'Trading Bottles for Bundles': A Solicitor-Apprentice's Story

For National Apprenticeship Week, Ashurst solicitor-apprentice Brooke Moon shares how the scheme has helped on her career story.

This year's theme for National Apprenticeship Week is ‘Skills for Life’. The last four years as a Solicitor Apprentice have been a steep learning curve and I have definitely picked up a wide variety of skills along the way. However, I think recently the biggest skill I have been exercising is time management as I have just returned to work after having 9 months off, with my son, who I had in May last year.

Trading nappies and bottles for bundles and witness statements has been quite the shake up!

I am so surprised at how smooth my transition back onto the apprenticeship has been. If there is one thing I learnt on maternity leave it is how much I could get done while my son napped for one hour. I think that level of productivity is going to come in handy at work!

I am so pleased with the flexibility the apprenticeship offers me; I am able to be home for his story and bath time whilst also getting the buzz of being back in the office and the fulfilment knowing I am working towards my own career. This point in the apprenticeship is pivotal as later this year I embark on the training contract during which I am sure I will widen my skillset even further.

In those final school years, making choices about your career can be daunting and you are often met with conflicting advice. Deciding between an apprenticeship and the traditional university route really does depend on you as an individual and your personality. I would say that an apprenticeship is more suited to someone who is pretty certain that they want to become a solicitor, as it is a larger commitment than your typical university degree.

For me, the biggest advantage of taking an apprenticeship is the ability to gain six years’ experience in a law firm whilst completing your qualifications. You are able to fully immerse yourself in the everyday culture of a law firm and learn from colleagues. Another important factor is that your qualifications are paid for by your employer and you receive a salary which increases each year. This creates a much more accessible route into law as it removes the financial burden which often comes with university.

Some of the biggest challenges for me were during the first few weeks after I joined the firm. Going from school to working in a global law firm was definitely a shock to the system. The level of professionalism required, the responsibilities you take on and the everyday networking was all new to me. However, these were experiences that helped me grow and made me feel confident that I had made the right decision by taking an apprenticeship.

Another huge challenge was completing a degree whilst working full time. This required a certain level of time management and prioritisation which took a few months to grasp. Balancing both commitments is something I still work on today.

The best thing about being an apprentice is the people. In my four years at the firm I have met a large number of lawyers and non-lawyers from across the firm who have all taught me something different. It is invaluable to watch how others work on a daily basis and allow yourself to find your place in the team. You are forced to learn a lot, very quickly, but this means that you can look back and really see how far you have come from when you first started. You are not only improving your knowledge of the law, but also your interpersonal skills.

The opportunities available to you as an apprentice are endless. I have been on a client secondment recently which allowed me to see how an in house legal team operates and gain a perspective from the client’s side. Another apprentice at my firm is currently on an international secondment and is able to connect with our colleagues in other offices.

My first tip is to do lots of research. Taking on an apprenticeship is a huge commitment, and there are now lots of resources out there to read or watch. You should look into whether you want to go down the private practice or in-house route; boutique firm or international; and what area of law you have a particular interest in. These are all big, but exciting, decisions!

I think it is a really good idea to try and get some work experience. Although legal work experience is great as it increases your knowledge of the industry, it is also really hard to secure. It is best to be open minded, as many jobs will have transferable skills you can apply in your application. I worked shadowing my MP which I felt gave me a lot of interesting things to talk about in my interview.

Finally, my biggest tip (as cliché as it sounds!) is to be yourself. No employer expects an 18 year old straight from secondary school to come in and be the finished package. They want to see potential, willingness to learn and someone excited to join the team. It is important when applying for apprenticeships to focus on the skills you already have, as my personal skills are what I have used the most. You have six years to learn the law, and the rest will come with time and hard work!

Brooke Moon is a Solicitor Apprentice in the Ashurst dispute resolution team, having joined the firm in September 2019.