Training Contract - Scotland

Pinsent Masons are proud to offer a 2-year programme for trainee lawyers, providing you with the opportunity to gain experience in a variety of practice areas and develop the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the legal profession. Our training contract is designed to provide you with a solid foundation for your future career, and includes mentoring, training, and support to help you reach your full potential.

Candidates typically make applications 2 years in advance of the programme.

Applications open: Monday 2 September 2024
Applications close: Wednesday 18 December 2024
Programme start: September 2027
Programme duration: 2 years

Requirements -

• 120 UCAS points or above from your Scottish Highers or equivalent.
• 2:1 degree or above already gained or predicted to achieve.

Candidates must also meet one of the following:

• You have reached the penultimate year of a LLB in Scots Law or beyond.
• You have completed a non-law degree and are now in the 1st or 2nd year of your accelerated LLB in Scots Law or beyond.

If you don’t meet the above criteria but there are mitigating circumstances that explain why you’ve failed to meet the minimum academic requirements, there’s an opportunity for you to include this information in your registration form.

Our Trainees salaries are subject to review on an annual basis. The salary rates as of August 2024 are as follows:

Scotland:

- 1st year: £32,000
- 2nd year: £34,500
- Upon qualification: £63,000

What we’re looking for:

A focus on detail – With a conscientious approach, you’ll have the ability to read and absorb large amounts of reference material and spot errors quickly. Detail is important when it comes to your own writing too, ensuring it’s always clear and accurate.

An interest in business – We’re a purpose-led, professional services firm, with law at the core, so you’ll have a genuine interest in how business works. That means keeping up-to-date with the latest business issues, as well as appreciating how legal expertise can support and steer commercial organisations.

Intellectual capability – You have the intellectual curiosity to explore new approaches and ask others’ opinions. With an analytical approach, you think things through and weigh up the implications, but also have the capacity to think on your feet to find solutions.

Open – You’ll be approachable, confident and comfortable engaging with people from different backgrounds and experiences to your own. Whether you’re communicating with colleagues or clients, you’ll understand the need to adapt your approach to suit your audience.

Drive – You’ll need to have a genuine passion for excellence, and the drive, determination and positivity to go above and beyond to achieve your goals. With a proactive mindset, you’re always ready to learn from your feedback, so you can improve your performance in the future.

Personal responsibility - You understand that taking responsibility for your successes and acknowledging when things go wrong will help you to continually improve and achieve your career aims. When you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses, you inspire others to trust your skills.

Positive impact – With the confidence to express your own opinions and assert your point of view when necessary, you’ll be a compelling and persuasive communicator. You will be comfortable seeking assistance when needed which will further demonstrate your self-awareness.

Organisation - You have a clear sense of what is important and track your progress towards achieving your goals. By being organised and planning and managing your work effectively, you ensure that you always produce high-quality work on time.

We're committed to hiring the most talented people, regardless of your background. That's why we'll cover your postgraduate legal education tuition fees and offer you a fair maintenance grant. Applicants for our Scottish offices must undertake their Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (DPLP) prior to commencing their Training Contract.

The below shows our application process for this programme:

Registration – create an account on our application platform.

Application – tell us about yourself, your academic achievements and your employment history where applicable. We gather further information about you to support our contextualised recruitment approach.

Online blended assessment – The next step is to complete our online blended assessment. This incorporates situational judgement questions, a case study and the recording of two short video responses. The variety of tasks allows us to see how well you perform in different scenarios.

Assessment centre – Candidates who perform strongly across their application and online blended assessment will be invited to book a place at one of our in-person assessment centres. You will complete three exercises over the day, including a one-to-one interview, a business simulation exercise and a case study.

Outcome – We will communicate the outcome of your application as soon as we can. All candidates will receive feedback on their application, which we hope will be valuable regardless of your outcome.

The NQ hiring process is centrally coordinated and involves interviews and technical skills tests. Our Graduate Development team collaborate with the business to determine which roles are available and distribute a list. You’ll be able to submit an application for a small number of vacancies across the firm’s office network. The result will depend on your performance at assessment and throughout your training contract. This gives you every opportunity to advance your career in your preferred area of law.