The UK's official graduate careers website

Login to My Prospects

Not a member yet? Join now
 

Search site
 

Solicitor, Scotland : Salary and conditions

More in this section

  1. Job description
  2. Salary and conditions
  3. Entry requirements
  4. Training
  5. Career development
  6. Employers and vacancy …
  7. Related jobs

Print all pages in this section

Case studies

  • The Law Society of Scotland recommends that trainee solicitors be paid £15,500 in the first year of their traineeship and £18,500 in the second. Some of the larger commercial law firms are known to pay trainees significantly higher salaries (salary data collected April 2010).
  • Newly qualified solicitors may expect to be paid up to £25,000 if they work for a small firm and about £30,000 or more if working for one of the larger commercial firms in Edinburgh or Glasgow. Often the salary is quoted as negotiable or dependent on experience. Five years after qualifying, solicitors may earn from £30,000 to £65,000. Experienced solicitors earn from £35,000 a year and can earn over £100,000 a year (salary data collected April 2010).
  • Solicitors who enter the profession in their early 20s usually become partners well before they are 40, but many firms struggle to win profitable work and not all partners have high incomes.
  • In corporate and commercial law firms, where salaries are usually higher, trainees and solicitors should be prepared for long, unpredictable hours.
  • Long and unpredictable hours tend to be less common in smaller firms and the public sector, but cannot be ruled out completely.
  • It may be possible to negotiate part-time contracts, although this will vary from firm to firm.
  • Taking a career break is perceived, particularly by women in private practice, as detrimental to career progression.
  • It can be difficult to cope with the competing pressures of work and family responsibilities, particularly in corporate and commercial practices.
  • Solicitors usually work in comfortable well-equipped offices with good IT provision, libraries and secretarial support, although conditions vary.
  • As of May 2008, about 40% of practising solicitors in Scotland were women. This percentage is expected to top 50% by 2011. This gender balance has yet to be reflected in equity partners in private practice.
  • Most solicitors tend to work mainly in or near their own offices, although you must be prepared to visit clients, attend business meetings, go to consultations with advocates, and attend court hearings as appropriate.
  • Work is available throughout Scotland, though most opportunities, particularly commercial and corporate, are located in the central belt and the larger cities.
  • Opportunities (and a requirement) to travel frequently and more extensively, e.g. between offices in various parts of Scotland, to London, or to overseas offices, tend to arise only in some of the larger firms.
 
AGCAS
Written by AGCAS editors
Date: 
May 2010
© Copyright AGCAS & Graduate Prospects Ltd | Disclaimer
 
 
 

This website is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with CSS enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets if you are able to do so.