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Are you a standout individual? At Freeths, we are committed to guiding our talented graduates to be the best they can be. As well as developing your career, you will find a dynamic environment where your skills are truly valued. Be part of our ambitious plans for the future by applying to our Legal Assistant Programme.
The role
Our Legal Assistant programme allows you to gain grass roots experience of working in a legal environment alongside our talented lawyers. You will provide a combination of administrative and legal support to Trainees, Lawyers and Partners, which means that you get a true picture of what a career in law could offer you in the long term. We are looking for outstanding Legal Assistants with excellent academics, first class organisation, with the ability to build lasting relationships and have a flexible and can-do attitude to contribute and succeed with us.
Legal Assistant positions are initially for 6 months. We review performance at three monthly intervals; at the 6 month mark we are assessing performance and attitude with a view to offering a second 6 month contract. At the 9 month stage, we make a decision on whether to offer funding for the Solicitor Qualifying Examinations and a further contract to enable you to complete your Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) and this will be delivered through a graduate level Apprenticeship.
Successful Legal Assistants will then enrol onto the Graduate Apprenticeship and this means starting the formal training. This will involve working at Freeths four days a week and studying one day a week at the University of Law to prepare for and take the SQE 1 and SQE 2. You will have the option to make the apprenticeship up to a Masters qualification. The apprenticeship will last 25 months and during that period, you will rotate seats in different areas of law whilst completing your QWE.
Once you have completed our Graduate Apprenticeship and passed your exams you will be ready to qualify! Candidates who graduate with a law degree three years ago or longer are required to undertake the Graduate Legal Essentials course.
When should I apply?
We recruit Legal Assistants on a rolling basis throughout the year. Please note, candidates should submit their applications to our Legal Assistant Programme no more than a few months prior to their availability to start work with us.
We will then consider your application for positions we have available at that time and if you are successful, you will join us upon graduation. If you have already graduated, then please apply at any time!
A friendly law firm
Freeths is a great place to work and learn, and we’ve got the awards to prove it. We are rated in the Top 50 of The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For and have a Silver Investors in People Award. People at every level of the firm will go out of their way to help you – your success is our success.
“One of the reasons I chose to apply to Freeths was the reputation it had as a friendly firm. I was pleasantly surprised by just how approachable and helpful everyone is.” Serra Lee, Managing Associate at Freeths Milton Keynes
A diverse team of people
Want to gain work experience as you complete your training course? Our Flexible Graduate programme and Legal Assistance Foundation Progamme allow you to choose the learning route that suits you. There is no typical Freeths candidate – we have a diverse mixture of bright, stand-out trainees from law and non-law backgrounds. You can join us fresh from graduating (we do not have a “list of universities” that we pick from), or after doing your LPC or GDL.
“I started the Freeths legal assistant programme and have never looked back! The programme was an excellent way of starting my legal career as it enabled me to adapt to the legal working environment and learn ‘on the job’ whilst fully being supported by Freeths throughout.” Hurmus Oltan, Managing Associate at Freeths Leicester
A challenging environment
Get exposure to a variety of departments, with a stimulating mix of mentoring and courses. Our graduates make a real difference to our firm – we will support you to develop a successful long-term career with us.
“Within five minutes of being introduced to the team I was knee deep the preparation of a fifty lever arch file trial bundle for a multi million pound claim in the High Court.” Andrew Rathi, Senior Associate at Freeths Nottingham
