Our Scottish Traineeship



Our two year traineeships offer the perfect balance of early exposure to responsibility and the realities of litigation together with support and guidance to elevate your knowledge, skills and understanding. Supportive and experienced colleagues will mentor you to ensure you get the most out of the opportunities that come with working in a fast-paced global law firm.



As specialists in litigation and all things insurance, you will spend time between our offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow developing commercial and tactical awareness alongside technically excellent team-mates. Throughout your time training with us, you will see a wide variety of cases involving complex and sensitive issues and work closely with clients which will set you up for a successful and exciting career as a qualified lawyer.



Our traineeships comprise three eight-month seats. You will have a dedicated supervisor for each seat and will have the opportunity to work closely with those who have trained before you given our excellent retention rates. We are committed to ensuring we deliver the strongest possible introduction to a career in dispute resolution within this jurisdiction. In that connection, we run a series of workshops over the course of our traineeships to enhance both technical and soft skills. We will challenge you whilst supporting you to ensure you can become the lawyer you would like to be.



To be considered for a training contract in Scotland, candidates must have been awarded an undergraduate degree - LLB (Scots Law). Before commencing a traineeship in
2028 , our future trainees must have been awarded the Diploma in Legal Practice (PEAT1).



Closing date:
31 October 2026



Please let us know if you require any additional support or adjustments to be made in order to submit your application to Kennedys.



Please note if your application progresses beyond the application stage, then our Assessment Centre is scheduled to take place on Monday 23 November in Glasgow city centre. Please mark that date in your diary and keep it clear. The Assessment Centre is an essential, and indeed the final part of our recruitment process, for our traineeships in Scotland - so attendance is mandatory.




About Kennedys



Kennedys is a global law firm with expertise in dispute resolution and advisory services. With over 3,000 people in 45 offices across 18 countries around the world we have some of the most respected legal minds in their field.



Our lawyers handle both contentious and non-contentious matters, and provide a range of specialist legal services, for many industry sectors but we have particular expertise in litigation and dispute resolution, especially in defending insurance and liability claims.



We're a fresh-thinking firm, and we're not afraid to bring challenging new perspectives to the table way beyond the traditional realm of legal services. We empower our clients with a diverse range of ideas, tools and technology to make their lives easier, as well as delivering exceptional results, every time.




What do we have to offer?



We welcome high-performing lawyers, business services professionals, secretaries, graduates and apprentices to join our rapidly expanding global firm. Whatever your role at Kennedys, you'll be involved in exciting and stimulating work, where your input will make a difference.



Our culture and values form a big part of who we are and we take them seriously. We make a difference by being approachable, straightforward, supportive, distinctive and ambitious. Our values are at the core of who we are and what make us a great firm to work with and for.



The Firm recognises the value of investing in our people's development and believes our culture and values contribute to the quality of our work and of our client relationships. With a culture of on-the-job and experiential learning, peer to peer learning, mentoring, resources and tools that enable you to drive your career, we can support your development in your current and future roles. A variety of other opportunities are available including secondments to clients and our global offices.



We strive to celebrate diversity, empower our people and ensure everyone can bring their authentic selves to work. We've created a culture based on client service, professional excellence, hard work and trust, where diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is a key priority. We recognise that many of our people want to work for an employer that is aligned to their values, which is why we are building an inclusive culture, decarbonising our operations and supporting our people to thrive at work. Our people are the key to driving this change and helping us to make a difference to our clients, our people and the communities in which we live and work.



Kennedys is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. We expect all employees to be aware of and comply with all relevant policies and procedures within their jurisdiction, including those relating to Information Security, Data Protection and Quality Management, refer any breach promptly to Risk & Compliance and to complete all mandatory training when requested.