{"id":1973,"date":"2019-02-06T15:05:40","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T15:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/student.multisite.legal500.com\/?page_id=1973"},"modified":"2020-07-10T23:56:42","modified_gmt":"2020-07-10T23:56:42","slug":"the-solicitor-apprentice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/future-lawyers\/apprenticeships\/the-solicitor-apprentice\/","title":{"rendered":"The solicitor apprentice"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The new solicitor apprenticeships herald a fantastic opportunity for both students and law firms alike, but as yet, places are limited.\u00a0Kate Durcan<\/strong>\u00a0speaks to recruiters and apprentices to reveal the pros and cons (are there any?) of this route to qualification.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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With a whopping 53% of current 18-24-year-olds believing university is not worth the money*, the timing of the new solicitor apprenticeship could not be more relevant. If you don\u2019t relish incurring \u00a340k of debt before your 21st birthday, apprenticeships could be the answer. And the best bit? You still obtain a law degree (and all the necessary postgraduate qualifications to be a solicitor) absolutely free.<\/p>\n

Yes, you did just read that: your entire legal education will be paid for by your law firm and the government. In addition, you could qualify as a solicitor within six years, the same time it takes the current route of university, law school and training contract. Quite frankly, what\u2019s not to like?<\/p>\n

Well for one, solicitor apprenticeships are still a relatively new phenomenon, with just a limited number of law firms offering them. Such is the infancy, that even large firms are typically hiring just two to six apprentices a year, but with hope, that number will rise.<\/p>\n

Eversheds Sutherland, one of the first firms to launch its apprenticeship scheme, will have a total of 18 solicitor apprentices this week when it welcomes ten more into the fold, spread through its London, Leeds, Birmingham, Coventry and Ipswich offices. Nonetheless, competition to secure an apprenticeship is fierce.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s as competitive as our graduate recruitment scheme,\u2019 admits Eversheds\u2019 James Wilson, emerging talent business partner. \u2018We get just as many applications for our apprenticeship as we do for our training contracts.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018We have been blown away by the calibre of candidates,\u2019 adds Jo Wilson, diversity and inclusion manager at\u00a0Dentons<\/a><\/strong>. \u2018We have an incredibly robust recruitment process that mirrors our graduate recruitment, with the very same standards across the board,\u2019 she adds.<\/p>\n

Dentons<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0recruited three new solicitor apprentices this October, who will work at the firm four days a week and spend one day studying. After four years, they will join the firm\u2019s trainee solicitor programme for the final two years. \u2018I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s actually happening after all the planning that has gone into it,\u2019 says Jo.<\/p>\n

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Have you got what it takes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 The minimum requirements for the Trailblazer Solicitor Apprenticeship is five GCSEs including English and Maths, plus three A-levels Grade C or above and relevant work experience.
\n\u2022 Minimum requirements for the paralegal and legal executive apprenticeships: GCSE Maths and English plus two A-levels Grade C or above.
\n\u2022 There is no advantage to taking law at \u2018A\u2019 level, except that it may help you decide that a legal career is for you.
\n\u2022 Recruiters appreciate that school leavers will not have the volume or calibre of work experience that is expected of graduates. However, any relevant experience, legal or otherwise, to help you stand out from the crowd is highly recommended, say recruiters.
\n\u2022 Although study days are once a week, most lectures and tutorials are completed via webcam, with chat boxes and online assignments. Lectures are recorded, so can be replayed if needed.
\n\u2022 Study is completed over a series of ten-week modules with exams at the end of each. Apprentices will typically attend university for two days within each module.
\n\u2022 The recruitment process at large firms is similar to that for trainee solicitors: online applications, followed by an assessment centre for a series of team activities, critical thinking tests and interviews, for example. It\u2019s full on, especially for school leavers, but the firm is investing a lot of time and money into those selected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Blazing a trail<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although legal apprenticeships have been around for some time, apprentices could only qualify as paralegals or legal executives. About four years ago, the government stepped in, wanting to promote apprenticeships across all business sectors, and offered employers financial incentives to take on apprentices in return for high standards of training.<\/p>\n

A group of law firms, known as \u2018trailblazers\u2019, got together with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and developed a pioneering solicitor apprenticeship, enabling school leavers to qualify as solicitors without going to university. It\u2019s known as the Trailblazer Legal Apprenticeship Scheme and was officially launched in September 2016, although the majority of firms are welcoming their inaugural solicitor apprentices this autumn.<\/p>\n

The new scheme has set the standards for three levels of apprenticeship: paralegal (Level 3), lasting two years; chartered legal executive (Level 6), which takes five years; and solicitor apprenticeship (Level 7), lasting six years. Depending on the firm, it may be possible to start out on the paralegal scheme first to see if a legal career is for you, and then work your way up to full-blown solicitor should you so choose.<\/p>\n

