Solicitor Apprenticeship (school leaver) - September 2025 - Charles Russell Speechlys

Deadline: 31 January 2025

Law is an exciting career prospect for many, but university isn’t always the right choice for every person. 

We offer Solicitor Apprenticeships in our Guildford and London offices.

Whether you want to avoid university fees or you are keen to get stuck in and work straight away, our Solicitor Apprenticeship Programme gives you to a great alternative route to qualify as a Solicitor. 

Our established programme has been running for seven years so we know how to help you achieve your goals and how to support you along the way.

During our six-year programme, you’ll study for an LLB degree in Legal Practice, build your career and become a qualified solicitor whilst working and earning without having to pay the university fees.

We are looking for talented individuals who are aligned with our values of being Authentic, Collaborative, Committed and Forward Looking, helping us to unlock and grow value for our clients.  

Furthermore, we’re looking for people who can champion our inclusive culture and focus on being a sustainable business. Alongside being technically brilliant, we expect more from our lawyers including our trainees. We recognise the need to be human in our approach so emotional intelligence is key.

You’ll ideally have achieved or be predicted at least BBB at A-Level (or equivalent) and 8 GCSE’s grades 9 – 4 including English and Maths.

As part of your application form, you’ll explore your motivations for a legal career and why you are applying to us as a firm. We are also keen for you to showcase how you align with our values of being Authentic, Collaborative, Committed and Forward Looking.

If you are successful after submitting your online application form, you’ll be invited to complete a video interview where you’ll see the question appear on your screen and be given time to prepare before recording your answer. We have practice interviews you can do through the Shortlister website so you know what to expect and be ready ahead of making your submission.

During the video interview, we want to see your individual personality and why you’re keen to join us. We also look for other key attributes, such as being client centric, committed to driving high standards, being commercially minded and being collaborative.

We would also encourage you to reach out to the Early Talent team at this stage if you require any potential adjustments such as, if you require extra time – it’s important to us to give you any support you need so you have the best chance at success. 

Our final stage is attending our Placement Scheme or standalone Assessment Centre depending on which pathway you have applied to. If you attend a Placement Scheme, your Assessment Centre will be included within your programme.  

We work with Aspiring Solicitors to provide firm-specific tailored support all candidates who receive a place on a UK Placement Scheme to help you prepare in advance and get the most out of the experience.  

Our assessment centre includes a face-to-face interview and other exercises which are designed to assess our identified performance criteria. People come to us from a variety of backgrounds and degree disciplines, with a range of perspectives that combine to give our lawyers their distinctive perspective on the law. Our assessment centre is designed for you to showcase what makes you stand out and also for you to get to know us in return.

We are able to make adjustments for those who require it so encourage you to get in touch with our Early Talent team if you think this might apply. It’s important to us that you have the right arrangements to perform at your best, so if you aren’t sure it’s always best to ask and we are happy to help.

For more information, click Apply.