The COPFS Legal Traineeship is a two-year programme that provides the practical experience and professional development required to qualify as a solicitor in Scotland.
You’ll work alongside experienced prosecutors, gain advocacy experience in court, develop legal decision-making skills and support the delivery of justice across Scotland.
The programme combines structured learning, professional supervision and hands-on legal work in one of Scotland’s most unique legal environments.
Why Choose COPFS?
Court experience from an early stage
Develop your advocacy skills through direct exposure to court proceedings and prosecutorial justice across Scotland.
Work that matters
Your role and the work you do will directly support victims, witnesses and communities whilst contributing to the fair administration of justice across Scotland.
Unparalleled variety
You will gain experience across criminal law, appeals, serious and organised crime, policy development, deaths investigations and other specialist legal areas.
Structured development
You will be supervised by legal professionals who will mentor you and provide learning opportunities throughout your Traineeship.
Key Benefits
Alongside a unique legal training experience, you'll benefit from a range of employment, wellbeing and development opportunities including:
- Competitive trainee salary
- Generous annual leave entitlement
- Civil Service Pension
- Learning and development opportunities
- Employee wellbeing support
For more information, please see our Benefits and Wellbeing page.
What will I do?
During your Traineeship you can expect to gain exposure and experience in the following activities:
- Reviewing evidence and case materials
- Conducting legal research in relation to live casework
- Preparing cases for court
- Drafting legal documents and submissions
- Attending and observing court proceedings
- Working directly with COPFS prosecutors
- Engaging with criminal justice partners across Scotland
- Supporting decision making in complex and sensitive cases
Understanding the nature of the role
As a Legal Trainee you may regularly work with material that some individuals may find distressing or challenging. It is important that you fully understand this aspect of the role before applying.
During your time as a Legal Trainee, you may be required to view or access evidence or materials such as:
- Victim and witness statements detailing traumatic events including deaths
- Crime scene photographs
- Medical and forensic reports
- CCTV and digital footage
- Audio recordings
Understanding the Traineeship structure
A two-year programme
The Legal Traineeship is designed to provide the practical experience and professional development required to qualify as a solicitor in Scotland.
The first six months
You can expect to undertake a placement within one of COPFS’s specialist legal teams, primarily based in Edinburgh.
The final eighteen months
You will move to one of our Local Court offices, where you will develop practical experience and gain a detailed understanding of the Procurator Fiscal role and the criminal justice system.
Beyond the Traineeship
Successful completion of the programme provides a strong foundation for a legal career within COPFS and the wider legal profession.
Location Expectations
The Legal Traineeship is a national programme.
If you are successful in being appointed to the Traineeship you must be willing and able to:
- Be based in Edinburgh for the first six months
- Undertake placements anywhere in Scotland for the remainder of the Traineeship
- Travel where required to meet business needs
Please note that you will have an opportunity to provide your location preferences in the application form and these will be considered during appointment process. It’s important to note that where you select a preference should reflect where in Scotland you are able to work, placements will be allocated according to operational requirements.
Traineeship Seats
Throughout the course of your Traineeship, you may be allocated seats within service areas such as:
- Summary or Sherriff and Jury prosecutions
- High Court casework
- Domestic Abuse
- Sexual Offences
- Serious and Organised Crime
- Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry
- Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit
- Policy and Engagement
- International Co-operation Unit
- Civil Recovery and Proceeds of Crime
These key areas will provide you with opportunities to develop your advocacy skills, decision making and case management abilities across some of Scotland's most complex and significant legal work.
Career Pathways
Successful completion of our Legal Traineeship will equip you with the skills required to become a solicitor in Scotland.
Many former Trainees have progressed into permanent legal roles across COPFS, including specialist prosecution, advocacy and leadership positions.
Diversity and Inclusion
We are committed to building a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process.
Please see our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy page for more information.
Entry requirements
In order to apply for our Legal Traineeship, you must satisfy the following requirements:
- An LLB in Scots Law (or equivalent qualification incorporating Scots Law)
- A Diploma in Professional Legal Practice
- An Entrance Certificate from the Law Society of Scotland
How to apply
We recruit for our legal traineeship once a year, usually in Autumn. Keep an eye on our current vacancies page for the next intake. You should also be able to save an alert to keep you notified on new vacancies that are posted.
COPFS uses Success Profiles as its recruitment framework. When you apply for a traineeship with COPFS you will be assessed against the Success Profile outlined in the application pack for the post.
We want every applicant to understand how they will be assessed. Before completing your application, we strongly recommend reviewing the Success Profiles guidance on our webpage 'How your application is assessed - Success Profiles'.
If you application is successful in passing the initial sift stage, you may be invite to complete a further assessment. Please consult the application pack for further information on this.
Find out more
If you would like to talk to us about the legal traineeship please contact our recruitment team:
- telephone: 0300 020 6203
- email: recruitment@copfs.gov.uk