our careers events for school pupils
Each year, we hold a week long summer school, at which pupils who are interested in studying law can meet and ask questions on legal careers. Pupils will also hear about the route to qualifying as a solicitor in Scotland and university entry requirements.
Our 2024 virtual event will be held in 24 - 27 June and if you are and S4 - LLB 2 student, you will be able to register shortly.
If you require any further information about our events or wish to register as a school's contact to receive further information, please contact our Careers team on careers@lawscot.org.uk.
We're passionate about helping young people make well-informed decisions regarding studying law and qualifying as a solicitor. Whilst we are no longer able to coordinate visits to schools by members of the legal profession, we can provide information packs including leaflets, posters and powerpoint presentations, if required.
If you're a teacher or a pupil and would like a member of the legal profession to visit your school to talk about studying law and being a solicitor, details of firms you can contact in your local area can be found via our Find a Solicitor tool.
Support Available
If you're a law student, trainee or solicitor and have been approached by a school to visit and talk about a career in law, we can provide a briefing pack and careers leaflets to assist with this.
Want to be a guest speaker?
When you were at school, did you wish you had received more information about studying law, what it was like to be a trainee, or what a solicitor does day to day? Are you interested in giving more information to young people currently thinking about their career choices? Do you still have contacts at your old school? If you are a law student, paralegal, trainee or solicitor and wish to be involved with visiting schools in your area, why not give them a call?
If you would like more information about any of the above, get in touch with Georgia Turnbull at careers@lawscot.org.uk.
This handbook is designed for pupils who are interested in studying law at university and those teachers who support them. It includes information on the route to qualification and where you can study the LLB degree.
Get an insight into the legal profession
As a school pupil, finding work experience within a legal setting is not an easy thing to do. There are however a few options we would recommend that you explore.
The law firms Morton Fraser, Pinsent Masons and DLA Piper run programmes specifically for school pupils to gain experience, so they may be a good place to start. A number of law firms across the UK also got together to help young people find high quality legal work experience. Prime is committed to improving fair access to the legal profession and offers aspiring young people from ordinary backgrounds an insight into and access to work experience within a legal context. Another project is the DLA Piper's Head Start programme, it aims to increase socioeconomic diversity in the legal profession by working directly with eligible students for three years and works with over 100 eligible students annually.
Many organisations do not advertise for work experience, so you'll need to be proactive and make direct contact with the firms. This will involve sending speculative applications via a well targeted CV and cover letter, so it is important to research the different law firms and organisations carefully before contacting them.
Finding firms
A helpful tool to use when deciding on where to apply for work experience is our online Find a Solicitor tool, which offers you the facility to search legal firms and organisations by area of work and geographical location. You can therefore filter the search by, for example, Edinburgh and all firms based in that location are displayed.
Don't worry if you are unable to secure legal work experience, there are also other ways to build your CV and any kind of work experience is going to be useful, as it starts to show you can work as part of a team and hold a position of responsibility.
If you are keen to work in a big firm e.g. Pinsent Masons, then it’s good to start thinking commercially from an early stage. For example, if you become part of a student society at university, try to get a role involving generating sponsorship, or organising an event perhaps with law firms, such as a networking event. These sorts of achievements will help you stand out. You may also think about volunteering at organisations that have a link to law, such as Age Scotland or Victim Support, though this is also something you can do during your degree. Again, in this role, even if you're not connected with law, then you could take on a position in a more commercial sense, for example being involved with fundraising or publicity in relation to a charity. Bigger law firms are looking for commercial acumen, so it’s a good idea to take this perspective when thinking about boosting your CV.
Head down to court
Another good idea is to simply go down to your local court to watch a few different cases – this will give you a chance to find out more about the work of a court solicitor, and also maybe even help you meet people working in the legal profession. The more contacts you can make from an early stage, the better!
Remember to study!
It's also important to remember that your academic results will be central to traineeship opportunities. While it’s great to build your CV, don’t forget to work hard for exams – recruiters typically look at your marks first and foremost.