Legal Apprenticeships

Legal Apprentices will either work in our Central Commercial or Insurance practice within the following teams - Mindcrest, Motor, Litigation or CAT PI & OH team. 

You will work 4 days a week, and attend a study day one day of the week with BPP. 

You will receive a starting salary of £18,525 plus other benefits (nationwide, excluding London). In London, the starting salary is £21,157 plus other benefits.

Throughout the apprenticeship you will have the support of your team members, supervisor and a dedicated mentor. During the course of the two-year apprenticeship, you will gradually be exposed to more complex legal work.

Legal Apprentices will work towards achieving a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship in Legal Services, taught by BPP with all training costs covered by DWF. Apprentices will learn the following: Introduction to Law & Practice, Legal Research and Client Care Skills. Apprentices will also have the option to choose modules that reflect the work they undertake in practice. In addition, BPP will provide you with the opportunity to study for a certificate in Higher Education, a qualification that is equivalent to the first year of a degree.

This Paralegal Trailblazer qualification is the first of its kind and can lead to qualification as a solicitor. BPP will deliver the formal teaching for our apprenticeship, along with providing a dedicated assessor for each Legal Apprentice. 

Find out more about BPP

We hope all our Legal Apprentices complete their studies and decide to stay with us. Your exact role upon qualification will be determined by the skills and abilities you have shown during the previous two years. In advance of completion we will discuss with you where your skills can be best utilised within the firm.

If you show exceptional potential, we will offer you the opportunity to be considered to undertake the Solicitor Apprenticeship pathway and qualify as a solicitor.

Entry level requirements

• 5 GCSEs (or equivalent) including English and Mathematics
• 3 C's (or equivalent) at A-Level

As well as good academics, you must have excellent communication skills, an eye for detail and the ability to follow instructions and be able to work well as part of a team. You do not need legal work experience to apply, but work and life experience is valuable.

In your application we are keen to see your drive and determination for a career in law and a good understanding of our firm.

Telephone Interview

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will be contacted by BPP, who will arrange to conduct a telephone interview with yourselves. The telephone interview is the first opportunity for you to show why you think a Legal Apprenticeship is right for you and why DWF is the firm you wish to do it at.

Online application

Please note, part of our application process is completed via our recruitment partners at BPP. Our current 2021 vacancies in Manchester and Liverpool are now closed, although please keep an eye out for future opportunities here. Applications will go live in March 2022, on Apply4Law for the September 2022 intake. 

Our application form asks for a breakdown of your academic achievements to date, any work experience (both legal and non-legal), and a 900 word personal statement split into two questions. The personal statement makes up the bulk of the application form. Here we are looking for you to demonstrate your knowledge of DWF, what makes us different, your motivation to becoming an apprentice and also what transferable skills you have gained that would be relevant as a paralegal apprentice.

Spend time on your answers, do not hold back and really tell us about yourself. This is your opportunity to make your application stand out, so pay attention to your grammar and spelling, a key skill of being a lawyer is attention to detail so make sure your application is error free!.

Assessment Centre

Upon successful completion of the telephone interview stage, your application and telephone interview score will be reviewed the by the apprenticeship team at DWF. If successful, you will be invited to attend an assessment centre at DWF, which will involve:

Group Exercise: Our group exercise is designed to allow you to demonstrate teamwork skills, communication skills, negotiation skills and commercial awareness. You will receive documents detailing the task, including all information required to fulfil the exercise. At the end of the group discussion, you will be required to take part in a small group presentation. This allows you to demonstrate your ability to present confidently and articulately.

In-tray exercise: Our in-tray exercise is a proof-reading task which is designed to demonstrate your attention to detail by identifying spelling, punctuations errors as well as looking out for spelling, grammatical and typographical errors and even completing missing information. 

A one to one interview: The interview will be conducted with a senior manager, solicitor, associate or partner (fee earners) and a member of the emerging talent team. The interview comprises of competency-based and strength based questions; this will assess what your strengths are (i.e. what you are good at), demonstrating what you enjoy, as well as assessing your previous experience and transferable skills. 

Applications open 2nd March 2020 and the deadline to apply for a paralegal apprenticeship is 6th May 2020. 

Please note that we may close the vacancy earlier if we receive a high volume of applications, therefore you should consider sending your applications in early to avoid disappointment. 

If you are successful you will be offered a place to start with us in September and will attend a comprehensive induction. The induction will cover information about the firm, soft skills and an IT training session; you will also meet your tutor, supervisor and mentor.