Mayer Brown has become the first City firm to offer ULaw's apprenticeship route to becoming a solicitor. Under the scheme school leavers can skip full-time study at university and immediately start work at a firm.
The six year apprenticeship will see candidates study a law degree over four years, then the LPC and Professional Skills Course over the final two. All the studying will be on a part-time basis while the apprentice works for the firm.
The firm is currently recruiting one apprentice to serve as a test case. In his or her first year to 18 months Codename: Guinea Pig will work in business services in order, says Mayer Brown, to "gain a broad understanding of how the firm operates". Once they truly understand the intricacies of the Xerox WorkCentre 3225DNI, the apprentice will be set to work across various practices. Their final three years will count towards their 'period of recognised training', the replacement for training contracts which has already resulted in paralegals qualifying as solicitors without undertaking a TC.
Candidates have to pay £18,000 for the LLB, but Mayer Brown will pick up the bill for the LPC and give them a salary of £18,000 a year. That increases with experience until, at the end of the six years, apprentices will be on the "equivalent to that paid to trainee solicitors who have also completed their period of qualification". So economic parity but, also just like trainees, no guarantee of a job.
Annette Sheridan, Global Chief HR Officer at Mayer Brown, said the scheme “opens up a new route to a successful career as a solicitor. We have been working hard to introduce a programme that will nurture the talent of people who feel the traditional route to being a solicitor isn’t a viable option for them".
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The six year apprenticeship will see candidates study a law degree over four years, then the LPC and Professional Skills Course over the final two. All the studying will be on a part-time basis while the apprentice works for the firm.
"Hurry Broomy, you've got four thousand leases to upload to an electronic data room!" |
The firm is currently recruiting one apprentice to serve as a test case. In his or her first year to 18 months Codename: Guinea Pig will work in business services in order, says Mayer Brown, to "gain a broad understanding of how the firm operates". Once they truly understand the intricacies of the Xerox WorkCentre 3225DNI, the apprentice will be set to work across various practices. Their final three years will count towards their 'period of recognised training', the replacement for training contracts which has already resulted in paralegals qualifying as solicitors without undertaking a TC.
Candidates have to pay £18,000 for the LLB, but Mayer Brown will pick up the bill for the LPC and give them a salary of £18,000 a year. That increases with experience until, at the end of the six years, apprentices will be on the "equivalent to that paid to trainee solicitors who have also completed their period of qualification". So economic parity but, also just like trainees, no guarantee of a job.
Annette Sheridan, Global Chief HR Officer at Mayer Brown, said the scheme “opens up a new route to a successful career as a solicitor. We have been working hard to introduce a programme that will nurture the talent of people who feel the traditional route to being a solicitor isn’t a viable option for them".
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1) They are not supporting the costs of the initial academic course (the LLB)
2) They are not providing time off (usually day release for an apprentice) to support the person with their studies
This is just an administration job for the first three years. What's worse is that it is cheap labour where it has been branded an "apprenticeship". Most entry level admin roles in city law firms are now paying around the low £20k mark. Those that pay lower tend to cover the costs of training/qualifications - which this is not.
I wouldn't advise anyone to go for this type of role, no matter how much they want to get into the profession. Working 50+ hour weeks and studying for 20+ hours on top of this will be exhausting, especially considering that period of study is going to over 4 years.
I would support such an initiative if the firm paid for the LLB and the individual didn't have to rely purely on their own personal time to complete the course (evenings and weekend study). But this is horrendous.
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Paul Gordon-Saker
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