Damar Training says tie-up with BARBRI ‘significantly widens access’ to TC alternative
An apprenticeship training specialist has launched a new pathway to qualification as a solicitor which is specifically geared towards paralegals and other part-qualified legal professionals.
Damar Training says the three-year programme, which begins this autumn, will open up a shorter-form solicitor apprenticeship for former paralegals and others, including part-qualified chartered legal execs, conveyancing and probate technicians who, with their firms’ support, would like to train as solicitors.
Graduates who already have a law degree or Graduate Diploma in law (GDL) will also have the option to complete a shorter eighteen-month programme that combines both parts of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). The first cohort of solicitor apprentices on this track will start in April and come from a “range of backgrounds”.
The new pathways have been made possible thanks to a “technology partnership” between Damar and legal education provider BARBRI. Apprentices will receive one-on-one group training and use BARBRI’s learning platform, which combines AI with “real-world exam experience” to produce a learning programme tailored to each apprentice.
“Improving the quality of vocational routes into the Law and helping employers to attract, develop and retain great future lawyers is at the heart of what we do,” Jonathan Bourne, managing director of Damar Training, said. “We are excited, working with Barbri, to be continuing to lead the way.”
Lucie Allen, global managing director at BARBRI, added:
“Given the opportunities they present, it is no surprise that solicitor apprenticeships are being wholeheartedly embraced as a robust and credible alternative route to qualify by law firms, in-house legal teams and the wider profession. We are delighted to be working with Damar to embed BARBRI’s market-leading technology and SQE learning expertise into this exciting new pathway”.
