SLAB trainee solicitors embark on new-look Civil-Criminal traineeships

Our Client Legal Services (CLS) Directorate have today welcomed three trainee solicitors who will be the first intake to benefit from a new traineeship in both civil and criminal law.

The trio, Michael Addley, Taylor May and Rebecca Tennant, join Christina Cummings who took up her traineeship post in September last year.

They follow eight others, all of whom successfully completed their traineeships and secured solicitor roles within CLS’s Civil Legal Assistance Office (CLAO) and Public Defence Solicitors’ Office (PDSO) networks. Of these, seven still remain with CLS.

As Scotland’s largest provider of legally aided advice and representation, the CLS directorate is in an excellent position to offer experience of civil and criminal law.

The new CLS trainees will split their time principally between the Civil Legal Assistance Office (CLAO) and the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office (PDSO), joining other SLAB directorates for shorter placements to learn more about the operation of the wider legal aid system.

It is expected that this multi-disciplinary training programme will open up a wider range of post-qualifying career opportunities, both in SLAB and in the wider profession.

Providing first-hand exposure to different areas of law also has the aim of supporting this trainee group to make more fully informed career decisions in future.

Critically, this new-look traineeship will contribute to CLS directorate’s aspirations for holistic service delivery, recognising that many clients can have multiple legal issues across civil and criminal law.

Knowledge gained during the CLS traineeship will equip this trailblazing cohort to span the gap which can often exist between the provision of criminal and civil advice and representation, meaning they will be well-placed to offer a rounded service to those most in need.

If you would like to find out more about career or shadowing opportunities within CLS directorate, please contact Carolyn McLeod, Director of Client Legal Services, at mcleodca@slab.org.uk.

Last year’s Journal of the Law Society of Scotland article provides further context.