Law Career Guide

Whether you’re new to apprenticeships or simply curious about what it could mean for your child’s future, this guide contains everything you need to know as a parent or guardian.

An apprenticeship is much more than just a different path to becoming a qualified solicitor. It’s a route that will give your child independence, confidence, a full social life and hands on legal experience, as well as a solid start to their career.

The work and responsibility

This is a 6-year programme, providing them with the opportunity to train as a Solicitor whilst also obtaining a Law degree and their legal professional qualifications.

They will spend four days a week at the firm where they’ll be working on live legal deals and will have responsibility for various tasks right from day one. The type of work they are involved with and the responsibility they have will gradually increase each year. Over the six years, they’ll be involved in a huge variety of cases from legal transactions to litigation in court and will become a key figure on legal deals throughout the programme. They’ll have time to explore where their interests lie and decide where they might want to specialise.

Alongside this, they will have a dedicated study day to attend university and prepare for the exams and coursework. Once they have obtained their Law degree and successfully completed the legal professional qualifications, they will qualify as an England and Wales Solicitor. If they choose to start in a Newly Qualified Solicitor role, they then have six years of experience behind them as well as a strong network within A&O Shearman.

The salary

They’ll earn a starting salary of £32,000 in the first year, which will gradually increase year-on-year. They’ll also receive a £3,000 sign-on bonus when they start, to help with upfront costs, such as a deposit for accommodation. After they qualify, they will receive a newly qualified salary which is the same regardless of whether they chose the university or apprenticeship route.

The hours

Corporate law isn’t your typical 9-to-5. This is a high-performance, quality environment, where lawyers are at the top of their game. We work on international deals and the hours vary. Having said that, we protect our apprentices from late hours in the first year of their programme, so that they can grow and adapt. At this stage, they usually work from 9am till 5.30pm. After the first year, our apprentices appreciate the responsibility and independence of managing their own time, and so you can expect they will be working later hours because of the nature of the international deals. You should also know that in the days following late hours, they will often have down time to balance this out.

The support

We invest in and have a duty of care for our apprentices because we want to see the best from them. Our support starts right from the application. If your child has any mitigating circumstances or a disability you want to declare then we can have a conversation around what support might look like for them. No-one will be at a disadvantage because of any factors they’ve told us about.

Apprentices receive a wide variety of support from both the university and our firm. We build strong relationships with our education partners to ensure our apprentices receive the best education and support. At university, they will be taught by lecturers who have real experience of being lawyers. Coaches will help to keep them on track, to check that they are getting the right legal evidence and support them if needed with coursework and exams.

During their first year, the Early Careers HR team have regular catch ups with apprentices to check on how they are settling into the professional environment and whether they need any support as they find their feet within the programme. All apprentices are appointed a dedicated legal supervisor who will provide mentorship and legal training for the specific department they are working in. Supervisors are qualified lawyers who understand the cases and ins and outs of the work and are likely to allocate work to the apprentice. We select our supervisors carefully, knowing first that they want to be a supervisor and they have the capacity to provide support and guidance.

The social life

Each legal team is like a family unit and they have their own social activities. Sometimes it’s karaoke or heading out for dinner. Sometimes it’s office celebrations. It’s important for every team to have time to bond because they’re working hard together every day.

The apprentices are also part of a wider apprentice cohort. They have a budget for social activities, so that they can connect and get to know each other better. Each university provider has a network of apprentices which offers another chance to socialise, and this includes apprentices from different firms too.

The changes you’ll see

With this programme, your child will grow up quickly in ways they wouldn’t have at university. They’ll gain responsibility and experience at a much earlier age and at first, they might feel a little behind, especially as they meet older colleagues who are already qualified. But as the level of work, experience and responsibility gradually increases, so will their maturity. In fact, you might notice that they seem more confident and have better social skills than some of their peers because of this.

The future

After six years, they will qualify as a Newly Qualified Solicitor. Some apprentices want to stay on in this role in the firm they have trained with, others decide to move into consultancy or go in-house. This pathway gives them not only the legal qualifications, but six years of experience, skills and a network that will open doors for their future career.

While the programme lasts for six years, if your child decides at any stage that the apprenticeship is no longer right for them, that’s ok. Making a commitment like this is a big decision, and it’s important to us that your child feels they have a voice and can change their mind if they aren’t enjoying the programme.

The possibility

Overall, an apprenticeship is hard work and they will need to put in the effort and the hours. They’ll need to balance university education and work, with a growing social life. We select our apprentices because we can see they have the potential to go far and we’ll support them in their aspirations. And with a salary, no tuition fees and no student loan to pay, an apprenticeship is a strong option for the right candidate.