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Solicitor

Regulators
  • Law Society of Scotland
Nations
  • Scotland
Sectors
  • Law

Regulatory or professional bodies

Primary regulator

Regulatory authority
Law Society of Scotland
Address

Level 2, Atria One
Edinburgh
EH3 8EX

Email address
lawscot@lawscot.org.uk
Phone number
+44 (0)1312 267 411

Regulation

Regulation summary

The Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 appoints the Law Society of Scotland as the sole regulator of Scottish solicitors. It also makes it a criminal offence to pretend to be a Scottish solicitor or to carry out certain types of Scottish legal work known as the reserved activities detailed below.

Regulation type

Licence

Reserved activities

Preparation of any document relating to:
• heritable or moveable estate,
• any action or proceedings in any court or
• any papers on which to found or oppose an application for a grant of
confirmation in favour of executors
See Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 for details

Protected titles

Solicitor

More about regulated activities and titles
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/46/section/32

Qualifications and experience

New professionals

Routes to qualification

A link to information on the routes to qualification as a solicitor are set out under" More about qualification" below.

Professionals from other UK nations

Routes to recognition within the UK

All Scottish solicitors need to meet "fit and proper" requirements. There are three basic routes to qualify as a Scottish solicitor:
• the standard route - four years at a Scottish university completing an LLB degree in law , and a fifth year completing a diploma in professional legal practice at a university recognized for the purpose by the Law Society of Scotland, followed by a two year traineeship approved by the Law Society of Scotland
• the accelerated LLB [for postgraduates] route - two years at a Scottish university completing an LLB degree in law , and a third year completing a diploma in professional legal practice at a university recognized for the purpose by the Law Society of Scotland, followed by a two year traineeship approved by the Law Society of Scotland
• the alternative to university route - which involves a 3 year pre-training contract in conjunction with Law Society exams and a fourth year completing a diploma in professional legal practice at a university recognized for the purpose by the Law Society of Scotland, followed by a two year traineeship approved by the Law Society of Scotland

Professionals from outside the UK

Recognition for professionals outside the UK
All - there are routes to recognition for professionals from all countries
Summary of routes

All Scottish solicitors need to meet "fit and proper" requirements. All solicitors requalifying from another jurisdiction can apply to undertake the Qualified Lawyers Assessment. This is a universal set of exams, which will attract various exemptions for solicitors already qualified in certain countries.


Registration

Registration requirements

You must declare your status and compliance with rules annually and pay fees. See our website for current
Rules
https://www.lawscot.org.uk/members/rules-and-guidance/rules-and-guidance/


Legislation

Title of relevant act or charter

Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980

Licence Finder

You may need licences and permits to carry out certain activities in the UK. These are called authorisations. Use the licence finder to find what you need.