Other Public Bodies Apart From Local Government Where You Can Look for Law Jobs

Separate from local government there is a range of public bodies that also employ solicitors. These bodies include the Mental Welfare Commission, Equal Opportunities Commission, Race Relations Commission, Scottish Consumer Council, Scottish Child Law Centre and the Scottish Association of Citizens Advice Bureau. As will be obvious from their titles, solicitors appointed for these bodies will be expected to demonstrate an expertise in their particular line of work. If you therefore envisage a career in the relevant subject area you need to start to acquire specialist knowledge early on in your career for these are not "first" jobs, as the advertised posts often call for a proven track record in the appropriate field. The Law Society of Scotland has an affiliated grouping known as the Public Service and Commerce Group. A glance at the networking skills register produced by this group gives a sense of the type of organizations in the public sector which employ solicitors. These include the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, East of Scotland Water, Scottish Homes, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish National Heritage, Scottish Health Service, the Accounts Commission and the Law Society of Scotland.

Community Law Centers

During the 1970s there was growing recognition of the phenomenon described as "unmet legal need", meaning that there were groups within society that were not being adequately catered for in terms of the legal services provided by the average law firm. Certain areas of law were identified as ones which are typically not being delivered by firms. These areas include social security law, immigration, landlord and tenant, consumer protection, mental health and employment. The central reason why firms neglect these areas of law is a perception that they are uneconomical, requiring highly specialist knowledge, and in the main that knowledge is not taught at law school.

Lawyers who exposed the unmet legal need argued that many people did not seek legal advice because they were put off by the apparent elitism of lawyers' high street offices. To counter this, those in the law centers' movement sought funding to set up shop-front premises that fostered a spirit of friendly community legal advice dedicated to all aspects of poverty or welfare law. The progress of the law centers' movement has waxed and waned in the last two decades but is currently facing reinvigoration as a result of the new Labor Government's policy to break down social exclusion and pursue a fair distribution of legal services to the community, and to use the legal aid budget to achieve this. It is hard to predict what the final outcome will be for the future of those who wish to work in law centers but certainly the position looks less bleak than it has at times in the past.

There is much that is exciting about the work of law centers. Frequently they take on test cases or challenge political decisions that are avoided by more orthodox firms. They have been responsible for a number of spectacular successes including some in the European Court of Justice. If you have a strong sense of social justice and the method of working that typifies law centers appeals to you then try to gain work experience in a law centre or legal advice centre to find out more about what is involved. It can be exhausting but hugely rewarding work.

The Law Commissions

Both the jurisdictions of Scotland and of England and Wales have their own Law Commission established as the think tanks for legal reform. They carry the statutory responsibility for researching areas of the law that require legislative reform, publishing discussion papers for public consultation, collating the views of those who respond to these papers and then publishing reports which recommend reform. There is a small permanent law staff in each commission. The Law Commissions' work demands lawyers who are meticulous, thorough and painstaking in their approach to research, creative and imaginative in their proposals for reform, and with excellent writing skills. Occasionally vacancies arise and recruitment is targeted at those who have demonstrated exceptional academic ability.

In 1997 the Scottish Law Commission instituted a scheme to recruit a small number of temporary research assistants and legal assistants for a fixed term period of one year, with the possibility of extension of up to two years. This scheme continues to operate and, given the arrival of the Scottish Parliament in May 1999, which will undoubtedly generate further demands on the Scottish Law Commission, it is possible the scheme will remain in place. The description of the work of a research assistant in the Scottish Law Commission's guide for applicants in 1998 stated that, as well as working on specific project areas such as contract or property, they might be asked to work on consolidation and statute law revision. Some of the work demands intensive study of statutory texts, but provides an opportunity for research assistants to develop a sound knowledge of the tools and techniques required when working with legislation.

Scottish Reporters Service

Scots law has a unique system for juvenile care and protection- the Children's Hearing System. In Scotland there are seven separate geographical areas, each served by an area reporter often with a number of deputies who make referrals to a Children's Panel of lay members, appointed for each locality. The Children's Panel hears cases concerned with all aspects of a child's welfare and behavior ranging from truancy to drug taking to physical or sexual abuse. The reporters do not have to be legally qualified but they frequently are. Those with an analogous background such as a qualification in teaching, social work or psychology are also eligible for appointment as a reporter. The most important qualification for the job is a practical knowledge and understanding of issues concerning children. If this is a career that interests you then you need to gain experience in child law matters by appearing before the Children's Panel in cases, and/or perhaps gaining appointment as a safe guarder (someone specifically appointed to look after the interests of some of the children in Hearings cases). Further information can be gained from the Scottish Executive Information Directorate which publishes a series of factsheets on Children's Hearings.
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Public Defender's Office

In 1998 the Public Defender's Office was established in Scotland. All the solicitors currently employed in the scheme have experience of working in the criminal courts, some with the Procurator Fiscal Service and some with private practice.

Company Secretaries

Most public companies employ a legally qualified company secretary. Often this will be a solicitor who has been involved in industry from an early stage or, if their background has been in private practice, it is likely they will have specialized in company work. There are formal qualifications that you can gain as a company secretary and professional exams that can be sat to obtain further recognition of the particular skills relevant to that post. Some companies will have a fairly large legal secretariat and, to give a sense of the scope for appointment as company secretary, some of the companies based in Scotland which are currently employing company secretaries include British Energy Plc, Balfour Kilpatrick Ltd, Aberdeen Trust Plc, Campbell Distillers Ltd, the Alliance Trust Plc, Jet Stream Aircraft Ltd and Seagram Distillers Ltd. Appointments in this area are likely to offer the potential for mobility and transfer elsewhere in the United Kingdom or abroad, and there are often very generous pension and life assurance packages accompanying such jobs.

Judicial Appointments

It might seem odd in a text designed to cater primarily for those at the start of a legal career to mention the possibility of judicial appointments, but it may seem equally odd to those about to embark on a law degree to learn that the judiciary is not a career for which you train. Rather it is one for which you may be selected, though your chances of selection are greatly enhanced if you are white, male and middle aged. In June 1999 the Lord Advocate for Scotland acknowledged that there was institutionalized racism in the legal system, an unexpectedly frank but welcome admission. Coupled with the fact that there were no women in the Scottish senior judicial ranks until 1997, and there is now only one, it is fair to say equal opportunities in this walk of public life are long overdue. The position is somewhat better in England but still gives rise to much unease, as has been described in detail by Clare McGlynn in her illuminating book The Woman Lawyer.

At the level of appointment of sheriff there are several women but, as yet, no-one representative of the ethnic minorities. It is possible to seek appointment as a part-time or full-time sheriff. In Scotland, appointment as a sheriff is open to solicitors and advocates of at least 10 years standing and with the requisite experience in the courts. As a rule, full-time appointments as a sheriff are preceded by appointment as a temporary sheriff.

Currently around one third of the daily business transacted in the sheriff courts is conducted by temporary sheriffs. Appointment is made by the Lord Advocate to whom application for consideration as a temp can be made.

If serious judicial appointments are beyond the reach of most lawyers, appointments at the lower level are not. Such appointments include tribunal appointments which are regarded as quasi-judicial. There are quite a number of such appointments made through the Independent Tribunal Service including the Child Support Agency, Mental Welfare Commission, Rent Assessment Committee and Employment Tribunals.
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