Solicitor apprenticeships

A solicitor apprenticeship lets you qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales while you work at a law firm and earn a salary. You don't pay tuition fees. The school-leaver route takes about six years and the graduate route about three. You finish having passed both parts of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE1 and SQE2), with the qualifying work experience the SRA requires already built in.

Since 1 January 2026, solicitor apprenticeships are only government funded if you're aged 16 to 21 when you start, or 22 to 24 with an education, health and care (EHC) plan or care-leaver status.

How a solicitor apprenticeship works

You're employed by a law firm, or a legal team in a company or public body, from the first day. Most of your week is spent working, and part of it is set aside for study with a training provider such as DataLaw. Teaching is delivered in live online sessions, so you study without leaving your job or moving city.

The programme follows the SQE:

1. You study the legal knowledge tested in SQE1: business law, dispute resolution, contract, tort, the legal system, property, wills and trusts, criminal law, solicitors' accounts, and ethics.
2. You sit SQE1.
3. You build the practical skills tested in SQE2, such as advocacy, client interviewing, drafting and legal research.
4. You sit SQE2 and complete the end-point assessment.

Your time at the firm counts as qualifying work experience, which the SRA requires before you can be admitted. Once you pass SQE2 and the SRA's character and suitability checks, you can be admitted as a solicitor.

The two routes

More about the graduate solicitor apprenticeship

Funding and the age rule

The solicitor apprenticeship is a Level 7 apprenticeship, and the funding band is up to £27,000 per apprentice. You never pay this yourself. Who pays depends on your age and the firm:

• If you're 16 to 21 when you start, the training is funded. Firms that don't pay the apprenticeship levy pay nothing. Firms that do pay the levy fund it from their levy account.
• If you're 22 to 24 and have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care, the same applies.
• If you're 22 or over and neither applies, there's no government funding, and the firm would have to pay the full cost itself.

If you started before 1 January 2026, you stay funded until you finish.

Funded routes if you're 22 or over

You can still become a qualified lawyer through an apprenticeship.

• The Chartered Legal Executive (CILEX) apprenticeship takes about 2 years 9 months. Chartered legal executives are qualified lawyers who can practise in their specialism.
• The Level 5 Advanced Paralegal apprenticeship includes SQE1 preparation and takes 14 to 24 months.
• If you're new to law, the Level 3 Paralegal apprenticeship takes 13 months and is a common first step.

All of these are funded at any age. A firm that doesn't pay the levy pays 5% of the cost for apprentices aged 25 or over, and nothing for those aged 24 or under.

Entry requirements

Each employer sets its own entry requirements, so check the vacancy. For the school-leaver route, firms usually ask for A levels or equivalent qualifications, with a minimum grade set by the firm, and GCSEs in English and maths.

For DataLaw's graduate route you need:

• a degree
• a job with a legal employer who agrees to you starting the apprenticeship, or an offer of one
• to be aged 21 or under on your start date for funding, or 22 to 24 with an EHC plan or care-leaver status
• to spend at least half your working time in England
• to pass DataLaw's diagnostic assessment and interview

You can't be enrolled on another government-funded apprenticeship at the same time.

How to apply, and when

You apply to the firm for the job. The firm then enrols you with a training provider. If you already work in law, you can ask your manager about starting an apprenticeship in your current role.

Firms recruit at different times of year. Large firms with school-leaver schemes often open applications in the autumn and close them in the winter, for a start the following September. Smaller firms tend to recruit when they have a vacancy.

Two dates are worth putting in your calendar if you're in Year 13:

• 13 January 2027: the UCAS deadline for university applications. You can apply to university and to apprenticeships at the same time and keep both options open.
• 8 to 14 February 2027: National Apprenticeship Week, a good week to look out for employer events and new vacancies.

See live solicitor and paralegal apprentice vacancies

Solicitor apprenticeship or university?

Both routes lead to the same qualification. Under the SQE, which has replaced the LPC for new entrants, you qualify by passing SQE1 and SQE2 and completing two years of qualifying work experience, whichever way you get there.

The main differences:

An apprenticeship suits people who know they want to practise law and are happy to work and study at the same time. Studying around a full-time job for six years is hard, and you need to be organised.

For employers

If you're a firm thinking about a solicitor apprentice, the age rule decides whether it's funded. For a school leaver aged 16 to 21, a firm that doesn't pay the levy pays nothing towards training, and from 1 October 2026 can receive a £2,000 hiring payment for a new apprentice aged 16 to 24. For older staff, the Chartered Legal Executive apprenticeship is the funded alternative.

Employer funding

Frequently asked questions