Edinburgh Training Contract - September 2026

Please apply as soon as possible, as we will review applications on a rolling basis and may close the role early.

Join us as a trainee in Edinburgh

The Edinburgh office has recently relocated to Saltire Court - one of the city’s most iconic Grade A office spaces, with its sweeping colonnade, circular tower and stunning views of Edinburgh Castle. The building has been fully refurbished and offers vibrant communal areas, open meeting spaces and flexible collaboration zones.

Our Scotland offices provide a range of services to insurers, commercial companies, public authorities, professionals and third sector organisations.In Edinburgh, our services include dispute resolution, professional liability, healthcare and employment.

The heart of our practice in Edinburgh is defender personal injury claims. We represent insurance clients and public authorities in all aspects of employers’ liability, public liability and motor claims.

Alongside an interesting and varied workload, there is a collegiate atmosphere and busy social calendar, including summer parties, sports teams, seasonal celebrations and various fundraising events in support of charities.

What is a training contract?

A training contract is a two-year placement that is undertaken by trainee solicitors after they finish their Postgraduate Diploma in Law. Trainees will spend two years getting a practical legal education overseen by senior solicitors at the firm.

As a trainee lawyer, you can expect tasks to be very varied. To keep things simple, here are a list of tasks that you can expect to encounter during your time at Clyde & Co:

- Legal research

- Drafting documents as part of transactions and litigation, including facility agreements, witness statements and pleadings

- Communicating and meeting with clients

- Attending hearings and trials, taking notes where necessary

- Filing and serving documentation at Court and on the other side

- Document review

- Bundling documents in preparation for trial

Examples of trainee duties and responsibilities:

- Assisting case-handlers with active files

- Upholding the firm's reputation at external events

- Developing legal knowledge by attending both internal and external training sessions

- Managing workload as well as getting involved in pro bono

Clyde & Co Scotland pride ourselves on being a centre of excellence for advocacy – it’s something that is fundamental to our practice in Scotland. Trainees get to take part in an advocacy training course alongside associates and clients each year, putting their advocacy skills into practice.

What we are looking for

We are looking for those who are committed to a career as a solicitor at Clyde & Co as well as obtaining the following:

- 5 Highers at grades A-B or equivalent (mitigating circumstances will be considered)

- 2:1 or above in your undergraduate degree

- A Scots Law degree (includes the 2-year accelerated course)

- Diploma in Professional Legal Practice – must be completed by summer 2026

What we offer

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package as a newly qualified solicitor. You will also be entitled to a range of rewards and benefits:

- Private medical

- Pension scheme

- Group income protection

- Maternity and paternity pay

- Holiday purchase

- Season ticket loan

- Cycle to work scheme

- Gym subsidy

We'll make sure you have plenty of support throughout your programme, such as regular one to one sessions with the early careers team and you will be allocated a mentor from one of our newly qualified lawyers, enabling you to get peer-to-peer support and guidance. You can also look forward to a tailored induction programme and on-going internal training designed to ensure you have the skills, knowledge, and commercial acumen you need to become a well-rounded solicitor.

Strengths Based Assessment

During our process we are assessing candidates based on the strengths that will deliver success in a role. This is great for the individual, doing work they love, and great for the employer, having team members who love what they do.

For more information, hints and tips please view our careers website.

Recruitment Process

- Complete an online application

- Online assessment – consisting of a critical reasoning test as well as our Clyde & Co strengths-based assessment, which contains a mix of question types including written and order ranking

- Pre-recorded video interview

- Assessment centre

- Offers and feedback

- Reasonable Adjustments

Please let us know if you need us to make adjustments or changes to the assessment process to help you best demonstrate your suitability for the role. We will do our best to accommodate your request. If you wish to discuss anything regarding the process, please contact Early Careers ([email protected]).

You can find out more about the interview process and examples of adjustments we can put in place via this link. A guide to reasonable adjustments, support and accessibility for our assessment process.