My Solicitor Apprenticeship Experience

9

I'm Samantha and I am currently a second year Solicitor Apprentice at CMS, and I sit within the Real Estate Transactions team. Here’s a breakdown of my experience as an apprentice so far...

Reply 1

TheUniofLawStaff

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by TheUniofLawStaff

I'm Samantha and I am currently a second year Solicitor Apprentice at CMS, and I sit within the Real Estate Transactions team. Here’s a breakdown of my experience as an apprentice so far...

•

Solicitor apprenticeships roles consist of 4 days on the job work in the office and 1 day to study towards you Law LLB.

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Apprentices have a very similar role within a firm to trainees as we are there to train and learn to be a ‘Day 1 Solicitor.’

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Whilst working towards the degree, each year you will change departments in the office to ensure at the end of the apprenticeship, you are a well-rounded solicitor with enough knowledge to make a decision on what area you would like to specialise in.

•

Whilst working in the office, you get to take on a wide variety of tasks including drafting letters and emails, completing forms and researching. The on-the-job work has allowed me to develop my legal practice skills, teamwork, proactivity and confidence.

Reply 2

TheUniofLawStaff

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Official Rep

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Original post

by TheUniofLawStaff

•

Solicitor apprenticeships roles consist of 4 days on the job work in the office and 1 day to study towards you Law LLB.

•

Apprentices have a very similar role within a firm to trainees as we are there to train and learn to be a ‘Day 1 Solicitor.’

•

Whilst working towards the degree, each year you will change departments in the office to ensure at the end of the apprenticeship, you are a well-rounded solicitor with enough knowledge to make a decision on what area you would like to specialise in.

•

Whilst working in the office, you get to take on a wide variety of tasks including drafting letters and emails, completing forms and researching. The on-the-job work has allowed me to develop my legal practice skills, teamwork, proactivity and confidence.

Academics

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The academic part of the apprenticeship takes up one day a week. For me, as it is for many firms, I study with the University of Law online, who have a well-developed course designed specifically for apprentices to pass their degree alongside their job.

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The course in total is 6 years, split into the first 4 years being towards the degree and the final 2 years towards SQE 1 & 2.

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With the studying proportion of my course being online, it relies significantly on self-motivation and independence. Each year you study between 3 and 4 modules towards your LLB.

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ULaw has a great educational structure they provide to support independent studying. Each weekly unit of work is separated into Prepare, Engage and Consolidate. I have found this super helpful as it makes sure you get the basic foundations of what you need to know, you then learn to apply this knowledge and at the end you get to consolidate and ensure you are prepared to be questioned on it in an exam. As an apprentice, having this structure is very practical as it keeps you on track, focused and helps to minimize the extra time you need to spend outside of your study day studying.

Reply 3

TheUniofLawStaff

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Official Rep

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Original post

by TheUniofLawStaff

Academics

•

The academic part of the apprenticeship takes up one day a week. For me, as it is for many firms, I study with the University of Law online, who have a well-developed course designed specifically for apprentices to pass their degree alongside their job.

•

The course in total is 6 years, split into the first 4 years being towards the degree and the final 2 years towards SQE 1 & 2.

•

With the studying proportion of my course being online, it relies significantly on self-motivation and independence. Each year you study between 3 and 4 modules towards your LLB.

•

ULaw has a great educational structure they provide to support independent studying. Each weekly unit of work is separated into Prepare, Engage and Consolidate. I have found this super helpful as it makes sure you get the basic foundations of what you need to know, you then learn to apply this knowledge and at the end you get to consolidate and ensure you are prepared to be questioned on it in an exam. As an apprentice, having this structure is very practical as it keeps you on track, focused and helps to minimize the extra time you need to spend outside of your study day studying.

Work-study balance

•

Balancing both the work side and the study side of the apprenticeship (as well as your personal life) can be very challenging. The job can be demanding and there is so much to learn over the course of the apprenticeship, however, it is an exceptionally rewarding pathway that allows you to gain experience and a degree all in one go.

•

The big thing for me was that the apprenticeship was a way for me to do the practical work and get paid for it whilst also working towards my degree (which is another bonus as the firm pay for it!).

•

The networking opportunities whilst working in a firm too are so advantageous when it comes to looking at the big picture and focusing on your future career. I have had numerous opportunities to network with a wide variety of people within the legal sector from Barristers to other junior lawyers and senior lawyers from both my firm and others.

Reply 4

TheUniofLawStaff

OP

Official Rep

9

Original post

by TheUniofLawStaff

Work-study balance

•

Balancing both the work side and the study side of the apprenticeship (as well as your personal life) can be very challenging. The job can be demanding and there is so much to learn over the course of the apprenticeship, however, it is an exceptionally rewarding pathway that allows you to gain experience and a degree all in one go.

•

The big thing for me was that the apprenticeship was a way for me to do the practical work and get paid for it whilst also working towards my degree (which is another bonus as the firm pay for it!).

•

The networking opportunities whilst working in a firm too are so advantageous when it comes to looking at the big picture and focusing on your future career. I have had numerous opportunities to network with a wide variety of people within the legal sector from Barristers to other junior lawyers and senior lawyers from both my firm and others.

I have loved my time on the apprenticeship so far and I can’t wait to see where the next 5 years take me! If you are interested by the apprenticeship route and want to learn more, there is lots of information available online if you search in ‘Level 7 Degree Solicitor Apprenticeships’ or to check out my programme visit https://www.law.ac.uk/study/apprenticeships/for-students/

Samantha - The University of Law

Reply 5

shinytiger

9

hey. if you mess up in the critical thinking test thingy does it affect your chances. also this might be a bit of a daft question but do you get screamed at by the workers

My Solicitor Apprenticeship Experience

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