If you’re ready to begin your legal career but university doesn’t feel like the right fit, our solicitor apprenticeship offers a powerful alternative.

Earn while you learn, gain experience in real legal teams, and qualify without the burden of tuition fees.

This six-year programme combines practical experience and academic study, so you’ll gain both the skills and qualifications needed to become a solicitor.

You’ll spend 80% of your time (four days a week) working alongside our expert lawyers, and 20% studying with our training provider, BPP University.

From your very first day, you’ll be part of a law firm that values your voice, trusts you with real responsibility, and invests in your growth.

Throughout your apprenticeship, you’ll work in a variety of teams, gaining the technical knowledge, commercial skills and professional experience that define a modern solicitor.

You’ll start with an introduction to the business side of law, spending time with our business development directorate, before rotating through our core legal teams — commercial, corporate, litigation, banking & finance, and real estate.

You’ll also explore specialist areas like intellectual property, construction, and employment, and may have the opportunity to complete a client secondment.

Your studies will include the subjects covered in a law degree — such as contract law, public law and land law — along with the practical modules that form part of the Solicitor Qualifying Examinations (SQE). You’ll build a portfolio of workplace evidence and prepare for the SQE to achieve full qualification.

You won’t be doing it alone. You’ll have a dedicated line manager, a buddy to help you settle in, a student manager to monitor your progress, and a personal tutor from BPP to support your learning and portfolio development.

All while you develop the skills that matter the most, like communication, collaboration, and commercial awareness.

We’re looking for people who are curious, driven, and ready to make things happen.

You’ll need strong academics — a minimum of 5 GCSEs (including english and maths) and ABB at A-Level — but we look at the whole person, not just grades. We value your attitude, resilience and potential to thrive in a collaborative environment.

At Shoosmiths, you’ll find a refreshing lack of hierarchy and a culture that celebrates individuality. You’ll work hard, be supported to grow, and take pride in contributing to a business that makes a difference.

We’re also proud to be a member of City Century, an award-winning solicitor apprenticeship initiative that helps recruit and develop the best future lawyers. If you’re still exploring your options, you can complete the free virtual work experience through City Century to get a taste of life as a solicitor apprentice.

Our recruitment process is designed to help you show your potential, not just your experience.

You’ll complete:

• an online application where you’ll tell us about your academics, experiences and motivation

• an online strengths-based assessment

• an in-person assessment centre, where we’ll explore how your values and behaviours align with ours

We assess each application holistically, looking at both your academics and your responses to our questions — because we know there’s more to being an excellent solicitor than grades alone.

Programme details