Earn while you learnand become a Solicitor

Apprentice

Information BookletEarn a salary

Achieve a LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice

Gain practical and job specific skills

Qualify as a solicitor

No university fees

A message from Jason Wainwright, Managing Partner at Muckle LLP

Welcome to Muckle LLP! If you are reading this then you must have an interest in learning more about our solicitor apprenticeship scheme which we are running, along with other law firms, in the North East. We are really excited about the opportunity this brings to young people in our region who may not wish to go to university and want to study while they earn. The solicitor apprenticeship offers a fantastic alternative to going to university, while giving you an opportunity to experience real-life work to help you qualify as a solicitor and achieve a LLB university degree.

At Muckle we are always looking to the future and planning how we will continue to grow and succeed. As well as hanging on to the people we think are outstanding, attracting new talent is a key component of that strategy. But, of course, we aren’t the only law firm in the North East offering the solicitor apprenticeship route. Whether you choose to work at Muckle or another law firm, the choice is yours, but we hope that by choosing Muckle it will be the right firm for you.

To be successful in your career at Muckle LLP, you will need two things; the first is attitude and the second is personality.

n You need the right attitude. The solicitor apprenticeship route is not an easy option but support and guidance will always be available. It will take hard work and dedication to your learning at work and studies.

n And if you’re wondering what, exactly, we mean by personality, the simple answer is not stuffy. Not bland. Not ‘expected’. Unlike a lot of legal firms, Muckle is full of bright, enthusiastic, articulate, colourful, confident people. People with something about them. People who relish the prospect of a challenge and get out of bed each morning looking forward to the cut and thrust of another working day.

If you have questions about Muckle, then hopefully the following information will provide you with the answers you’re looking for. If not, get in touch and we will do whatever we can to help. Contact HR Director, Claire Atkins at claire.atkins@muckle-llp.com or telephone 0191 211 7901. More information can also be found on our website: www.muckle-llp.com/nesa

CILEx Law School and City, University of London also have a wealth of information about the scheme but do let us know if you have any questions.

The right choice

Jason WainwrightManaging Partner

Claire AtkinsDirector of HR

Muckle LLP is a commercial law firm employing over 140 people, around 70 of whom are lawyers. Our clients include small to medium sized businesses, large corporations, selected public sector bodies and charities. Our clients span the UK but are mostly based in the North East and we service them all from our single office in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Our firm’s history can be traced back over 100 years, but it is really over the last 20 years that we have developed the business to the point where it is now acknowledged as one of the leading commercial law firms in the region.

For businessesOur clients operate across a broad range of sectors throughout the North East and beyond.

Clients include:

Why join us at Muckle?

Law firm of choice

For the business communityIn September 2016, the North East business community (banks, accountants, venture capitalists, business leaders and owners, etc.) voted us Corporate Law Firm of the Year, at the Insider North East Dealmakers Awards, for an unprecedented seventh time!

Over the last 10 years we have completed 43% (215) more deals than any other law firms in the region (closest rival 150).

Independent research and Legal Directories:

n Legal 500 UK voted us Corporate and Commercial Regional Firm of the Year 2016

n Information services provider, Experian rank Muckle LLP as the top North East dealmaker since 2014

n Solicitors Journal voted us Regional Team of the Year 2016 and were impressed with the amount of CSR work undertaken and the dedication demonstrated to our clients, employees and the community (including over 2,500 hours volunteering to numerous projects).

For youWe are a partner-led professional services business. That means that we have a proportionately higher number of partners than many of our competitors which enables us to commit to high levels of service, technical ability and commerciality. Our partners are supported by talented, ambitious and hardworking teams who understand and are committed to our very simple objective: to provide our clients with the best advice and service we possibly can.

Behind our success there are, we believe, four core principles that go a long way to defining who we are and how we go about doing what we do. These are:

n recruiting people who fit with our culture, who will work closely together and who will therefore build the strongest client relationships;

n working as hard as we can to make sure everything we do is of the highest possible quality and always trying to do an even better job for our clients than we did last time;

n being genuine people who do what they say they are going to do, on time and within budget, every time; and

n being a responsible business that cares passionately about the region and about having a positive impact on the communities in which we live and work.

To ensure that the firm continues to succeed we understand that we need to attract and retain the best people – people like you!

One of the fundamental ways of retaining talent is, we believe, to ensure our people feel a valued part of the team and proud to work here. We invest a lot of time and resources into engaging with our people, and we put having fun at the heart of our culture.

We take pride in the fact that we are the only law firm with a North Easthead office to achieve the Investors In People Gold Award and Health and Wellbeing Award due to our commitment to our people and makingMuckle LLP a great place to work. For example, you could join our running, walking or cycling clubs, be part of our regular social events or be congratulated for a job well done. Our team members are valuedas individuals, are from a wide range of backgrounds and have differentexperiences.

Our lawyers have different legal specialisms - we don’t have generalist lawyers who do a bit of everything. They sit together in teams but will nearly always be working alongside colleagues on projects that require input from across the business. For example, the corporate team may help a business to buy its competitor; the employment team will help with the transfer of the competitor’s workforce into the purchasing company; and the real estate team may work on selling any premises that are surplus to requirements once production has moved to the new owning company.

The breadth of legal experience and specialisms that we have in the firm provides good opportunities for career development for those who are ambitious and have a determination to succeed in their legal career longer term.

Why would I want to be a solicitor apprentice?

