With high levels of responsibility from the first day, trainee solicitors are an integral and valued part of Michelmores LLP. Find out about starting your career at this leading full-service law firm in its brochure.
the destination law firm
Graduate Recruitment
michelmores.com
Contents
3
Why train at Michelmores?
4
What we offer Our practice areas and teams
5
Our approach to the SQE and routes we support
6
How our Training Contract and Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship programmes work Which route is right for me – questions you might ask yourself
7
How to apply for our training contract
9
How to apply for our Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship
10
Meet our Training Principal
11
Meet our Recruitment Team
13
Key application dates
14
Contact us
Graduate Recruitment
2
Why train at Michelmores?
Deciding where to train is a big decision and we know how important it is to choose the right firm for you. This brochure gives you more information about what it’s like to work and train at Michelmores. It will provide you with a better idea of who we are, our goals as a business, our values and culture, what we offer our graduates and what it’s really like to work here. We have tried to answer as many questions as possible, but if you have further queries please get in touch (scroll down for our details) or visit our LinkedIn page (@Michelmores) where you’ll get a flavour of our work and culture.
Our strategy: Destination 2030 is focused on helping our clients, and our people, to navigate change to reach a positive future. Our values, commercial, creative and collaborative underpin everything that we do at Michelmores, and are central enabling us to achieve our strategic goals. As advisors, we pride ourselves on being relatable and pragmatic; as a firm, we never stop learning. Our people challenge the status quo and use their business acumen to achieve the best possible solution for our clients. We know that being curious and trying new things helps us all to grow: this is what we want to see from all of our people, including our future graduates.
Graduate Recruitment
3
What we offer
High level of responsibility
Access to Partners
Involvement in national and international work
Opportunity to make a positive impact
Tailored to your interests
‘Recruit to retain’ culture – start your career journey
Involvement in initiatives outside of the day role
Flexibility in location
Supportive and collaborative culture
Our practice areas and teams
Here’s some more information about what seats you could complete in each office location to help you to make an informed choice about where you might want to be based for your training contract:
During our training contract route, you will have the opportunity to be based in our Bristol or Exeter office as well as the option of a six month secondment in our London office. During our Graduate Apprenticeship route, you will be sector focused and complete a range of seats based on your end qualification.
Business
Private Client
Real Estate
Banking, Restructuring & Insolvency – Exeter/London
Projects & Infrastructure - Exeter
Agriculture - Bristol
Contentious Probate – Exeter/London
Commercial – Exeter/ London
Construction & Engineering – Exeter/Bristol
Commercial & Regulatory Disputes – Bristol/Exeter/London
Family – Exeter/Bristol
Planning – Exeter
Private Property & Landed Estates – Cheltenham/Bristol
Corporate – Exeter/Bristol
Transactional Real Estate – Exeter/ Bristol
Tax, Trusts & Succession – Bristol
Employment - Exeter
Property Litigation - Exeter
Graduate Recruitment
4
Our approach to the SQE and routes we support
All future trainees will need to complete the SQE qualification: we no longer accept the LPC. If you are offered a Training Contract with us, we will sponsor you to complete the SQE exams through the University of Law and you will receive a £7,000 bursary whilst studying the SQE 1&2. We also sponsor the completion of the PGDL (if applicable).
The introduction of the SQE offers many new routes to qualification; here’s an outline of the two routes that we support:
Training Contract
Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship
Non - Law Degree
Non - Law Degree
Law Degree
Law Degree
PGDL - conversion course
Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship
Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship
SQE 1&2
Training Contract - QWE
Study SQE & get QWE (2.5 years)
Study Law Essentials course, study SQE & get QWE (3 years)
SQE 1&2
Training Contract - QWE
Apply to SRA
Apply to SRA
Apply to SRA
Apply to SRA
Qualify as an NQ
Graduate Recruitment
5
How our Training Contract and Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship programmes work:
Training Contract
Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship
• Gain SQE ahead of commencing Training Contract
• Gain the SQE whilst you work
• Work five days in the Firm
• Work four days and have one day a week to study with the University of Law
• Gain QWE (qualifying work experience)
• Gain QWE (qualifying work experience)
• Experience four, six month seats
• Experience minimum of four, six month seats
• Not sector specific so can choose any seats once you’re in the Firm
• Sector focused apprenticeship – choose to be private wealth, real estate or business services focused
• Supported to qualify in the Firm
• Given the same level of responsibility and quality of work as trainees
• Qualify within two years of starting Training Contract
• Qualify within two and a half to three years depending on if you completed a law degree
• Earn, learn and work at the same time
• Supported to qualify in the Firm
Which route is right for me – questions you might ask yourself:
• Do you need to work and earn a salary whilst studying for the SQE?
