Mayer Brown doubles legal apprentice intake in inaugural year

International law firm Mayer Brown has announced the recruitment of two aspiring solicitors onto its legal apprenticeship programme, instead of the expected one.

Mayer Brown was the first firm in the City to offer its 'articled apprenticeship', which combines part-time study and work to provide an alternative route to qualification as a solicitor.

The programme was expected to attract candidates from a range of backgrounds wanting to kick start their legal career straight after leaving school or those wishing to make a career change.

The successful candidates, Rosie Ahmadi and David Elikwu, will be employed by Mayer Brown for the duration of their six-year apprenticeship while studying part-time at the University of Law (ULaw).

Commenting on the appointments, Annette Sheridan, global chief HR officer at Mayer Brown, said: 'The calibre of applicants who put themselves forward for this apprenticeship was extremely high, therefore we decided to offer a legal apprenticeship to two people. I am delighted to welcome our inaugural apprentices to the firm and I look forward to watching their progress as they develop their future careers.

'The articled apprenticeship gives talented people like them, who have decided against full-time study, a credible alternative to qualification as a solicitor.'

The four year part-time LLB is followed by the legal practice course (LPC) and the professional skills course (PSC) to be completed in two years.

The third year of the programme work will start to count towards the training contract as a period of recognised training (PRT), which will continue until the PSC is completed.

The Law Society, however, has warned that the Solicitors Regulation Authority's proposed removal of the venerable training contract amounts to a 'step too far' for a qualification that is already viewed as a 'light touch' on the global legal stage.

Nevertheless, a growing trend of businesses offering legal apprenticeships has begun to take hold in the legal sector. Just last week the government published new assessment plans and standards for legal apprenticeships to enable more flexible routes to qualification.

Meanwhile, the application process for Mayer Brown's next legal apprenticeship is to open in January 2016.

John van der Luit-Drummond is deputy editor for Solicitors Journal
john.vanderluit@solicitorsjournal.co.uk | @JvdLD