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Early careers Start your career with a leading law firm, repeatedly voted a top employer

Here at Weightmans, we offer a range of programmes tailored for those who are looking to enter the firm and gain legal qualification. Our dedicated early careers team are available to advise on the qualification pathways available and the application process. The team also go on to support those who join the firm as they progress through the programmes.

Early careers at Weightmans

Our law apprenticeships

Our apprenticeship academy offers modern, cost-effective routes into the legal profession. You have the opportunity to earn while you learn and gain invaluable skills that will help you to quickly progress in your legal career. We currently offer:

With all of our apprenticeships, you will have one day each week dedicated to off-the-job study and you will then gain work-based experience on the four remaining days, thus enabling you to learn from leading experts in the legal field.

Training contracts in England and Scotland

For those looking to qualify as a solicitor who have already completed the Legal Practice Course, we do still offer training contracts. We recognise that with the changes introduced by the SRA, there will still be a transition period, and we want to ensure we are accessing the best people and are subsequently not missing out on any outstanding individuals.

We also offer a traineeship in our Glasgow office which is a 24-month training programme that also provides excellent training and experience across four six-month seats in different areas of the business. The traineeship will include the PEAT2 outcomes which are required for qualification to solicitor and we offer funding for PEAT 1 for those who have not yet completed it.

Legal work experience

We understand how difficult it can be to secure work experience, so this is not an expectation of Weightmans from those applying for early careers programmes. However, we recognise how important it is to gain an insight into a career before you commit to training with a firm, so we offer work experience programmes which have been designed to equip those interested in applying with key information and skills.

Our legal insights programme is for those in year 12 or above, in undergraduate degrees (excluding Law), and all others who are interested in pursuing a legal career.

Our Summer Vacation Scheme is aimed at undergraduate students who are interested in becoming a solicitor. This is a week-long placement at one of our offices and will provide you with first-hand experience at Weightmans.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for individuals with potential and the drive and determination to succeed. Our aim is that our qualified solicitors will possess the below competencies as they progress through and complete their programme.

These competencies are also used to help shape our early careers recruitment processes, we assess for potential in these areas but we do not expect experience.

  • Reasons and problem solves effectively with complex data and information and learns quickly
  • Plans, organises, prioritises and manages resources and time
  • IT literate
  • Has a strong commercial focus
  • Emotionally resilient, mature and positive when the going gets tough
  • Customer-centric — both internal and external
  • Flexible and adaptable
  • Demonstrates integrity
  • Is achievement-driven, shows initiative, takes responsibility with a ‘can do’
    attitude
  • Committed to continuous improvement
  • Attends to the detail and is quality minded
  • Self‐aware — knows own strengths and weaknesses
  • Demonstrates effective communication both verbally and in writing
  • Assertive and socially confident
  • Influential and persuasive
  • Team player and team builder who networks effectively
  • Diplomatic, tactful and empathic
  • Interpersonally skilled, reads people and situations and then adapts accordingly
  • Aware of and propagates a positive and professional image and persona

Why choose Weightmans?

At Weightmans our purpose to See the Possibility flows through every aspect of how we do business and treat our people. Watch the video below to learn how we See the Possibility in our business, our clients and our people.

See what our apprentices have been up to

    Meet the early careers team

    The early careers team strive to invest quality time and resources to explore employees’ potential, and to ‘See The Possibility’ through the lens of equity, diversity and inclusion. We work hand in hand with almost every department around the business and we ensure those who wish to turn their passion into their career, get equal and fair access to opportunities.

    We design and implement all early careers recruitment processes and then support all of our successful applicants through their programmes.

    Denise Wright — Early Careers Adviser

    Denise leads the team and is the expert in all things SQE and legal apprenticeships. She designs and implements new processes and programmes whilst also supporting apprentices and trainees as they progress through our programmes. Denise has invaluable experience in training and coaching which underlines all that she does in the team.

    Marc Prats — Early Careers Development Adviser

    Marc’s role in the business is to empower the current and future apprentices and trainees during the first stages of their careers with us through the design and delivery of bespoke training and coaching. Marc investigates and introduces ways to develop each cohort’s skills using tools such as Insights Discovery.

    Siobhan Jesson and Megan Melia — Early Careers Advisers

    Megan and Siobhan work closely with all members of the team but especially help support Denise in the design and implementation of the programmes and recruitment processes. They too help support all of our trainees and apprentices by conducting regular coaching sessions and group catch ups. Along with Denise, they are a first point of contact for apprentices, trainees and team managers for any queries they may have.

    Katy Moore — Early Careers Coordinator

    Katy is responsible for our team email inbox and coordinating all of our events. She also supports the other team members in all that they do and is an invaluable member of the team.

    Please contact the early careers team on earlycareers@weightmans.com, if you have any questions or queries around anything that we do. 

    What's it like to work here?

    Visit our Instagram page to see what our staff get up to.

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