Legal Apprenticeships: the Law Degree Alternative?

The Legal Apprenticeship Revolution

The legal profession is beginning to realise that a law degree is not the only route to a legal career.

Research by the National Apprenticeship Service shows that 77% of employers who already have apprentices believe that apprenticeships make individuals more competitive, and 88% believe that they lead to a more motivated workforce.

This enthusiasm for apprenticeships grew significantly in 2013, with several firms launching their own formal schemes, including Shoosmiths and Thomas Eggar, the latest firms to launch apprenticeship programmes for school leavers.

Not only did the new Higher Apprenticeships in Legal Services launch in March, which are equivalent to the first year of a degree, but the government also announced that it may be possible to enrol on apprenticeships equivalent to bachelor's and master's degrees as early as this year.

So what do these legal apprenticeships involve, and why are they on the rise?

What is a legal apprenticeship?

A legal apprenticeship is, quite simply, an alternative to the traditional law degree.

As a legal apprentice, you can receive professional training with a law firm or an in-house legal department while earning a salary.

These apprenticeships offer a range of training opportunities from various providers for both existing and new members of staff. They combine on-the-job training with nationally recognised qualifications. Within the legal sector, they are available in legal administration and legal services.

In most cases, an apprentice will join a law firm straight from school to work in a role similar to that of a paralegal.

Most apprentices will also receive on-the-job training leading towards a formal qualification, for example as a legal executive through the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx).

Various schemes have been launched over the past few years, including one by the Co-op, an early adopter of the ABS model, which has announced that it will create 3,000 new jobs in the legal services sector, many of which will be apprenticeships.

Clearly, the emphasis is on helping school leavers enter employment while providing them with training and the essential skills needed to progress further up the career ladder.

Many providers are offering legal apprenticeships, including Damar Training, Skills for Justice, Pearson in Practice, CILEx and the National Apprenticeship Service, all of whom are partners in launching the new Higher Apprenticeships in Legal Services scheme.

These organisations are naturally enthusiastic about this 'new breed' of apprenticeship pathway. It is difficult not to share their enthusiasm when you consider the number of Legal Practice Course (LPC) graduate paralegals who might have been better served by entering the workplace earlier, establishing themselves in fee-earning roles sooner and avoiding significant levels of debt.

Why are they on the rise?

Apprenticeships are becoming increasingly popular for many reasons, mainly because of the benefits they offer to both employers and prospective apprentices.

For employers, they provide an opportunity to develop employees with the skills and attributes that best suit the firm's needs. In other words, they allow firms to shape employees to fit their organisational culture and working practices.

This idea of developing employees specifically for the firm's needs is understandably attractive to employers. However, it could also be concerning for those apprentices who later wish to move to different firms.

Hilary Yeo, a graduate recruitment partner at Plexus Law, a firm that has recently taken on seven new apprentices, disagrees. She believes that the skills gained through legal apprenticeships are highly transferable. Ironically, it is precisely these transferable skills that may concern employers hoping to retain the employees they have invested so heavily in developing.

Hilary Yeo, a graduate recruitment partner at Plexus Law, believes the skills gained through legal apprenticeships are highly transferable.

However, Yeo argues that working closely with apprentices, providing high-quality support and mentoring, and offering clear pathways to senior roles and partnership will encourage most employees to remain with the firm long term after effectively 'growing up' within the organisation.

For those looking to enter the legal profession, the main benefit is obvious.

With the estimated overall cost of entering the profession through university standing at around £100,000, including living expenses, it is no surprise that many aspiring lawyers are looking towards apprenticeships.

Supreme Court President Lord Neuberger has also expressed concerns that a strictly university-based route into the legal profession presents a significant threat to diversity within the profession. In a speech on reforming legal education in November, Lord Neuberger argued that 'a less diverse profession is an impoverished one' that is unable to 'reflect and support a flourishing democracy committed to the rule of law'. This provides yet another reason for firms to introduce apprenticeship schemes, and more broadly, for the profession to be optimistic about the future.

Final thoughts

It is no surprise that the legal profession is embracing these innovative apprenticeships at a time when tuition fees have risen significantly following the coalition government's decision to triple them.

School leavers are increasingly recognising the harsh reality that university is not only expensive and likely to leave graduates with substantial debt, but also offers no guarantee of employment upon graduation. It is expected that this reality will encourage many aspiring lawyers to weigh up the alternatives.

Given the benefits that legal apprenticeships provide, together with the absence of many of the financial burdens associated with university, it is little wonder that this route into the legal profession is becoming increasingly attractive.

The profession appears to be recognising that, while a law degree remains a valuable route into practice, it is no longer the only pathway.

Legal apprenticeships offer an alternative that combines paid employment with professional training, making the legal profession more accessible to a wider range of aspiring lawyers.