More than 3,000 people have taken up solicitor apprenticeships—six-year level 7 apprenticeships at law firms—since their launch in 2015. However, the government is currently considering changing its funding policy to focus on shorter apprenticeships, and could exclude certain level 7 apprenticeships.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson warned this week cutting funding would ‘have a substantial negative impact on both social mobility and talent development.
‘Apprenticeships provide a route into a legal career that has previously not been open to many from low socio-economic backgrounds.'
Several law firms have urged the Department of Education to continue funding. Writing in NLJ this month, Rhicha Kapila, partner and chief operating officer at Bolt Burdon Kemp, which has four apprentices and aims to expand its scheme, expressed concerns ‘that removing the option will close doors for people who would struggle to enter the legal profession via the usual academic route’.
