Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is proud to have joined Norton Rose Fulbright (“NRF”) and many of the UK’s leading law firms in signing the UK legal apprenticeship pledge (the “pledge”) to recognise solicitor and other legal apprenticeships as an equal pathway into a legal career.
Instituted by the government in 2014, solicitor apprenticeships are open to post A level school leavers, who study (usually one day per week) alongside working at the sponsoring firm for their LLB and SQE 1 & 2, and takes six years to complete.
Launched by NRF, the pledge commits its signatories to ensuring that solicitor apprentices will be treated in an equivalent manner as those from the traditional training contract route throughout their careers. Please find more information about the pledge from NRF here.
WFW Managing Partner Lindsey Keeble commented: “Legal apprenticeships are an excellent new route into a legal career that will greatly promote social mobility, and hence diversity and inclusion, within the profession. I’m delighted to have committed WFW to the pledge”.
