Law
Each apprentice is given a dedicated principal who supervises their work during their rotation. “Apprentices sit with them in the office and get to shadow them and are often involved in their work too,” says Pennington. “From a pastoral perspective, they have a mentor partner who supports them throughout their six years on the programme. And we match them up with trainee and apprentice buddies too.” As at other firms, Linklaters’ apprentices work towards the LLB undergraduate degree during the first four years of the apprenticeship, then in the final two years they’ll complete their SQE. “Our apprentices have one day each week when they go to BPP university, for workshops and seminars with apprentices from other law firms. There is also reading and assignments to do outside of this time and some of our apprentices like to study in the evenings after work, so their weekends
the firm takes on up to eight apprentices annually. “There are three main divisions within the firm – corporate, finance, and litigation, arbitration & investigations – and there are individual practice areas within each of these”, explains Maddie Pennington, early careers adviser at Linklaters. “During their first four years our apprentices do 12-month rotations in different practice groups, and we try and match their placements to the areas they’re most interested in.”
We were acting for clients across the whole construction industry and from the start, I was given my own ‘matters’ to work on. A ‘matter’ is a legal issue that a client has come to you with and asked you to resolve. It could involve doing due diligence, reviewing contracts, negotiating, taking instructions from clients and dealing with project managers and agents. It was a lot of responsibility but I had plenty of support if I needed I know it sounds like a cliché, but I found the best way for me to learn was by just doing it.
then transferred to a paralegal apprenticeship in 2018, before applying for and starting my solicitor apprenticeship two years later. I’d originally intended to go to university and had a place to study law at the University of Birmingham after my gap-year. At my school all the focus was on university and there was no talk about apprenticeships or other options after sixth form. But having worked for Pinsent Masons for almost 12 months, it felt like I’d be taking a backwards by going to university. I’d got my foot in the door at a law firm, I didn’t want to lose my income, or the relationships I’d built with the
Degree Apprentice
Heidi Walford
Solicitor Apprentice Pinsent Masons
team, so I decided to stay. There are two parts to the
solicitor apprenticeship. The law degree (LLB), which usually takes four years to complete, and then there’s a further two years when you’re a trainee and prepare for the solicitors’ qualifying examination (SQE). Throughout my LLB, I worked in the firm’s construction team.
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it, and my supervisor would always sign-off on my work.
I’m a solicitor apprentice in Pinsent Masons’ Birmingham office, currently working in the firm’s property development and investment team. I actually joined the firm through a gap-year programme they offered at the time and
When I first started dealing with clients, it was very daunting and I was quite nervous because you’re representing the firm. But over time, I built up my confidence and it soon became second nature. It
60 Degree Apprenticeships
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