What is a solicitor apprenticeship?

Feb 10, 2018

Written By Emma Finamore, Editor, AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk

A solicitor apprenticeship is a training and work programme during which school leavers qualify as solicitors, without having to pay university tuition fees. In fact, apprentices are paid a good, full-time salary for the duration of their programme.

A solicitor apprenticeship is a Degree Apprenticeship, which means it is a Level 7 qualification.

- During a solicitor apprenticeship, trainees will take on roles and responsibilities such as:

- Acting ethically, with professionalism and judgement Progressing legal matters and transactions

- Applying legal knowledge and commercial judgement to produce solutions which meet clients’ needs and address their commercial or personal circumstances

- Deploying the full range of legal skills - research, interviewing and advising, advocacy, negotiation, drafting, communicating orally and in writing

- Establishing and maintaining effective and professional relationships with clients and other people

- Managing themselves and their own work effectively

A solicitor apprenticeship will usually take about five or six years to complete. The programmes have been developed through a partnership between the Trailblazer scheme and the City Law School which comprises blended learning and tuition in order to give the apprentices the skills they need to become the solicitors of tomorrow.

Apprentices will learn all about the fundamentals of law and legal practice, gaining the knowledge equivalent to that of completing a law degree, LPC and training contract.

Who can do a solicitor apprenticeship?

Individual employers will identify any relevant entry requirements in terms of previous qualifications or other criteria, but usually the minimum entry requirements will be:

- Five GCSEs, including mathematics and English at grade C or above (or equivalent)

- Three A-levels (or equivalent), at a minimum of grade C

Employers will often consider applicants with these qualifications in place of the above, or in addition to some/all of the above:

- Relevant employer- led work experience

- Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship in a relevant occupation, for example in the Business Administration, Legal Services, Financial Services sectors

- Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship in a relevant occupation, for example in the Legal Services, Professional Services and Financial Services sectors (applicants with these qualifications may also be entitled to exemptions from training)

- Paralegal Apprenticeship (may be entitled to exemptions from training)

- Legal Executive Apprenticeship (may be entitled to exemptions from training) A law degree or graduate diploma in law / a legal practice course (entitled to exemptions from training).

Legal Apprenticeships