The Beginner's Guide to a Career in Law 2022

Apprenticeships

Intermediate, legal administration or business administration apprenticeship Intermediate apprenticeships are aimed at school leavers who do not have A levels. Apprentices develop the skills to manage legal cases on an administrative level. Paralegal apprenticeship The paralegal apprenticeship trains apprentices in the skills needed to work in a certain area of law (eg, personal injury). Paralegals support solicitors on legal matters and do many of the same tasks. Find out more about paralegals on the next page.

You don’t have to go to university for a career in the legal profession – a legal apprenticeship enables you to gain qualifications while in paid work, through on-the-job training at a law firm or other employer. Legal apprentices can eventually become solicitors, chartered legal executives or paralegals without the tuition fees and accommodation costs involved with going to university. Some types of apprenticeship take 18 months to complete, but the more advanced levels provide training over five or six years – around the same amount of time as it would take to qualify through the university route. You don’t have to start paying a student loan back until you are in a job paying at least £25,000 a year, so high fees should not necessarily put you off higher education. But there are many reasons why you might decide that going to university is not right for you and a legal apprenticeship is a genuine – and free – alternative. This section is a basic introduction to legal apprenticeships. To learn more, read the companion to this guide, The Law Apprenticeships Guide 2022 , for everything you need to know about the different types of apprenticeship. Pick up a free copy from your school or read it online at LawCareers.Net. Am I eligible? To become a legal apprentice, you must be 16 or over, not in full-time education and a UK citizen/someone who has right of residency in the United Kingdom. Most legal apprenticeships require five GCSEs (or equivalent) graded 9–4 (A* to C), including maths and English. The paralegal apprenticeship requires at least two A levels, while the solicitor apprenticeship requires three A levels, with grade requirements varying between employers from CCC to AAB. Earn and learn The minimum wage for an apprentice under the age of 19 is £4.30 an hour (as of 1 April 2021), as well as for people aged over 19 who are in the first year of their apprenticeship. All apprentices over the age of 19 are paid at least the National MinimumWage for their age group. There are four levels of legal apprenticeship.

Chartered legal executive apprenticeship

This programme trains apprentices to qualify as chartered legal executives, a type of lawyer that is similar to a solicitor. Candidates don’t usually start this apprenticeship straight after leaving school – it is recommended to complete another qualification first, such as CILEX Level 3 or a paralegal apprenticeship. Solicitor apprenticeship This apprenticeship is a six-year programme which integrates studying for a law degree with on-the-job training at a law firm, ending in qualification as a solicitor – a role which was previously reserved for those who took the traditional university route.

If you are considering applying for an

apprenticeship, you can learn more by reading The Law Apprenticeships Guide 2022 and then start your search for the right employer on LawCareers.Net’s apprenticeship jobs board.