Member Article

Law Firm Expands Apprenticeship Programme

LEADING Yorkshire based law firm LCF Law is expanding its highly successful apprenticeship scheme.

Over the coming months the company will recruit three new apprentices at its Bradford and Harrogate offices. LCF Law launched its apprenticeship scheme just over three years ago and currently has eight apprentices training across its four Yorkshire offices.

Hannah Lynch-McShane is one such apprentice who has just become one of only 40 students in the UK to join the University of Law (ULaw) Solicitors’ Apprenticeship course, a scheme which offers school leavers an alternative route to becoming a solicitor, rather than a university degree. Two years ago, she left sixth form college and joined LCF Law, before completing her level 3 apprenticeship eight months ahead of schedule. In the next phase of her progression, she will spend one day a week at university and four days working within LCF Law’s Disputes Team, at the firm’s Leeds office.

Simon Stell, Managing Partner at LCF Law, says: “Our apprenticeship programme has quickly become very successful and we’re firmly committed to growing it further. All our current apprentices have become valuable employees and also bring a more diverse range of backgrounds into our team, rather than us solely recruiting those with a traditional university degree.

“We’re now looking forward to appointing several new apprentices across our Harrogate and Bradford offices. We’re keen to hear from school leavers and young people who are interested in pursuing a legal career, who want to earn while they learn, but don’t necessarily want to have to pay tuition fees and go to university.”

Hannah Lynch-McShane, who is 21 years old and lives in Headingley says: “With the cost of university continually increasing, I began researching different routes to become a lawyer and decided an advanced apprenticeship at LCF Law would be a great option. My role in the Disputes Team involves a vast range of tasks, no two days are ever the same and it’s often very exciting. I’m now really enjoying the next stage of my training and looking forward to my future legal career.”

The six-year solicitor apprenticeship programme offers a combination of work-based and online supervised study, together with practical and academic activities at ULaw campuses that prepare apprentices for the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam Parts 1 and 2.
Apprentices who successfully complete these assessments can then apply to the SRA to be admitted as solicitors at the end of the programme. Apprentices will also complete ULaw assessments, which offer the opportunity to be awarded an LLB in Legal Practice and Skills (Hons) from ULaw.

LCF Law works with both businesses and private individuals. The long-established firm employs more than 135 people across offices in Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate and Ilkley.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Steven Wright .