Paralegal Apprentice Review

My role can be really varied from day-to-day, which is great! Most of my days are spent reviewing legal documents, compiling document bundles and drafting letters and emails. I also work part time on a large high profile document review case which is really great experience for me.

I have learnt a lot of new skills during my apprenticeship. One of the main things is practicing good time management which prevents work loads becoming overwhelming! As well as the obvious legal skills I have also learnt a lot of people skills , communication is key.

I really enjoy my programme. I have a dedicated study day every Monday which allows me to really focus on my studies. I also work in a really diverse friendly work place and have met a lot of new people.

I think DWF structure the apprenticeship really well. With BPP you have to be prepared to do a lot independently because it’s easy to miss information and dates.

I have an apprenticeship manager who is available to talk to whenever needed. We have quarterly catch ups to monitor progress and they are well informed about our progress both in the work place and BPP.

There are individuals you can email whenever if you need support on anything. I do find that we get sent a lot of information in bulk, which is not necessarily individual focused - so this can be quite unhelpful. Other than that everyone is very supportive.

The modules that we study with BPP are really helpful towards to jobs I carry out within the work place. We also got to choose which modules we would like to study, so we could focus this on what would benefit us the most in the work place .

Yes. There has been less of this over the course of my two years due to the pandemic, but I did get the chance to attended a charity afternoon prior to remote working. We often have team calls and catch ups which is good.

Yes

I have really enjoyed my time at DWF so far. I work in a really friendly environment and have a lot of support around me. There are a lot of opportunities to progress. I think DWF is a really good place to start your legal career.

I would say, do your research on the company and it’s objectives. Be confident and be yourself. Think about what prior experience or skills you may have that will benefit the role you are applying for, and be passionate about what you want to do!