• Your learning style – do you prefer to focus solely on studying or putting knowledge into practice right away?
• Do you know what practice areas you’re more interested in?
• Have you completed a law degree?
• Which route allows you to qualify sooner and offers the best learning experience?
Graduate Recruitment
6
How to apply for our training contract
There are two ways to secure a training contract at Michelmores; you can choose to go straight to the assessment day or take the vacation scheme route. It’s important that you choose the right option for you; we don’t have a preference and throughout each we’ll be looking for applicants who demonstrate the skills, values and behaviours we require in our trainees.
A quick guide to our vacation scheme • You can choose to spend the week at our Bristol or Exeter office • The scheme takes place in June and July each year • You will sit within one of our legal teams for the week, work on a group project, attend talks and workshops and should aim to build your knowledge and skills • You’ll complete the assessments we need to decide if you are the right candidate for us • You will be paid the Real Living Wage • You’ll benefit from a great opportunity to build your network and find out about the Firm Hear from our trainees about their experiences on the Vacation Scheme
About our assessment day route If you choose to attend one of our assessment days, you’ll be applying for a training contract via a recruitment process that does not include work experience at the Firm. This route is great for those who know they want to pursue a career in law, have previous legal experience and/or are confident that Michelmores is the right firm for them. It is also a good option for people who are unable to dedicate a week to attend our vacation scheme. About our vacation scheme option Our vacation scheme is a week-long opportunity to experience our firm and culture first hand. You’ll gain an invaluable insight into Michelmores, our people and our work and it will help you to decide if we are the right firm for your training contract.
Graduate Recruitment
7
How to apply for our training contract
Submit your initial application
Successful applicants: complete an Amberjack verbal and numerical reasoning assessment and video interview
assessment day applicants
vacation scheme applicants
Successful applicants: attend a pre-vacation scheme interview
Successful applicants: attend a pre-assessment centre interview
Successful applicants: attend assessment centre during the week
Successful applicants: attend assessment centre
Successful applicants: offered training contract
Successful applicants: offered training contract
Graduate Recruitment
8
How to apply for our Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship
Submit your initial application
Successful applicants: complete an Amberjack verbal and numerical reasoning assessment and video interview
Successful applicants: attend a pre-assessment centre interview
Successful applicants: attend an assessment centre
Successful applicants: offered a Graduate Solicitor apprenticeship
Graduate Recruitment
9
Meet our Training Principal
Benn Richards, Partner & Training Principal
What was the biggest mistake you made as a trainee? What did you learn from it? Like most people, many but thankfully nothing too significant. Messing up an index map search on a plot of land in central London was a “highlight”. Thankfully an incredibly calm and understanding supervisor meant it was a near-miss rather than a big mess-up. If you could describe your leadership style in three words, what would they be? Well, I would hope people would say approachable, collaborative and supportive. What is your favourite thing to do in your free time? In no particular order: spend time with my family, walk my dogs and ride bikes (road, mountain and zwift). I also enjoy bike-packing but have swapped staying in tents to staying in hotels. Listen and take in as much as you can. Very often we all deal with things we do not know the answer to but we learn how to find out the answer. You are not alone, please seek guidance and assistance from your colleagues – we are a supportive and collaborative firm, so please do ask for help. Given what you know now, what advice would you give to your trainee self?
Where did you train? A small commercial firm in the City in London which was swallowed-up by a National Law firm many years ago.
Do you have a law or a non-law background?
Non-law. I have a BSc in Sociology from the University of Bristol. I did the PGDip and LPC at the College of Law (now the University of Law) in Guildford. What do you like least about the legal profession? As someone who is a litigator, I find overly aggressive styles of litigation unhelpful and (occasionally) unprofessional. We are all just doing a job and a more constructive and collaborative approach makes for a much better case. If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you be? Looking back to my time post-university, probably a role in education or politics. What is your proudest career moment? I have been fortunate to act on some significant cases (from Swissair, to Bernie Madoff and one of the largest ever UK bankruptcies) but obtaining my higher rights of audience (both civil and criminal) in 2005 and using it for the first time was a proud moment. I have my robes in the office in case I every need to dash off to court!
