Rutherford Sheridan

Overview

Rutherford Sheridan is a Glasgow-based boutique law firm founded in 2016 that specialises in children’s hearings, family law (including adoptions and permanence orders), criminal defence, and asylum & immigration. The firm is client-focused and legally-aid experienced, travelling across mainland Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness) to represent clients in hearings and courts. It emphasises trauma-informed practice across its work and operates a 24/7 criminal contact line for police interview advice as well as offering remote consultations via video/instant messaging. The firm is led by two directors and positions itself as a tenacious advocate for vulnerable clients and families.

• Headquarters: Glasgow, 52 St Enoch Square
• Founded: 2016
• Lawyers: 9 (4 qualified solicitors; 5 trainees)
• Partners: 2
• Trainees: 5
• Offices: 1

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

• Family Law
• Criminal Law
• Immigration
• Public Law
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation

Geographic Focus: Glasgow-based with a Scotland-wide practice focus: the firm represents clients throughout mainland Scotland including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness and routinely travels across mainland Scotland to attend hearings and courts.

Training Contract

Trainees work across the firm’s four core practice areas in a practice-based traineeship; seats are effectively rotations through Children’s/Family, Criminal, Immigration & Asylum and related court work (no formal multi-office rotation programme is described). Training emphasises advocacy and direct client representation at children’s hearings, Sheriff Court and tribunal hearings, with instructing Counsel experience and case supervision from directors and senior solicitors.

• Trainee Intake: 5 (current trainee cohort size across multiple intakes — headcount derived from team listings)
• Application Deadline: TBC

Seat Options

• Family Law
• Criminal Law
• Immigration
• Family Law

Mentorship

Training appears to be delivered through direct supervision by the directors and qualified solicitors; examples of internal progression (trainee → associate) indicate structured case supervision and on-the-job mentoring. The firm’s senior team are active in external teaching and advisory roles, which supplements internal training and professional development.

Notable Matters

What Rutherford Sheridan Looks For

Key Competencies

• Trauma-informed approach to client care
• Client-focused advocacy and strong interpersonal skills
• Tenacity and resilience in contested hearings and litigation
• Experience or demonstrable interest in children’s hearings, family law, criminal defence or immigration
• Courtroom readiness and willingness to represent clients across hearings
• Commitment to access to justice and public-interest casework
• Willingness to travel across mainland Scotland

Evidence Signals

• Volunteer or paid experience with Citizens Advice, law clinics, prisons or youth organisations
• Prior exposure to children’s hearings, family or criminal casework
• Pro bono or charity involvement (e.g., work with Children 1st, Indigo Childcare, youth legal clinics)
• Experience working with vulnerable clients or trauma-informed settings
• Language skills or interpreter experience for immigration work

Benefits & Wellbeing

Awards & Recognition

• Finalist, Solicitor of the Year, Herald Law Awards 2021 (Melissa Rutherford)
• Innovation of the Year (Trauma Aware Law), Herald Law Awards 2022
• Finalist, Women in Law Awards — 'Champion of the Year' category, 2023 (Melissa Rutherford)
• Legal Pioneer Award, Law Society of Scotland, October 2024 (Melissa Rutherford)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• Trauma Aware Lawyers in Scotland (co‑founded 2020)
• Honorary Legal Agent for Children 1st (firm director role)
• Board member, Indigo Childcare (director role)
• Drop-in legal clinic for G20 Youth Group

Pro Bono

Runs a drop-in legal clinic for the G20 Youth Group and holds honorary/pro bono roles with Children 1st; the firm also explicitly works with legal aid clients and offers legal-aid-based representation in many matters.

Innovation

The firm uses video and instant-messaging platforms to provide client consultations and to communicate case updates. Rutherford Sheridan advertises multi-channel contact (telephone, email, social media, WhatsApp/Viber) and positions itself as a modern practice that leverages technology to reach and assist clients across Scotland.

• Remote client consultations via Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp and Viber
• Operating as a 'modern law firm embracing technology' for client communications

Quick Application Angles

• Emphasise trauma‑informed practice and experience working with vulnerable children or families — the firm is built around trauma-aware advocacy and its leadership are recognised for work in this area.
• Reference practical children’s hearings experience (or transferable advocacy experience) and highlight any grounds-of-referral or appeal work — the firm reports around an 80% success rate in appeals it lodges.
• Mention willingness to represent clients across mainland Scotland and flexible availability for hearings — the firm routinely travels to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness and runs a 24/7 criminal contact line.
• If relevant, cite experience with legal aid, youth/charity clinics or Citizens Advice — the firm specialises in legal-aid-funded work and runs a drop-in legal clinic for youth clients.