This is the preferred route of Lucy Helps, legal apprentice at Burges Salmon in Bristol. She is one year into her Level 3 apprenticeship after gaining \u2018A\u2019 levels in law, English language and religious studies, and will decide later in her career whether to continue all the way to solicitor qualification.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a big thing at 18 years old to sign up to a six-year apprenticeship without experiencing the job first,\u2019 considers Lucy. \u2018We are only doing the paralegal apprenticeship at this stage for two years. It gives the firm a chance to see if we are right for the course and for the firm, and for us it is much less of a commitment.\u2019 Lucy is one of four existing apprentices at the firm and a further four are joining in October. \u2018I was worried about going straight from college to a big law firm, but we get so much support here: we have a supervisor, a manger and a mentor. You\u2019re not dropped into the deep end at all \u2013 that is important to know.\u2019<\/p>\n

Fringe benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are heaps of benefits to the solicitor apprenticeship other than getting your degree paid for and earning a salary while you study. Number one is the work experience you gain. It\u2019s not always easy obtaining quality work experience on the traditional route to becoming a solicitor, yet academics aside, it is arguably the key factor that will score you a training contract.<\/p>\n

As an apprentice, the work experience is all taken care of: you work as you learn, which can put you ahead of the field. Rachel Martin has just commenced the solicitor apprenticeship at\u00a0Addleshaw Goddard<\/a><\/strong>. She kindly ducked out of lectures at BPP during her induction week to speak to Lex (actually, it was her lunchbreak): \u2018Not only will I gain a law degree but I will get so much work experience as well. When I qualify, I will have had eight years\u2019 experience in total (Rachel already worked at the firm for two years and was recruited internally), compared to the newly qualified solicitors who will have had just two years\u2019 experience.\u2019<\/p>\n

Jaya Louvre, recruitment manager at Withers, agrees: \u2018Apprentices get so much client exposure here, which is what differentiates Withers from some other firms. Our trainees get a lot, but our apprentices will already have had that client contact: they will have immediate access to clients. Apprentices here will have such good grounding and will hopefully develop into well-rounded solicitors.\u2019<\/p>\n

Another key benefit of apprenticeships is improved diversity and social mobility within the legal profession \u2013 the scheme opens up the profession to people who may never have the opportunity to go to university. This is one of the key reasons why Withers introduced solicitor apprenticeships: \u2018We felt that we were missing out on a raft of talent among people who, for one reason or another, hadn\u2019t gone to university, and we want to stay at the forefront of developments in the legal industry,\u2019 notes Jaya.<\/p>\n

Opening doors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jason O\u2019Malley is director of apprenticeships at\u00a0The University of Law<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0one of the main course providers partnering with law firms on the scheme, along with BPP and City University. \u2018The feedback we are getting from parents and students is that if it wasn\u2019t for this scheme, they would never have been able to qualify at this level,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

\u2018The people on our course this year are from a lot of different backgrounds, including mature students. Apprentices include people who have previously entered legal administration programmes, completed paralegal (legal services) apprenticeships and are now progressing to solicitor. We also work with some firms and employers in more disadvantaged parts of the city and we work closely with a variety of schools and careers advisors.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The whole point of us setting up the programme is to make law more accessible,\u2019 confirms Jo at\u00a0Dentons<\/a><\/strong>. \u2018And the response from within the firm is amazing. Apprentices bring a fresh pair of eyes to the business, they view things differently because they have come straight from school and they have creativity.\u2019<\/p>\n

Gaining access to a more diverse range of candidates is just one of many benefits for law firms, says Samantha Lee, head of recruitment at\u00a0Womble Bond Dickinson<\/a><\/strong>. The firm has been offering paralegal and legal executive apprenticeships for some years and has just launched its solicitor apprenticeship.<\/p>\n

She highlights the increased loyalty and improved retention rates demonstrated by apprentices: \u2018These people will spend six years with us before qualifying, compared to trainee solicitors who have only been a part of our business for two years. I anticipate that the solicitor apprentices will really hit the ground running when they qualify.\u2019<\/p>\n

Apprenticeships also allow firms to train raw talent from an earlier age, to \u2018mould\u2019 them into the perfect fit for their firm.<\/p>\n

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Which firms?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even The Law Society doesn\u2019t yet have a definitive list of firms offering the solicitor apprenticeship.\u00a0While many firms offer paralegal and legal executive apprenticeships<\/a>, the firms and in-house legal teams listed below offer solicitor apprenticeship too. The list is not exhaustive:<\/p>\n