Solicitor Apprentice Review

My role varies depending on which department I am working in. As an apprentice we rotate (like a trainee) into different seats. Currently I am in the Real Estate Disputes team. My day-to-day work includes drafting claim forms and particulars, submitting claims at court, meeting court deadlines, drafting various notices and a lot of client facing work.

I am currently a qualified paralegal so I attend all of the paralegal training that the firm offers. We have monthly training sessions with the knowledge and development lawyers, who go over typical document drafting, new laws and can help out with any university questions we may have. I have also previously attended client training on their external datasites.

I really enjoy my programme. I love the fact that I am able to learn practical skills from a young age, that university alone would not have taught me. I am also grateful to be working for a global law firm, which specialises in many areas of law, some of which I will have/have had the opportunity to experience during my programme.

My programme is very well organised. It gives opportunities to progress internally and gives us a wide range of knowledge of law which will be useful when we qualify. The firm are very dedicated to meeting apprentices' needs and are quick to notice any changes that need to be adapted to better the programme even further.

I receive a lot of support from my employer. BCLP recognise apprentices' needs around study time, and are very understanding when we need time off to study. As apprentices, we have an apprenticeship manager who remains the same throughout the programme. We also then have the managers in each team that we rotate into. Everyone is understanding and we have the consistency of the apprenticeship manager who understands our needs.

Every term we have a coaching day, which is a lecture (sometimes in face or online) which gives us an opportunity to meet other apprentices. This focuses on practical skills, and on any coursework or portfolio submissions we have coming up. The training providers are always available to answer any queries, but are not the best at providing information proactively.

I think that the fact we can choose which areas of law we want to study in the first two years helps massively towards understanding your practice area. My area of law is real estate, so we chose to study land law and commercial property early on. We still have to sit all core areas of law, but this is over the 7 years of the programme.

There are many extra-curricular activities offered at my work such as monthly drinks trolleys, which offers drinks and snacks after work to encourage socialising. We also have a netball team and a cricket team at the office, even though this has been postponed due to COVID-19. Over lockdown, the social committee organised an office game of virtual bingo after work, where prizes were sent home to the winners.

Yes

I would recommend BCLP as it is very inclusive and organised. Through my apprenticeship I have had many opportunities which I wouldn't have gotten in another law firm, such as pitching apprentice work to a client in London and visiting client premises. My time at BCLP so far has been enjoyable, and the people are so welcoming and lovely, at all levels.

I would say that you should research the firm, and definitely research which office you are applying for. The Manchester office focuses on real estate predominantly, however the London office specialises in so many more areas of law. I would also recommend connecting with people who already work at BCLP to ask their experiences at the firm, as I recognise that not everyone applying for a job is applying for the apprentice role. It could be good to connect with other paralegals if you are applying for a paralegal job for example.