[smira191194]

hi i am smira i am 17yrs old and interested in doing an apprentaship in the firm solicitors i am currently studying Alevels and really want some information on any firms. it will really be appreciated and i would prefer it to be in birmingham but i dont mind as long as it is in a solicisitors firm.

[Ethereal]

Google it

[Silver Aurora]

Word of advice; if you can get ANY form of work exp with links to the legal profession, you should be greatful haha

[BPP University College]

Hi Smira

It’s great to see that you are considering getting work experience at this stage in your career. You have many options ahead of you but it depends on whether you want to qualify as a solicitor by going down the traditional route of doing a law degree and LPC plus a training contract with a firm, or whether you are looking at alternative routes into the profession. A good starting point would be to have a look at
the career timetable on www.lawcarees.net which summarises the different stages of qualification for a solicitor: http://www.lawcareers.net/Information/Timetables/CILEX/

There is also some useful information about your first steps into law which gives a good overview of the profession, the skills needed to become a lawyer, what you can do now to help you prepare for a career in law and also some useful web links for your additional research: http://www.lawcareers.net/Information/FirstSteps.aspx

Most law firms offer formal work experience know as ‘vacation schemes’ which generally take place over the summer and usually firms expect applicants to be already at university when they start these placements, there is some useful information on work placements in the link below: http://www.lawcareers.net/solicitors...ntSchemes.aspx

It may be worthwhile considering writing to smaller firms in the Birmingham area to try and get some work experience or placements. Have a look on the ‘find a solicitor’ section of the Law Society website http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosin...firmsearch.law which has pulled up a list of over 50 firms in the Birmingham areas. Some of these firms will offer work experience only in the form of the more formal vacation placements, but some of them may accept applications for work experience upon receipt of a CV and cover letter.

There is also some useful information on the Prospects website which gives a good overview of entry level opportunities and clarifies the different routes into the profession – it could be worth considered paralegal, legal executive or legal secretarial roles for instance so I’d recommend having a look at the information in the link below: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/industries_law_entry.htm
There is an article on the Law Careers.net website which highlights how firms such as Pinsent Masons, DWF and Gordons have all launched apprenticeship programmes that see school leavers trained up as lawyers via the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) qualification so this is something else you can look into.

I hope this helps as a starting point for now.

Kelly-Ann Mallon
BPP Careers Consultant