Solicitor Apprenticeships
Do you want to be a solicitor but don’t want to go, or didn’t have the opportunity to attend university? Maybe you have completed a law degree or conversion course and are looking for your first role in a law firm?
Ashtons Legal can offer you an alternative route into law where you can get hands-on, practical experience from the very start of your legal career.
As a solicitor apprentice, you will develop your skills and knowledge in different areas of the law, along with gaining good commercial awareness. Both of these will prepare you perfectly for when you enter the working world as a qualified lawyer.
Applications are closed for 2024. Applications for September 2025 will open in early 2025. Please check back for updates.
What is a Solicitor Apprenticeship?
A solicitor apprenticeship is a great combination of ‘work-based learning’ alongside part-time legal study. Approximately 20% of your week will consist of studying the theory for law at a university we partner with. The other 80% of your time will be spent working with partners and lawyers on active matters. As with all apprenticeships, you will be required to keep an up-to-date portfolio of various examples of tasks you have undertaken to present as evidence when it comes to your qualification.
There are many benefits of choosing to do a solicitor apprenticeship. With a solicitor apprenticeship, you earn while you learn, and you will gain practical experience from the very beginning of your legal career, as well as working with experienced partners and solicitors.
You can read about the experiences of one of our current solicitor apprentices here: Life as a Solicitor Apprentice at Ashtons Legal
What is included in the Solicitor Apprenticeship?
As a solicitor apprentice can expect to gain experience in all practical areas of the law. You will be drafting legal documents, preparing for court hearings, sitting in on client meetings, researching different areas of the law, proofreading legal documents and much more.
The solicitor apprenticeship includes SQE training, as well as assessments and typically takes six years to complete.
The Graduate solicitor apprenticeship includes the same and takes 32 months to complete.
What is the structure of a Solicitor Apprenticeship?
You will be examined by both coursework and exams. You will undertake two SQE exams near the end of your six-year solicitor apprenticeship.
Throughout your solicitor apprenticeship, you will be required to put together a portfolio of the work you have been doing, which will be used as evidence when qualifying.
Who can apply for a Solicitor Apprenticeship?
A Solicitor Apprenticeship is open to those who have five GCSEs between A*-C (9-4), including English and Maths PLUS:
- ABB at A level (128 UCAS points) or equivalent and
- between 96–127 UCAS points PLUS a pass on the BPP Admissions test.
Or
- completion of another relevant level 3 apprenticeship programme.
The Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship is open to those who have five GCSEs between A*-C (9-4), including English and Maths PLUS:
- a minimum 2:2 English Law degree
Or
- a 2:2 non-law degree PLUS a pass on an English law conversion course.
The law degree or conversion course must have been completed within the last five years.
How to apply
Applications are closed for 2024. Applications for September 2025 will open in early 2025. Please check back for updates.
Our top tips for completing your application
Watch our Solicitor Apprenticeship Open Evening: Solicitor Apprenticeship Open Evening