An innovative route to become a solicitor with an apprenticeship
A case study on our Level 7 Solicitor apprenticeship
Learner profile
Name: Maia Crockford
Programme: Level 7 Solicitor Apprenticeship
Job title: Paralegal/Solicitor Apprentice
Why I chose an apprenticeship?
The long-established route into law is a competitive and lengthy one, requiring the accumulation of student debt by undertaking a degree and the Legal Practice Course, followed by lots of training contract applications. With the apprentice route, you benefit from no student debt, gain real-life experience and access networking opportunities from the early stages of your career. The qualification also takes the same amount of time as the ‘traditional’ route should.
How did my studies prepare me for my career?
The new Paralegal Apprenticeship and Solicitor Apprenticeship involves full-time work with part-time study to be completed one day a week towards an LLB (Hons). As a solicitor apprentice myself, I can definitely advocate for the fact that being able to draft a defence is proving to be much more invaluable than regurgitating theory from memory.
My advice for others
I think the general trend is that the legal industry is recognising the value of real-life experience over the typical law degree. With more and more law students graduating from university and the number of training contracts being offered not corresponding with this, CILEx is becoming more popular for those paralegals stuck between the LPC and a training contract.
My ambition
The profession has recently seen a wave of modern developments regarding routes to qualification including CILEx and the brand-new Legal Apprenticeships. As an apprentice, I feel proud to be involved in such a ground-breaking programme that blends centuries of legal tradition with innovative learning techniques that really is changing the entry into the legal profession. I’m working towards a great career as a future solicitor.
