Solicitor Apprentice Review

I am a solicitor apprentice working in Legal Operations, and do a variety of work including: finance litigation, employment tribunal work, document review, etc. Daily tasks include client communication regarding files, taking on instructions from various workstreams (outlined above), and tracking my progress and skills.

I have learnt many new skills, including learning how to draft letters, emails, and various other documents, as well as learning a great deal about the motor finance sector - something I had very little knowledge of prior to my job.

I definitely am enjoying my apprenticeship programme - I get a lot of support, and my progress is constantly being tracked, allowing me to find ways to improve. I enjoy the document review work I take on, as well as the document drafting elements of the role.

My programme is quite structured, and all my weeks look the same. I have a set study day in which I do not have any work responsibilities, only apprenticeship tasks to complete from BPP, which helps me to keep structure.

I receive a great deal of support from my employer - I feel as though the people I work with have a genuine interest in my progress and my programme as a whole. My workplace also constantly takes feedback as to how they can improve my experience, which is appreciated massively.

I receive some support from BPP - the resources they provide are extremely helpful and allow me to work towards my qualifications efficiently. I sometimes find it difficult to communicate issues I have, and think we would benefit more from workshops where the focus is on us as apprentices, and our needs.

My qualification massively helps me to actually understand the tasks that I am being instructed - when I take on training for new types of work, I am able to link it to the knowledge I am gaining on my course, to gain a full understanding of why and how things work in practice.

There are many extra-curriculars to get involved in at work - we have many after-work sports opportunities, including yoga and pilates classes. We also have lots of social opportunities - firm-wide, within the team, and with various clients and organisations.

Yes

I have been supported massively throughout my whole course, and also really enjoy my work. I have a good work-life balance and have access to lots of helpful advice. My team and manager are excellent, and are another contributing factor to the amount of support I get.

I would advise that when applying to DWF, ensure you are familiar and comfortable with their goals and objectives, and ensure that you have something to talk about and link to them - even the smallest task can massively propel you as long as it has some weight in terms of DWF's goals.