See more about life as a trainee at Michelmores on our website
Graduate Recruitment
10
Meet our HR Recruitment Team
Rebecca Pike, Early Careers Specialist
What is your proudest career moment? Being part of the Graduate Recruitment Team when we won ‘Best Recruiter - Medium Regional Firm’ at the 2018 LawCareers.net Training & Recruitment Awards. This was a really proud moment particularly as this was in response to survey feedback from our trainees and NQs, which was incredibly rewarding for us. What have you learnt from your time in early careers/HR? Actively getting to know more about different areas of the firm is a great way to learn. You can bring your learnings and wider understanding into your day-to-day role. What is your favourite thing to do in your free time? Trying new places to eat! I really enjoy eating with friends and finding new spots we haven’t tried before. I also enjoy anything crafty; I find it a great way to relax. Given what you know now, what advice would you give your younger self? Make the most of every opportunity! Even if it’s not something of interest currently it will most likely lead to learning something / meeting someone new and helping you in the future.
How did you get to where you are today? Through my roles at Michelmores, I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about the different areas within HR which was a fantastic way to gain a wide range of experience. I also completed a MSc in Human Resource Management which allowed me to develop my knowledge alongside working too. Recruitment and particularly early careers recruitment was a real passion of mine and an area I really wanted to focus my career. What do you like most about early careers recruitment? Meeting candidates throughout the recruitment process! This could initially be at a careers event or during our Assessment Day, I really enjoy hearing about candidates interests and why they want to join Michelmores. It’s also extremely rewarding seeing candidates progress and celebrate huge career milestones; from joining the firm, moving through different seats and qualifying with us. If you weren’t in early careers/HR, what would you be? A wedding planner! I’ve always liked the event aspect of my roles and I recently got married and really enjoyed the process.
See more about life as a trainee at Michelmores on our website
Graduate Recruitment
11
Meet our HR Recruitment Team
Ffion Crossland, HR Advisor
How did you get to where you are today? I was lucky enough to stumble upon an HR Apprenticeship role which felt perfect for me at the time. Although knowing very little about HR and where this career could take me, my 18-month apprenticeship filled me with a range of great experience and knowledge that I have taken with me throughout my career so far. What do you like most about early careers recruitment? Being able to have a positive impact on candidates’ careers and sharing wisdom with them is extremely rewarding. Watching candidates go from their initial application to offer and then through their training with us is inspiring. Their growth is always admirable and I am often very proud of how far they have come. If you weren’t in early careers / HR, what would you be? I always wanted to be a midwife when I was younger. Although a very different career path, that is likely what I would have progressed if it were not for my HR career. What is your proudest career moment? My proudest career moment has been studying my CIPD course alongside full time working. This was certainly a challenge and
tested my time management skills but the relief and feeling of reward at the end of the course was worth all the stress. What have you learnt from your time in early careers / HR? To always ask questions and to dive into difficult challenges whenever they arise. Working in HR means you get to dip your hand into most things, and being able to immerse yourself into these situations can only better your career. What is your favourite thing to do in your free time? I enjoy going on long walks with my dog and looking at beautiful scenery. I also love cooking and taking time away from daily stress to taste new foods. Given what you know now, what advice would you give your younger self? All experience is good experience. Always put yourself out there to gain as much experience as possible in any capacity, as this only ever helps your career in the future.
See more about life as a trainee at Michelmores on our website
Graduate Recruitment
12
Key application dates
Training Contract Spring Assessment Day
1 October 2024 31 January 2025
Applications open Applications close
Training Contract Summer Assessment Day
1 October 2024
Applications open Applications close
2 June 2025
Vacation Scheme
1 October 2024 17 February 2025
Applications open Applications close
Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship
12 May 2025
Applications open Applications close
8 September 2025
Graduate Recruitment
13
Contact us
If you have any questions about our graduate recruitment process please email:
gradrecruitment@michelmores.com
LinkedIn @Michelmores Instagram @Michelmores michelmores.com
Graduate Recruitment
14
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online