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We’re a national law firm with a local reach. Our philosophy is ‘Expert Hand, Human Touch’ – something you’ll find in the way we work with our clients and how we support our teams. But, we’re more than just a law firm – we’re a team, working together to help individuals and businesses navigate life’s ups and downs.

Whichever team you join, working here you’ll feel a part of our friendly and inclusive environment. We’ll value you for who you are and what you bring. We support each other and push boundaries to achieve incredible things, and make a real difference to our clients and communities.

The work we do has been recognised in the awards we’ve won. We’re committed to being even better, and our awards help to show we’re on the right track.

You will be working within the Serious Injury team within Irwin Mitchell. This team represents adults and children who have suffered severe and life changing or fatal injuries in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence. This might be a road traffic collision, an accident at work or an accident in another public or occupied place. We have one of the largest specialist serious injury teams in the country specialising in high value and complex claims. Our lawyers have helped thousands of people to claim compensation following a life changing or fatal injury, recovering millions of pounds in compensation.

You’ll be based in our Newcastle office working alongside lawyers based across your team in Newcastle.

The Irwin Mitchell Solicitor Apprenticeship is a six year programme. You will gain an LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice from The University of Law and at the end of the programme you will qualify as a solicitor after achieving the Solicitors Qualifying Exam 1 and 2 qualifications along with 2 years’ qualifying work experience.

All of your tuition fees will be paid and best of all, you will earn a salary whilst you are training and gaining your qualification.

The apprenticeship will combine practical work-based learning with formal study. You’ll gain valuable, real-life experience in the UK’s largest full service law firm, enhancing your legal and commercial understanding and growing your confidence in a work environment. It’s the ideal opportunity to benefit from an exciting new world of work and study while avoiding the costs usually associated with undertaking a degree.

As you progress through your apprenticeship, you will build a portfolio of the experience you have gained and the tasks you have completed in the workplace. You will spend the majority of time in your own department with the possibility of also working elsewhere for some of the programme to gain exposure to other parts of Irwin Mitchell. The programme will be tailored to your individual needs and goals for qualification, and your responsibility will increase as appropriate throughout your training.

Throughout the six years you will be working for four days per week and spend one day studying with The University of Law.

At Irwin Mitchell, we need individuals who can adapt and be resilient to this programme as well as the constant changes across the legal, social and political spheres. We need creative thinkers who can revolutionise the way we work and help Irwin Mitchell meet its future business needs. As well as strong academics and a genuine passion for law, we are looking for someone who embodies our values and wants to make a positive difference to both society and their future careers. You will need excellent communication skills, a good eye for detail and the ability to follow instructions and to enjoy working as part of a team. Due to the nature of interactions and cases you will be working on, you will also need to display empathy and compassion to help guide our clients through challenging personal circumstances.

Strong academic results are required, we are looking for 5 GCSEs at grade A*- C or equivalent (including Maths and English) and 3 A-Levels at grade CCC or above (excluding General Studies) or equivalent.

This apprenticeship is part of our commitment to being an inclusive employer and giving opportunities to a diverse range of candidates. As such, our solicitor apprenticeship is not open to people with degrees.

If you do have a degree and are interested in becoming a solicitor, see our Graduate Recruitment site for more opportunities.

Stage 1 - Application & Online Assessment

The first stage of the recruitment process involves a short online form where you’ll provide your basic personal information.

We’ll then invite you to complete a strengths-based assessment. This will take about 90 minutes to two hours.

You must apply online by the 28 February 2023.

Stage 2 – Video Interview

All candidates undertaking the online assessment will receive a feedback report outlining their key strengths. We'll then invite candidates that meet our benchmark to complete a strengths-based video interview.

Stage 3 – Virtual Assessment Centre

If successful at the video interview stage, we’ll invite you to attend one of our virtual assessment centres. You will be assessed by members of the Early Careers team, Associates and Partners, who have all been through unconscious bias training.

Assessment centres will take place across April/May 2023.

The assessment centre comprises the following:

• A discussion and decision making exercise
• An interview
• A written exercise

Successful candidates will commence their 6 year apprenticeship in September 2023 and will be employed on a permanent contract.

You are only able to make one application for a Solicitor Apprenticeship vacancy per recruitment round.

You will be earning £19,838 nationally and £21,749 in London from day one and your salary will be reviewed each year. You will move onto the trainee salary in your final year and then the newly qualified solicitor salary on successful completion of the apprenticeship.

Our apprentices receive a full benefits package including:

• 25 days annual leave, with the opportunity to buy additional leave
• Two fundraising days in a year to give back to the community (fully paid!)
• Westfield Health membership, offering discounted leisure and travel and refunds on medical services
• Contributory pension scheme
• Access to a variety of training and development resources

We also offer a huge number of well-being initiatives to encourage positive mental health both in and out of the workplace as well as flexible working options to ensure that you are fully supported to work the way that best suits you. Our social responsibility programme is fundamental to who we are. We’re committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace where our colleagues can flourish. We have a range of groups to celebrate our people across sexuality, disability, age, gender and culture.

As part of the Irwin Mitchell Group’s on-boarding process all successful applicants are required to complete the group’s employment screening process. This process helps to ensure that all new employees meet our standards in relation to honesty and integrity therefore protecting the interests of the Group, existing employees, clients, partners and other stakeholders.

Depending on the role you apply for we may carry out checks that will establish your eligibility to work in the UK, and criminal record check and financial checks with a credit reference agency will also be undertaken.

The employment screening process will fully comply with Data Protection and other applicable laws.

Irwin Mitchell LLP is an equal opportunity employer.