The hands-on experience is invaluable; seeing how the law operates in practice directly from lawyers at the pinnacle of the profession accelerates your development in ways that a purely academic route simply could not. It also offers a direct route to qualifications without the uncertainty of separately applying for a training contract. On top of that, earning a salary and having the firm pay your university fees throughout gives you an excellent quality of life.
I first heard about solicitor apprenticeships at the start of year 13. I found a list of the top 100 law firms operating in the UK and researched each one individually to find out where apprenticeships were offered. I then narrowed down where I wanted to apply predominantly based on key practice areas.
My apprenticeship is six years in length (currently about to enter my third year): consisting of four one-year seat rotations followed by a further four six-month rotations, the latter replicating the traditional training contract seats. I work for the firm four days per week and spend every Friday studying my LLB (and subsequently my SQE) with the University of Law. By the end, I will be a qualified solicitor with a level 7 qualification (masters equivalent).
I am currently sitting in the Disputes and Investigations team, so my workload varies across commercial litigation, international arbitration, and regulatory investigations. No two days are truly the same, but I might be: drafting application documents to assist in pushing through an urgent court application; conducting legal research to answer queries from a client in relation to a regulatory investigation; reviewing evidence to assist in preparation for a mediation; attending counsel briefing meetings; and/or conducting privilege review ahead of disclosure.
The constant conveyor belt of opportunities I am fed. I'm often lucky enough to be in rooms where I question how, at my age and level of qualification, I have been afforded the opportunity to be present, let alone contribute. I even got to travel to Paris and Vienna with the firm in my first year!
Time management and finding the right balance can be tough – juggling a demanding workload, university deadlines, exam revision, and a social life can be very difficult at times!
As a trainee/apprentice, you will spend a long time training before working on anything interesting. Simply not true - from day one, trainees and apprentices are thrown in the deep end. We work directly with clients and are exposed to genuinely complex, high-profile matters.
In the short term, finish my training and qualify as an associate.
Do your research. Not all law firms are the same - each has its own culture, strengths, and areas of specialism. Take the time to understand what genuinely interests you and identify the firms whose key practice areas align with those interests.
