The case for solicitor apprentices

• Explains how solicitor apprenticeships can benefit a legal services company or law firm.

Solicitor apprentices have been working in the legal sector for nearly five years now and, in 2022, we will see some of the original cohort admitted to the roll after taking the Solicitors’ Qualifying Examination (SQE).

Parts of the profession have been quick to embrace apprenticeships, and apprentices can now be found across the legal sector from the high street through to large corporate law firms. In 2012 my firm, Plexus Law, took on seven of the first legal services apprentices, four of whom are now on the solicitor programme. We have since grown the scheme, recruiting more than 170 apprentices with an 85% retention rate.

For legal services firms, apprenticeship programmes have several benefits.

Retention

The solicitor apprenticeship lasts about six years, and the first benefit is retention. This is