the Solicitor Apprenticeships generally require three A levels graded C or above, although employers are free to set their own academic requirements. Find more information about apprenticeships and the different possible career paths in The Law Apprenticeships Guide 2023 . Pick one up from your careers adviser or read the guide online at www.lawcareers.net. Chartered secretaries Chartered secretaries work as company secretaries and in other senior positions in companies, charities, local government, educational institutions and trade bodies. They’re qualified in company law, accounting, corporate governance, administration, company secretarial practice and management. They’re trained to deal with regulation, legislation and best practice, and to ensure effective operations. See the website of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators at www.cgi.org.uk .
graduates, allowing them to study flexibly at their own pace. Students with a law degree or postgraduate legal qualifications don’t have to start at the beginning. Most aspiring CILEX Lawyers combine study for their CILEX exams (through evening classes or distance learning) with the practical experience of working in a firm, building up a client base and becoming a fee earner. A representative from CILEX tells us: “CILEX offers a flexible approach to study that provides a fast track to becoming a specialist lawyer with the skills to meet the changing demands of the modern legal market. Designed for both graduates and non-graduates alike, it gives those who want to work alongside their studies and gain the additional skills needed by the legal services employers of tomorrow, a route to a rewarding legal career.” Many employers will pay for CILEX tuition and examination fees and, of course, the trainee is earning a living as they progress. For further information contact CILEX (see ‘Useful addresses’). For more detail, see the ‘CILEX’ chapter on page 108. Legal apprentices A legal apprentice is an individual who joins a law firm straight from school, rather than going to university, to work in a role similar to that of a paralegal. Apprentices also receive on-the- job training that takes them towards a formal qualification – for example, as a chartered legal executive, paralegal or solicitor. Over the past few years, a number of firms have launched their own internal apprenticeship schemes (including Hill Dickinson LLP, DWF Group Plc, Kennedys, Clyde & Co LLP and Browne Jacobson LLP). There are currently four separate levels of legal apprenticeship – Intermediate, Paralegal, Chartered Legal Executive and Solicitor. Both the Paralegal and
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