The Trailblazer level seven solicitor apprenticeship is a new route into the legal profession which has been developed under the Government’s Trailblazer initiative. It is being offered by a number of law firms in the North East from September 2017, in conjunction with CILEx Law School and City, University of London. It provides the chance to qualify as a solicitor following a six-year programme of work-based learning and part-time study to gain a LLB (Hons) in Legal Practice. You will earn a salary and have no university fees to pay. Your contract with the firm will be for 6 years. Subject to the successful completion of your apprenticeship and there being an appropriate role in the firm, you have a very strong chance of a job with us once you’re qualified.

You will also receive a host of benefits as an employee at Muckle including:

n competitive starting salary of £14,000;n 25 days’ annual leave (pro-rata), with the opportunity to buy or sell

5 days’ holiday;n pension scheme, with firm contributions of 3% after 6 months’ and

increasing to 6% after 8 years’;n interest free annual travel pass loans;n life assurance after 6 months’ of joining the firm;n permanent health insurance after 6 months’ of joining the firm;n salary sacrifice schemes, such as cycle to work and childcare

vouchers;n we celebrate milestone birthdays, certain lengths of service and

weddings with our people;n payment of professional subscriptions, such as the Junior Lawyers

Division;n health and wellbeing initiatives;n corporate discounts on a variety of products and services; and n 2 paid community days per year so that you can support a charity of

your choice.

You will have a mentor to help you continue to develop and share their experience and you will receive regular reviews and feedback to let you know how well you are progressing.

You will be supported with paid time for study. However, you will also need to use your own time to support your studies.

As an apprentice, you will carry out supervised work-based learning to meet the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s competence statement and you will also be required to produce a work-based assessment portfolio. In addition to examinations throughout the apprenticeship, there will also be Solicitors Regulation Authority assessments that you will need to pass to qualify as a solicitor.

While we expect you to work hard during your apprenticeship, you’ll soon find there are plenty of non-work activities going on at Muckle that we would hope you’ll want to experience. These range from organised events to impromptu nights out in Newcastle. We also have numerous teams that might well benefit from any sporting prowess you may have, and there are lots of charitable and environmental activities for you to get involved with too.

What are you looking for in candidates?The solicitor apprenticeship is available to people with a minimum of five GCSEs (or equivalent), grades A*-C, including Maths and English, who are also expecting, or have already achieved, three A Levels (or equivalent), grade B or above. We are also looking for people with strong communication skills (we have a really great team ethos and build close working relationships with our clients and colleagues, so it’s important you’ll be able to get on well with both and build relationships), enthusiasm, personality and a great attitude. Finally, we are also looking for a genuine motivation to work at Muckle LLP.

How many solicitor apprentices are you recruiting?We are looking to recruit two solicitor apprentices at Muckle LLP to start in September 2017. I don’t have any work experience. Will my application be adversely affected by this?Not at all but we will be interested to hear about other experiences you have and how this might help you in the workplace, such as volunteering in the community or a project you have lead on at school.

Will you accept a grade C in A Levels?Ideally applicants will have obtained a minimum of 3 grade Bs in A Levels, or will be predicted to achieve them. However, if there are mitigating circumstances then we will be only too willing to listen. You might also want to check out the question about what we look for in candidates for more guidance.

I have a law degree. Can I still apply?No. Sorry, anyone with a law degree, CILEx Level 6, GDL, LPC or BPTC is not eligible to apply.

Do you pay travel expenses for interviews?No. Sorry, we do not reimburse travel expenses for interviews.

Recruitment process questions and answers

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Application form Complete an application form which will be considered by all law firms in the consortium.

Selection day If your application is successful you will be invited to a selection day where all NESA law firms will be represented.

What will I do on the day? This is likely to include group and written exercises.

How can I prepare?You will not be able to prepare for any written exercises. On the day, please listen to and read any instructions carefully, focussing on managing your time and double checking your work. For the group assessment, review our website and consider the skills and qualities we are looking for as a law firm. Think about how best you demonstrate skills such as team working and communication. Listen to your team members, pay attention to their contributions by nodding, smiling and making eye contact and give everyone the chance to speak. Be professional, speak clearly, confidently, concisely and not too fast. Let us get to know you more.

Muckle selectionIf successful following the selection day, we will invite you to attend a period of work experience (likely to be 2 days) and a face to face interview with the Managing Partner, Jason Wainwright and HR Director, Claire Atkins.

What will I do on the work experience days? More information will be provided.

How can I prepare for the interview?Think about the qualities we are looking for in candidates and consider how you’ve demonstrated these in your life. It could be through academic work, hobbies, part-time jobs or extra-curricular activities. We value any experience you’ve gained so far and are interested in hearing about it. Try to think about specific examples of things you’ve done, what role you played and what challenges you faced.

What is the recruitment process?

Before you startWe consider you to be a part of our team from the moment you’ve accepted a solicitor apprenticeship with us, so expect us to keep in touch before you join. We may have opportunities for you to spend time in the firm before you start with us, and if there are any Muckle social events coming up (there are usually a few!), then we’ll invite you along to those as well. That way you can get to meet as many people as possible before you actually start, including your mentor who will let you know what’s going on at the firm. Good Luck!

And finally...

Muckle LLPTime Central, 32 Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4BF | DX 61011

Tel: 0191 211 7777 | Fax: 0191 211 7788 | www.muckle-llp.com

Certificate No. EMS 558231