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Paralegal apprenticeship Qualify as a Paralegal and earn while you learn

Our paralegal apprenticeship is an alternative to university for those with a passion for law!

What is a paralegal apprenticeship?

A paralegal apprenticeship is a fantastic opportunity for people looking for a career in the legal sector. You will gain hands on experience as well as working towards a recognised qualification and receiving a competitive salary.

How long is the paralegal apprenticeship?

The apprenticeship is a 24-month programme which will provide you with the best learning and development opportunities to start your career in law. You will have one day each week dedicated to off-the-job study enabling you to gain work-based experience on the four remaining days, whilst learning from leading experts in the legal field.

What is included in the Weightmans paralegal apprenticeship?

This programme will combine a practical, hands-on approach with an academic balance which will provide you with the skills to be a competent Paralegal. You will be learning on the job with a robust support network including a Weightmans supervisor and a dedicated buddy to support you along the way.

During this apprenticeship you will gain an understanding of legal matters, transactions, client requests and colleague demands, often connected to sensitive or complex issues. In addition, you will also be involved in preparatory work, drafting documents and carrying out research.

You will complete your part-time study with BPP University Law School. As you go through your apprenticeship you will collate a portfolio of evidence required for your final assessment along with formal assessments during the programme.

View course outline

Is the paralegal apprenticeship for you?

We are looking for a specific type of individual who will fit in well with our ethos and culture. You will need to have excellent written and communication skills, a willingness to learn, as well as the ability to work to strict deadlines and timescales in a thriving environment.

You will need to show that you have a strong academic background. You will be required to have obtained a minimum of three A-Levels (96 UCAS points) and five GCSEs at grade C (or 4) or above, including English and Mathematics (or equivalent).

Why choose Weightmans?

Here at Weightmans, people are an integral part of our culture and business, and your success is our success. We have great working practices for ensuring a mindful and considerate working culture as signatories of the Mindful Business Charter.

In many of our offices, we have a unique and open office space accompanied by agile working for a great work-life balance. With a focus on learning and development of our people.

Salary and benefits

As much as we work hard, we like to play hard too! Having an appropriate work-life balance is something we value for all of our people. Our social calendar is always full, from theatre visits and quizzes to office parties. Each of our offices has an active social committee who are always looking for new members to get involved. We will encourage our graduates to keep in touch as a national cohort with training and annual events.

We pride ourselves in our CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) work and support a number of deserving charities, both nationally and local to our offices, including Zoe’s Place, Francis House, Simon on the Streets and many more. As part of our commitment, all staff receive two days of paid CSR leave each year, and each office has a local committee who are always looking for new members, and this may be something you would like to be a part of once you join us.

We offer excellent salary and benefits.

As a Weightmans employee, you will also be entitled to our excellent staff benefits which include:

  • 28 days' holiday
  • Healthcare cover
  • Pension plan
  • Travel loan scheme
  • Employee care scheme
  • Discounted gym membership
  • Dental care scheme

How to apply

Applications for our September 2024 intake are now closed. We are unable to accept any further applications.

Applications will reopen in Autumn 2024 for our September 2025 intake.

Our application process consists of 4 stages:

  • Stage 1 — Written application

    At this stage, we will look at your academic grades and your answer to an open question. This question is designed to check your understanding of how a law firm, and Weightmans, works. We will also assess structure, depth, punctuation and grammar. The quality of your answer will determine if you progress to the next stage, we therefore suggest you spend some time on this and proofread before submitting. We will review all written submissions individually, in a blind marking processPlease note that the deadline for application submissions is Thursday 30 November 2023 at 12 noon, and we are unable to accept applications after this date.

  • Stage 2 — HIPO-I interactive online assessment

    If you are successful at the written application stage, you will then be invited to complete an online assessment called the HIPO-I. This assessment has been designed to test verbal and numerical reasoning, along with some situational judgement questions, to assess if our values align.

    Please note that this online assessment is not timed. You will also be invited to inform us during your initial written application if you require any reasonable adjustments to be made at any point during our recruitment process. If you would prefer to discuss with a member of the Early Careers team, please email earlycareers@weightmans.com or call us on +44 (0)345 073 9900.

  • Stage 3 — Virtual Interview

    If you are successful at the HIPO-I assessment, you will be invited to attend a virtual interview with a member of HR and a Partner or Principal Associate from the Firm. The interview will be conducted via Zoom and will include a presentation. Virtual interviews will take place on the following weeks:

    • Week commencing Monday 8 January 2024
    • Week commencing Monday 15 January 2024

    Please note, there will be no other dates available.

  • Stage 4 — Assessment centre

    If you are successful at the virtual interview stage, you will then be invited to attend an assessment centre. This will consist of two parts: a group exercise and a written exercise.  Before you attend an assessment centre, you will also be given the opportunity to attend a one-2-one coaching call with a member of our Early Careers team. This is not an assessed meeting but is an opportunity for the team to answer any questions you may have, we will then walk you through the day giving you some tips on how best to prepare. You will also be provided with a written brief so that you can be as prepared as possible for the day. Assessment centres will take place on the following weeks:

    Week commencing Monday 12 February 2024

    Week commencing Monday 19 February 2024

    Please note, there will be no other dates available.

We welcome you to contact us if you have any queries regarding this process.

Application tips

Watch our video below where Marc Prats from our early careers team provides some hints and tips for those looking to apply for one of our early careers programmes.

We welcome you to contact us if you have any queries regarding this process.

Meet us to find out more

If you have any queries, please feel free to get in touch by email via earlycareers@weightmans.com. Thank you to everyone who attended our in-person and online open evenings in 2023.

We will be scheduling more in-person and online open evenings to take place in Autumn 2024; please keep an eye on this page for further information.

Law fairs & careers fairs (to attend, please contact the university or organisation directly):

We will be attending the following careers fairs if you would like to come along to find out more about the programme:

Tuesday 19 March 2024 — The Northwest Apprenticeship & Careers Expo — Preston Guild Hall

Thursday 1 August 2024 — Liverpool Careers Fair — Anfield

Wednesday 30 October 2024 — Liverpool Careers Fair — Anfield

Thursday 31 October — Wrexham Careers Fair — Ramada Plaza Hotel

Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 November — National Apprenticeship Show North West — Liverpool Exhibition Centre

Legal insights programme

If you have any queries, please feel free to get in touch by email via earlycareers@weightmans.com. We will be attending and hosting a number of events in Autumn 2023 if you would like to come along and find out more about the programme. Further details regarding these events are listed below:

See what our apprentices have been up to