Solicitor Apprenticeship (school leaver) - September 2025 - Bristows

Deadline: 2 January 2025

The programme

Our solicitor apprenticeship scheme is a six–year Level 7 apprenticeship, where you will gain a law degree LLB (Hons) and qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales based on the successful completion of the Solicitor Qualifying Exams (SQE).

All tuition fees are funded by the firm and you will also earn a salary whilst working towards your qualification as a solicitor. During the first four years of the apprenticeship, apprentices will rotate to different practice areas including Commercial IP/IT/DCL, Patent Litigation, Corporate, Tax, Employment and Competition. There may also be an opportunity to complete a client secondment to one of our many valued and well known clients. Your working week will consist of a day of study, provided by BPP, and four days working with the guidance of our expert lawyers, enabling you to put legal concepts you have learnt into practice straight away. For the final two years, apprentices will join the trainee solicitor rotation and will be able to experience additional practice areas or return to one previously enjoyed, with the view to potential qualification.

For more information of our trainee solicitor pathway please see our Graduate Recruitment hub page.

What to expect as a Solicitor Apprentice at Bristows 

The firm aims to support our apprentices with their transition to the professional workplace and has designed an initial induction programme that gives a detailed introduction to the firm’s strategy, values and core business skills to equip our apprentices with a strong foundation. Our apprentices are paired with a partner who is responsible for overseeing the development of our apprentices. Key legal skills including legal research, due diligence drafting, client interaction, time recording and commercial awareness are all tasks apprentices will experience. A ‘welcome buddy’ is also assigned to help our apprentices settle in and build relationships with others round the firm.

The Learning & Development team provide training on legal and core skills to compliment the programme provided by BPP. Our training platforms are available to our apprentices throughout their whole experience as well as in person sessions to assist their development.

The trainee solicitors at Bristows also support our apprentices throughout the programme prior to when they join the rotations in the fourth year. Our apprentices often attend know how sessions and have monthly meetings with trainees from different departments to gain further knowledge on a wide range of topics, from basic skills up to interesting case studies and general advice.

Key information:

Location: London

Salary: £25,000

Qualifications to be acquired: You will gain a law degree LLB (Hons) and qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales based on the successful completion of the Solicitor Qualifying Exams (SQE).

Application dates: Applications are open for our September 2025 solicitor apprentice intake. Applications close 2 January 2025.

Recruitment process

Application form and interview

The first stage of the process is the application form. You will be required to submit your CV and Cover Letter and include details on your educational background and experiences. Your application should also highlight experiences that may not be captured in your CV such as any other hobbies, skills or achievements. This is your opportunity to showcase who you are and why you think you would make a good solicitor apprentice.

The next stage is a virtual interview. At this stage you will be asked two prerecorded questions and be given a timeframe to consider your answer before the recording stages.  

Tips for the virtual interview:

• Be yourself and be prepared to talk about yourself & your experiences mentioned on your CV
• Research the firm
• Focus on transferable skills and examples of where you have demonstrated them

Assessment day

A small group of candidates, who have been through the application and virtual, are selected to attend the assessment day. The assessment centre consists of a written exercise, which will assess your analytical skills and attention to details. You will also participate in group tasks which will allow you to demonstrate collaboration, and problem solving abilities as you will work with others to tackle an activity. Additionally, you will be interviewed by members of the apprenticeship committee at Bristows, this is your opportunity to demonstrate your passion, professionalism and readiness to take on the challenges of the legal field. It also gives you the opportunity to ask questions that you may have about the firm, apprenticeship and the role.

You will also be asked to give a short presentation on a topic of your choice. This is a chance to showcase your interests and expertise, while also demonstrating how well you can present your ideas clearly and engagingly.

Preparation

A number of our current apprentices have shared their advice for prospective apprentices for the application process and assessment day:

• Research the firm, understand different practice areas and the firm’s mission, vision, and values - at Bristows we are proud of our culture so to understand and have a strong association to the culture is important.
• Prepare for different scenarios - for different tasks you can practice different methods. For group tasks, ensure you are getting involved and being yourself and practicing what might come up. The interview stage is a relaxed environment to ensure we can get to know the candidate so although we want you to be yourself, make sure you are prepared for the interview and potential questions that may come your way.
• Be yourself - we want our apprentices to really fit in at Bristows and enjoy this exciting venture.

To find out more, click Apply.