Why we support legal apprenticeships
As a firm, we’ve always valued the role of legal apprenticeships. In fact, when Anna Burnside and Fiona Wheeler established our firm, their first recruit was an apprentice and we’ve valued apprentices in our business since then.
Below is a reminder of the benefits of legal apprenticeships, written by Richard Burnside and published in the STEP Journal in 2023. The benefits are as true now as they were a few years ago.
The benefits of legal apprenticeships – How UK firms can diversify hiring strategies
Legal apprenticeships are designed to provide the best opportunity for individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds to develop legal careers in the best training venue of all: the workplace.
They have been around in the UK for almost a decade but, curiously, are not well advertised or understood. Against a competitive recruitment backdrop, ensuring one’s hiring strategies allow for a diverse pool of candidates is more important than ever.
The traditional qualification route involves academic study, the potential acquisition of significant student debt and no guarantee of a job. Apprenticeships provide office‑based experience from day one, together with a rigorous academic programme overseen by an established training provider. The trainee has no student debt, enjoys an income from the very start and, crucially, develops legal knowledge, skills and experience in the workplace.
Apprenticeships can attract talented people from a range of backgrounds and prior educational experience. They can be offered to existing staff too. A paralegal apprenticeship is suitable for school leavers with GCSEs, although it may also be pitched towards A‑Level leavers too.[1] Generally, paralegal apprenticeships last two years and are funded by either the employer or the government.
A chartered legal executive apprenticeship is also available, which is appropriate for candidates who have already studied law and worked in a legal environment. The solicitor apprenticeship route offers a degree qualification with a similar focus on workplace experience. The course length varies based on applicants’ prior education.
It is hoped that spreading the word about routes like the paralegal apprenticeship will inspire more firms to diversify their hiring strategies. Any law firm, in‑house legal team or legal services provider can offer an apprenticeship. Financial support is available from the government through the apprenticeship levy: the amount one gets depends on the size of the organisation, but can cover 95 per cent of costs. Information and case studies are available on the government’s apprenticeships website.[2]
A career in law should be available to anyone who has the determination to succeed.
[1] The A-Level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the UK.
[2] www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
© 2025 STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners). All rights in and relating to the STEP Journal and Trust Quarterly Review and to content online at journal.step.org are expressly reserved.