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Solicitor, Scotland: Job description and activities

Job description

Solicitors and advocates in Scotland have very similar duties to their counterparts (solicitors and barristers) in England. However, Scotland has its own legal system, procedures and terminology. The Scottish legal profession, though much smaller than its English counterpart, has its own entry and training arrangements. Two-thirds of solicitors work in law firms, though in-house work is a growth area. Currently one third of solicitors work in-house in central and local government, banks and other commercial organisations. Solicitors advise clients (individual and corporate) on legal aspects of their personal and business affairs and conduct legal business and negotiations on their behalf.

Typical work activities

The range of work available to solicitors in Scotland is vast. Those providing legal services and advice to crofters and craft shops in local communities in the Highlands belong to the same profession as solicitors in the big city law firms, who count leading Scottish financial institutions among their corporate clients. In these same cities there are solicitors in other firms, working mainly with clients keen to be acquitted when they appear in the District and Sheriff Courts.

Nevertheless, almost all solicitors in practice in Scotland carry out many similar activities, which typically involve:

• receiving requests for legal advice and other help from clients and potential clients and deciding on the most appropriate responses to make to these requests;
• working out what needs to be done to solve a client’s problems;
• offering advice on the law, legal procedures and a wide range of associated issues;
• drawing up contracts, leases, wills and other legal documents;
• researching documents and case history to ensure accuracy of advice and procedures;
• dealing with the sale and purchase (conveyancing) of land, houses and commercial premises and with the registration of such transactions;
• checking all documentation thoroughly prior to signing and implementing;
• representing clients in tribunals and in District and Sheriff Courts;
• having rights of audience in the High Courts (solicitor-advocates only);
• instructing advocates to provide legal opinions and to represent clients in courts at any level;
• keeping up to date with changes in the law;
• supervising more junior members of the team, depending upon level of seniority;
• coordinating and supervising the work of other staff;
• attracting additional business from new and existing clients;
• reading journals and attending courses as part of continuing professional development (CPD);
• maintaining high standards of professional conduct while generating adequate practice income, ensuring that the fees earned sufficiently exceed total costs and expenses incurred.

AGCAS

Written by Rebecca Brown, AGCAS

Last updated:

June 2008

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