The Legal Cheek View
This is the Weil Gotshal & Manges profile for those considering solicitor apprenticeships. Students looking to apply for training contracts should check out Legal Cheek‘s main Weil Gotshal & Manges profile.
Weil Gotshal & Manges is the first US headquartered law firm to enter the UK solicitor apprenticeship market. The firm offers apprenticeships in London and typically recruits up to two each year. Apprentices can expect an in-depth experience in the firm’s core practice area — private equity — while also gaining valuable experience in the finance, restructuring, disputes & investigations, and private funds teams. With 15 global locations, Weil partners with top international brands and major banking institutions.
We’re told that Weil’s apprentices start their journey with two business services “mini-seats”, lasting two months each, before transitioning into their first legal team. This initial phase provides recruits with insight into the firm’s operations behind the scenes. We heard from Weil’s current apprentices that these seats “can range from business development and events to the accounts team or the pro bono team”. One of our inside sources found this structure particularly useful: “This gave us time to adapt to working life”, they told us, adding, “it’s also nice to know a few more faces around the firm.” Following this brief period, apprentices spend the next four years rotating through the firm’s busy legal teams while pursuing their law degree part-time, one day a week.
In the final two years of the programme, apprentices begin studying for the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE) under Weil’s novel “block learning approach”. Instead of studying for the SQE part-time while working, apprentices will study full-time for eight months after their initial four years. The firm says this dedicated period allows apprentices to fully focus on the challenging exams before returning to the firm full-time, ensuring they are well-prepared and ready to hit the ground running for their final phase of the programme.
During the final 18 months of the firm’s solicitor apprenticeship, adventurous apprentices will have the opportunity for six-month international secondments in Washington DC, Hong Kong, Paris or New York. We spoke to one apprentice who mentioned this “exciting” opportunity as a key factor setting Weil’s apprenticeship programme apart. These final months will mark the completion of their six-year programme, emerging as qualified commercial solicitors.
But it’s not all work and no play at this global firm. Apprentices can expect to join the graduate trainee ranks in social activities from the start; with a trainee intake of 15 a year, newbies will likely get to know the rest of the juniors quickly. One of our inside sources told us that “being a smaller cohort has been really nice. It naturally creates closer-knit relationships, both between apprentices and with trainees.” We heard that these relationships are important for the social side of the apprenticeship as well as for support and advice.
Firm-wide social events are complemented by events with Weil’s Affinity networks, including WeilPride, Women*@Weil, and Black Lawyers Achieving Success Together (BLAST). Apprentices are invited to an initial induction day and the firm’s summer party, providing plenty of opportunities to get to know their teams before they start.
We asked current Weil apprentices about their experiences applying for the scheme, and grilled them for their insider top tips for securing a coveted offer. “Find transferrable skills from a wide variety of experiences,” one source advised. This could be “anything from work experience schemes at City law firms, to a Saturday job, sports team of volunteering.” For this apprentice, “some of my most valuable skills came from working in a fast food restaurant — as much as it felt a bit strange to talk about in an interview, it worked!”
Another apprentice insider advised future applicants to “evaluate why you want to pursue this path.” Get ready to answer questions on ‘Why corporate law?’ and ‘Why a solicitor apprenticeship?’ in a way that is “genuine and uniquely tailored to you”. The final piece of advice we heard was, “Try not to worry too much. Approach the application journey with confidence and try to enjoy the process.”
This is Weil Gotshal & Manges’ Solicitor Apprenticeship profile. Read Weil Gotshal & Manges’ full Legal Cheek profile here.