Blog: Career development and volunteering at the Law Society

We are of most value to you and wider society when our members join in and contribute to what we do. And it’s not just for our benefit! These are valuable opportunities and experiences that can help boost your career.

Become a mentor

Mentoring is a great skill to have and is really beneficial for both mentors and mentees. Solicitors and trainees from all areas of practice and at all stages of their careers are welcome to join our career mentoring scheme. We provide all the training you’ll need to become a mentor.

The programme provides an important opportunity for mentees to call on the experience and knowledge of more senior people in the legal profession, and our mentors are finding it equally valuable. The training helps to develop leadership and management skills and conversations with mentees often result in new and fresh perspectives, while at the same time providing insight and expertise.

Find out more about the career mentoring scheme

We’re also looking for mentors for our TCPD programme and opportunities to mentor students as part of the newly launched Lawscot Foundation (more about this later…) will be announced next year.

Fundraise for the Lawscot Foundation

We recently established the Lawscot Foundation, a charity which will help academically talented students from less advantaged backgrounds in Scotland through their legal education journey. It will offer financial assistance, mentoring and other support to students during the law degree (LLB) stage, right through the diploma in professional legal practice.

As with any new charity, our focus at the moment is raising funds and anything you can do to help – whether that’s contributing your time, expertise or financial support – will be greatly appreciated.

Does your organisation or firm nominate a staff charity each year? Are you hosting an event or a raffle? Do you think your colleagues would be willing to donate to charity in exchange for cake? All ideas and donations are welcome, so feel to get in touch - email hello@lawscotfoundation.org.uk or visit the website to find out more.

Judge a school debate

Every year we organise and run Scotland’s biggest annual debating competition for schools – the Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament. The various rounds take place in schools across Scotland and we’re always looking for volunteers to help judge in local heats.

You don’t have to have debating experience to lend a hand, but an interest in debating is always welcome! It’s a great experience to see the quality of arguments put forward by Scotland’s school pupils on a range of topical issues and we invite all our volunteers to attend the national final in the Scottish Parliament’s Debating Chamber in June.

Find out more about the debating tournament

Join one of our committees

As well as the Law Society Council, our key decision-making body, there are a multitude of committees made up of volunteers from the Scottish legal profession and beyond. These include our regulatory committees - which play a vital public interest role - and other supporting committees, who advise on a huge range of topics and projects, from access to justice to trusts and succession.

Our policy committees scrutinise legislation emanating from the Scottish, UK and European parliaments. They help to shape the laws you work with every day and joining one of our committees would give you the opportunity to help ensure that any new law which is passed is technically sound and workable in practice

Chances to represent your colleagues and peers on our committees come up three times a year on the committee vacancies page. It’s a great opportunity to expand your network, influence key decisions and help us to support you and your fellow solicitors.

The next committee recruitment round opens early November. If you would like to be alerted to newly-advertised positions, please email davidcullen@lawscot.org.uk.

Get in touch

We really rely on our members and other volunteers to deliver some of our most valuable work. So, if you are interested in getting involved or have other ideas you think we should be considering, let us know!