About me
I studied my A-Levels at Macmillan Post-16 Sixth Form. When I first joined the Sixth Form, I changed what I was going to study a couple of times. I was originally planning to study Maths, Further Maths and Physics but I changed that to Maths, Biology and Chemistry before settling on studying Biology, Mathematics and Government and Politics. I achieved three As in my A-Levels.
During Sixth Form I was hoping to go to university to study Law. I applied to Oxford University, University College London, King’s College, The London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University of York.
Degree vs. solicitor apprenticeship
Around Christmas of year 13 I began to look at the idea of degree apprenticeships. Until this point, I did not realise that completing an apprenticeship programme in a career such as law or finance was possible. Just before the Christmas holidays in year 13, I received an email from ‘All About School Leavers’, detailing a new degree apprenticeship program being run by Goldman Sachs. After looking into this further I realised that there was a large array of degree apprenticeships, especially in law. From my completing an apprenticeship programme in a career such as law or finance was possibly spent researching the different solicitor apprenticeship programs, I decided that I would prefer to complete an apprenticeship programme over going to university.
There are several benefits to qualifying as a solicitor via the apprenticeship route. You get on-the-job experience, from day one, learning what it is like to work in a law firm, and what it is like to deal with clients and you get to work on real files. You earn while you learn, allowing you to qualify as a solicitor without having a huge student loan to pay back. There is no need for previous legal experience to work as a solicitor apprentice, and you can learn in a practical way, learning the different legal principles while putting them into use on a day-to-day basis. Best of all is being able to qualify as a solicitor in an almost identical amount of time to someone going down the more traditional university route while having almost 7 years of hands-on experience working as a solicitor. This is compared to the two years that a newly qualified solicitor who went down the university route would have. All these benefits, and many others, made me sure that the solicitor apprenticeship would be the route for me.
Why Jacksons Law Firm?
Before applying to any of the apprenticeships, I spoke to Toby Joel at Jacksons Law Firm, hoping to get some advice regarding my CV and cover letter. The feedback received was wholly unexpected; Toby suggested that I apply for a solicitor apprenticeship at Jacksons. I applied to several different solicitor apprenticeship programmes completing a number of different assessments, video interviews, and in-person interviews. Despite applying to several other programmes and interviewing, I came into Jacksons many times to speak to Toby, other partners, trainees and newly qualified solicitors to try and get a feel as to what life at Jacksons would be like. The team at Jacksons always had time to answer any questions that I might have while I made my decision.
My experience so far
I have spent my time so far in the Residential Conveyancing department. The team have been extremely welcoming and supportive. There has always been available to provide help and guidance whenever needed, with any task that has been given to me. I have spent a lot of time working with Jonathan Wall, being shown the different stages in the conveyancing process. Jonathan has also taken the time to show me the work that he does on new developments, raising enquiries and checking the title, producing reports and collating important documents and information about the site, to allow the other fee earners to progress transactions. This has been a massive benefit to working at a firm like Jacksons, where I have been able to work closely with support staff, fee earners and partners. This wouldn’t always happen at bigger firms. Jonathan has always given me the time to explain anything that I did not understand and helped me increase my skills and knowledge.
My experience so far as a solicitor apprentice at Jacksons has been entirely positive. I would whole-heartedly recommend working as a solicitor apprentice at Jacksons, and the firm offers so many benefits generally. I am pleased to say that choosing to work as a solicitor apprentice at Jacksons was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
If you would like to read more about our apprenticeships click here
