Solicitor apprentices reap the benefits of new scheme

At Minster Law, we believe in investing in our people and we pride ourselves on providing a positive, supportive working environment with a structured programme of development opportunities. In 2022, we launched the solicitor apprenticeship scheme to break down barriers to a career in law and provide the opportunity for anyone to qualify as a solicitor, regardless of education or legal experience.

We caught up with apprentices, Holly Martin and George King, about the process they went through when deciding to apply for the scheme and how it has since benefited them.

Why did you decide to apply for the apprenticeship scheme?

We believe the key benefit that the solicitor apprenticeship at Minster Law offers is the ability to work straight away, which allows you to gain a lot of practical knowledge. The solicitor apprenticeships combine academic learning with on-the-job training, helping us to develop new and critical skills at an early stage of our career. This combination of working on-the-job as you progress through your education means that you are able to apply what you are learning to your role, allowing you to get the most out of your workplace environment. The hands-on experience we get is crucial in improving our future prospects as well. The solicitor apprenticeships that Minster Law offer appeal to different learning styles, particularly people who benefit from practical, real world, on-the-job training with high levels of responsibilities and who can learn from others.

What made the Minster Law apprenticeship scheme stand out?

A solicitor apprenticeship at Minster Law provides stability to your life and career. If you obtain a place on the apprenticeship scheme, whether that’s the 3- or 6-year pathway, you are aware that by the end, you will be taking your solicitor qualification exams which provides you with the opportunity to qualify as a solicitor. You will also be in a strong position to take these SQE exams due to the knowledge and practical experience you have already gained within the various seats at Minster Law. You do not need to be worried or preoccupied about obtaining a training contract or the relevant work experience you need to qualify as all these provisions will be met within the scheme. Unlike some other law firms, Minster Law provides you with a full-time job on completion of the apprenticeship and will always encourage you to stay. This means that your future career prospects are in a stable position, and you will have already made strong connections and met likeminded people who you can continue to work with.

What did you like most about the scheme?

The solicitor apprenticeship at Minster Law particularly appealed to us as working full time in a law firm gives you the opportunity to meet and work with likeminded people. The scheme allows you to be able to expand on your horizons and get involved in business-wide opportunities and to also represent Minster Law by attending events outside the organisation. This provides us with the chance to socialise and make connections externally, which can present you with opportunities to enhance your skills and development in the future. For us, we thought this would be the best way to gain an understanding of the legal world and to ensure that we also had a good understanding of the commercial world, too. The fact that we could get all this experience whilst working and studying to become a solicitor made the scheme very appealing and we knew that it would be right for us.

Tell us more about your studying experience whilst working at Minster Law

As part of our job, we also study with BPP Law School and have a study day online each week. We have to do preparatory reading, and then each study day we have an online workshop to collaborate with others on the content we’ve learnt. It’s useful to be able to see the study content in our work, and it helps to consolidate the learning well. We also have meetings with our BPP coaches, and with our work managers. These serve as a good check in between BPP and Minster Law, where we can address any issues or difficulties we’re facing, and work to ensure that the job and the studying continue to interact with each other well in order to achieve the outcomes expected of us.

Joanne Peacock, director of operations for serious injury, said: “A key focus at Minster Law is around accessibility – whether that’s accessibility of services, communications, support, or information for customers, partners, and colleagues. Providing the apprenticeship programme as a route to qualifying was important to us as it means people from all socio-economic backgrounds can become a solicitor without incurring the cost of expensive tuition fees. We’ve been able to access local colleges to inspire the next generation of solicitors who now have more choice in terms of how they qualify.”

You can find out more about the scheme and how to apply to our solicitor apprenticeships by visiting our careers hub.