Paralegal apprenticeship Qualify as a Paralegal and earn while you learn

What is the Weightmans paralegal apprenticeship?

The Weightmans 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.

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 (View the full BPP course outline). 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.

Is this 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 GCSE’s 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.

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 process. Please note that the deadline for application submissions is Thursday 30 November 2023 at 12noon, 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.

Read video transcript

Welcome to Weightmans. We're a national law firm with over 1400 people and nine offices across the UK.

My name is Marc, and I work in the Early Careers department at Weightmans. We're one of the first law firms of our size in the UK to offer a new ground-breaking pathway into law.

Our apprenticeship Academy launched in 2020.

Now you can become a solicitor, gain a qualifying law degree, earn a good salary and work in one of the top UK law firms.

Our unique application process doesn't just give us the chance to review your application fairly, but it also gives you insights about the firm. There two areas where we are going to apply scoring in your application: your academics and an open question at the end of the form. Let's look at some top tips.

Do your research on the company and the role. How do you fit the brief?

We run open evenings every autumn, so come along and find out more about us.

Take your time with the responses and start early. Don't leave it until the last minute.

The application is open for at least two months, so we would advise you to consider your answers and take your time. Don't worry, the application can be saved, so you can continue it at a later date.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Ask someone you know to read through your application and give you feedback.

The most common reasons for loss of points are punctuation, spelling, and grammar. So make sure to double check your application.

The HiPo-i has been designed for Early Career's recruitment to identify potential in our candidates.

You are usually given around a week to complete the assessment, so make sure to find a quiet space to complete it. If you pass the online assessment stage, it's time to come and talk to us at an interview. We will ensure that you are ready for the day. A member of the Early Careers team will call you to that you're prepared.

At your interview, you will meet with two people: a member of HR and the lawyer from the firm so that we can get to know you better.

We're a friendly team and want the best for you, so we'll try our best to make you feel at ease.

Once past the interview stage, you will receive an invite to our assessment day. The assessment day is held at a Weightmans office. It includes group activities and other tasks designed to see how you respond to practical challenges, for you to show us your personality, and your problem solving skills.

It is also a good chance for you to decide if Weightmans is a good fit for you.

If you're a successful applicant, the support does not stop there.

During our week long induction in Liverpool, you will learn more about the role and you'll get to meet other apprentices.

We really look forward to meeting you all at Weightmans and we want to wish you the best of luck during your application process.

If you would like more information, please contact us at earlycareers@weightmans.com.

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. 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:

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

Tuesday 10 October – Legal Cheek (Online)

Tuesday 17 October - UK University and Apprentice Search (Liverpool)

Wednesday 18 October – BPP (online)

Thursday 23 November and Friday 24 November – National Apprenticeship Show North-West (Liverpool, Exhibition Centre)

Open Evenings

Places at our open evenings are allocated on a first come, first served basis, and priority will be given to those who are eligible to apply for our roles now i.e. year 13 or equivalent onwards. You are welcome to bring one other person with you (a parent, guardian or teacher for example).

To register your interest, please click on your specified office below, you will be directed to Eventbrite and will be able to register for a maximum of two tickets.

Wednesday 11 October 2023 — Weightmans Birmingham Office (5pm – 6.30pm)

Monday 16 October 2023 — Weightmans Newcastle Office  (5pm – 6.30pm)

Thursday 19 October 2023 — Weightmans Manchester Office (5pm – 6.30pm)

Thursday 2 November 2023 — Weightmans Liverpool Office (5pm – 6.30pm)

Thursday 9 November 2023 — Weightmans Leeds Office (5pm – 6.30pm)

Tuesday 14 November 2023 — Weightmans London Office (5pm – 6.30pm)

Please click on one of the below links to register for our online virtual open evenings.

2 October — 4.30-5.30

16 November — 5.00 - 6.00

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