Solicitor Apprentice Review

The apprenticeship involves you working 4 days a week in practice and studying towards your LLB one day a week and once your LLB is completed, working towards the SQE1 and SQE2. Day-to-day the solicitor apprenticeship involves providing trainee assistance on transactions, drafting authorisations, contracts and amendments, reviewing documents and liaising with local counsel and clients, as well as much more including training and personal development.

I have gained new skills like drafting and client communication that prior to the apprenticeship I did not have experience with in regards to legal drafting etc. The tasks given as a solicitor apprentice at DLA Piper are always working to further develop the skills you have and build on these to bring you to the standard of a Day 1 solicitor.

I thoroughly enjoy my programme as it allows me to study whilst also gaining practical and invaluable experience at an international law firm, reaching opportunities that otherwise would have not been available to me.

The programme is structured well with a designated team within Early Careers who manage and see to the wider apprentice cohort across the various offices. This gives us a good point of contact for any issues or queries we may have. The programme is also structured so that it best suits our academic requirements at the time, for example, allowing extra study leave during exam periods etc.

Our employer schedules cohort catch-ups with the relevant offices that have Solicitor Apprentices, one-to-one catch-ups with the individual Solicitor Apprentices as well as catch-ups with our training provider, University of Law, in which we all meet together from the various offices. They also host training specific to Solicitor Apprentices to help us develop skills that we may not have acquired as of yet or that would be important considering the nature of our programme, for example, revision and time management etc.

Our provider meets with us frequently through the format of Skills Review Meetings and this incorporates reviewing how we are doing in practice as well as our progression with our LLB studies and academic exams. These reviews also support us from a wellbeing and safeguarding perspective.

Our qualification through University of Law significantly helps us to perform better in our role because it allows us to go into certain practice groups within DLA Piper with some prior LLB knowledge, for example, studying Land Law before going into the Real Estate team. The study skills days that University of Law also host for us focus on developing some softer skills, for example, negotiation, communication etc.

DLA Piper have multiple sports teams, for example Netball, Football, Tag Rugby. There are also our well established People Networks which host events for us to get involved with, for example, movie nights during International Women's Day events. There is also the option to attend practice group specific networking events or events with clients, for example, Dealmakers awards.

Yes

DLA Piper makes you feel very welcome but also has your progression as something that is vitally important to your wider team and support network within the firm. They give you ample responsibility and are very good at providing learning opportunities with lots of team members willing to help you grow and develop your skills.

Make sure to research the firm adequately before applying to ensure that the core values that DLA Piper runs off of align with your own personal values as this will help you settle in with the firm and know it is the right place for you. Research the kind of work DLA Piper does and the sectors they operate within as they may be ones of particular interest to you.