The school leaver apprenticeship route
As a school leaver with A levels or equivalent, you are able to qualify as a solicitor via a six-year apprenticeship. The apprenticeship involves studying for a law undergraduate degree (LLB) and a masters-level qualification (LLM) while working. To then qualify via the SQE route, you will then need to sit the SQE assessments; you will have completed the qualifying work experience requirements during your apprenticeship.
Note that this level 7 solicitor apprenticeship is different from a solicitor graduate apprenticeship, which is what some firms are calling their support through the SQE qualifying route (see above).
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The assessment of character and suitability requirements
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To be admitted as a solicitor (and therefore practise as one), you will need to meet the SRA’s ‘Assessment of Character and Suitability Rules’. See the SRA for more details.
How long does it take to qualify as a solicitor?
Much will depend on the route you take and how you choose to fulfil its requirements. You have six years in which to pass the SQE assessments, for example. It may technically be possible for a law graduate to complete the SQE requirements in just over two years, if they complete their QWE continuously and pass the SQE assessments at the same time.
However, in all likelihood it will take longer: many firms will require law graduates to undertake a one-year ‘plus’ programme, combining elements of legal knowledge and SQE preparation before passing the SQE assessments and undertaking the two years of QWE, and non-law graduates will need to take a conversion course before that.
Gaining work experience in law
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Your chances of securing a training contract or equivalent QWE will be greatly enhanced if you build up a portfolio of law-related work experience. This will help you to prove your interest in the profession. Many law firms run formal two-week work experience programmes for students, known as vacation schemes. These are often aimed at specific groups of students, for example second-year law students or final-year non-law students, and many firms look to hire the majority, if not all, of their future trainees from their vacation firms.
Larger law firms also run insight programmes, particularly for first-year students, and often fast-track attendees through to the interview stage of the recruitment process for their vacation schemes.
Source: https://tholansonnha.com
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