Solicitor Apprentice Review

My role is as a solicitor apprentice in the asbestos and occupational disease team. I work with the solicitors in the team supporting clients with a legal claim against their former employers following development of an asbestos-related disease. Day to day, my role includes drafting funding agreements, company research, reviewing medical records as well as other forms of drafting. I regularly have client contact, attending visits and joining calls with the solicitors.

I feel continuously pushed within my apprenticeship. Members of my team and willing to teach my new skills to ensure I am constantly learning, and I am delegated tasks which push me.

I am enjoying my apprenticeship as a whole. The team I am currently work in completes interesting work and I have been continuously supported throughout. The deduction in starts is contributed to the fact I am not guaranteed seat rotations within my apprenticeship. The current plan is for me to remain and quality into the same practice area I am working within now. I think it be necessary for solicitor apprentices to be given exposure to different areas, both for development and to ensure they are provided with a choice regarding where to qualify.

I am provided with 4 working days and one study day per week. My study day is uninterrupted, and people are not expecting me to be working on this day. I understand this is consistent across the business with all other legal apprentices. I do not feel the work is overly structured. I am lucky in that I have been placed in a good team who are continuously supporting my development and giving me work to be completed. They do not hold a stigma against my job title. I have spoken with another apprentice at the company who did not have the same luxury, and they ended up leaving their role.

I feel supported by my employer. I have weekly catchups with my line manager, who is supportive. Every few months I have a catchup with the other apprentices in my cohort. Every 3 months I have a catchup with my training provider coach. Every 6 months I have a catchup with the apprenticeship manager.

I feel this slightly poor. it is difficult to get a clear answer from someone at the uni, which is not just 'check the hub' (which is the online intranet). The hub is very content heavy and as such it is hard to find answers on there. We have also had issues with accessing exam results when they are supposed to be released, which is anxiety inducing for students.

It provides me with the necessary qualifications for me to later qualify as a solicitor.

The team I am in holds a social event every 3 months, eg dinners and drinks. The office I am in is smaller, so doesn't have extra curriculars however I understand larger offices have sports teams etc. The firm is also looking into paying for Junior Lawyers Division Memberships, as they pay for trainees, however no progress on this as of yet.

Yes

Supportive team. Decent pay. Good work life balance in comparison with other firms.

Consider the following... - Diversity policies are good - do any apply to you? - What transferrable skills do you have which would aid in the role? Non-legal especially. - Why do you want to work at Irwin Mitchell? - Why do you want to be an apprentice in the specific practice area? - When applying for private client roles, how can you still demonstrate you are business minded? Especially in PI cases which are lengthy and expensive.