Addleshaw Goddard is spearheading what it hopes will be a revolutionary scheme to enable school leavers without university degrees to qualify as solicitors.
At the moment those with no qualifications beyond A Levels are able to become legal executives. But under plans Addleshaws is drawing up with the SRA and a committee of other firms including Simmons & Simmons, Clyde & Co, Eversheds and DAC Beachcroft, participants will have the opportunity to become solicitors instead.
The new route into law, which aims to open up the profession to those who cannot afford uni, the GDL, the LPC and Oceana every Tuesday night, promises a return of sorts to the article clerkships of old. Unfortunately the 21st century version is called 'Trailblazers Apprenticeship in Law', which sounds like a Cub Scouts badge.
The scheme is due to launch next year, and Addleshaw HR specialist Gun Judge certainly didn't play down the significance of the new initiative, calling it "a pivotal milestone for social mobility in the legal profession". However Addleshaws was unable to confirm the size of its 2015 intake, so quite how pivotal it will be in practice remains to be seen.
Judge said the new standards would "enhance the alternative to the traditional route into law - opening the doors to a more diverse talent stream entering the profession".
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At the moment those with no qualifications beyond A Levels are able to become legal executives. But under plans Addleshaws is drawing up with the SRA and a committee of other firms including Simmons & Simmons, Clyde & Co, Eversheds and DAC Beachcroft, participants will have the opportunity to become solicitors instead.
The new route into law, which aims to open up the profession to those who cannot afford uni, the GDL, the LPC and Oceana every Tuesday night, promises a return of sorts to the article clerkships of old. Unfortunately the 21st century version is called 'Trailblazers Apprenticeship in Law', which sounds like a Cub Scouts badge.
The coveted Trailblazer Apprenticeship in Law badge (a RollOnFriday simulation) |
The scheme is due to launch next year, and Addleshaw HR specialist Gun Judge certainly didn't play down the significance of the new initiative, calling it "a pivotal milestone for social mobility in the legal profession". However Addleshaws was unable to confirm the size of its 2015 intake, so quite how pivotal it will be in practice remains to be seen.
Judge said the new standards would "enhance the alternative to the traditional route into law - opening the doors to a more diverse talent stream entering the profession".
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What is this supposed to mean? In England students can get loans and only pay it back if they earn enough later, so there's no question of "not being able to afford it".
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