Scottish Legal Recruitment & Market Newsletter: Q1 2025 (April–June)
Recruitment Landscape
The Scottish legal market continues to demonstrate resilience and steady growth in 2025. While UK-wide data shows broader trends, Scotland’s legal sector is marked by unique dynamics driven by its distinct legal system and diverse firm landscape. Firms across Scotland are actively recruiting at all levels, reflecting a positive outlook despite ongoing economic uncertainties.
Key focus areas: Residential Conveyancing
Last quarter saw particularly strong demand for residential conveyancing professionals throughout Scotland. Both fee-earning solicitors and paralegal support roles were in high demand, mirroring increased activity in the Scottish property market. Firms are competing to attract candidates with strong technical skills and client service experience to manage busy caseloads efficiently.
Busy and uncertain NQ market
The newly qualified (NQ) solicitor market in Scotland remains active but somewhat unsettled. Many NQs face uncertainty about whether they will be retained by their current firms, prompting a significant number to explore external opportunities. This has led to a competitive environment where NQs are carefully weighing options across different practice areas and firm sizes. Despite these challenges, retention rates remain relatively strong compared to other UK regions, supported by firms’ efforts to offer attractive career paths and flexible working arrangements.
Key practice areas driving demand
- Corporate & M&A: Scottish firms are seeing sustained demand for lawyers experienced in complex transactions, particularly in energy, infrastructure, and technology sectors.
- Renewable Energy: Scotland’s ambitious net-zero targets continue to fuel recruitment in energy law and environmental regulation.
- Real Estate & Construction: Infrastructure projects and a resilient commercial property market underpin demand for real estate and construction law specialists.
Talent Attraction & Technology
- Salary & Benefits: While salary growth has stabilised, Scottish firms are enhancing benefits packages, flexible working policies, and wellbeing initiatives to attract and retain talent.
- Retention Focus: Mentoring, clear career progression, and investment in legal technology remain key strategies to improve retention in a competitive market.
- AI & Legal Tech: From an AI perspective, the Scottish legal market remains fairly sceptical and is not embracing these technologies as rapidly as some other sectors. While there is growing interest and experimentation, widespread adoption is still at an early stage. Many firms are testing these solutions rather than fully integrating them into daily workflows, and there remains a degree of hesitation around trust, value, and integration challenges. As a result, the demand for tech-savvy lawyers is rising, but the sector as a whole is still navigating how best to leverage AI within the unique context of Scottish legal practice.
Personal and Business Branding
A recurring theme in our discussions and networking events this quarter has been the growing importance of both personal and business branding in legal recruitment. Candidates are increasingly interested in understanding not just the roles on offer, but also the culture, environment, and people they’ll be working with. As a result, many Scottish law firms are investing more in building a visible, authentic brand—using real-life stories and testimonials from current employees to showcase what makes their workplace unique.
Networking & Engagement
Our team has been very active within the Scottish legal community this quarter:
- We were honoured to speak at a Legal Networking Breakfast hosted by Bank of Scotland, engaging with partners from smaller Scottish firms to discuss the unique recruitment challenges they face compared to mid- and large-sized firms.
- We hosted our own roundtable event, bringing together talent acquisition professionals from across Scotland’s legal sector to share insights on effective attraction methods and what’s working in today’s busy market.
- Additionally, we attended the Weightmans networking breakfast, where we met a number of new contacts, further expanding our network within the Scottish legal community.
Market Outlook
The outlook for Scotland’s legal sector in the remainder of 2025 remains positive. Demand continues across core practice areas, with residential conveyancing and the NQ market particularly active at this point in the year. Firms that embrace flexible working, invest in technology, and foster strong professional networks will be well placed to navigate ongoing economic and regulatory challenges.