The University of Law to work with Deloitte Legal as firm offers legal training contracts as innovative option for aspiring solicitors

The University of Law (ULaw) is delighted to be working with Deloitte to provide training for new graduate-level legal qualifications within the UK Deloitte Legal practice.

In addition, ULaw will also provide training for new legal apprenticeships launched as part of Deloitte’s BrightStart Apprenticeship programme.

Applications are now open for the Deloitte Legal Training Contract to find the next generation of solicitors. Deloitte’s programme will see successful applicants commence their legal training from September 2020, qualifying as solicitors in 2023.

ULaw has worked closely with Deloitte to develop an innovative training programme to prepare students for the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), the incoming reformed solicitor qualification confirmed last year by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The new SQE Training Contracts enable law students to take up their place straight out of university, allowing them to start earning immediately while gaining qualifying legal work experience before sitting their SQE 1 and 2. This differs from the current arrangements where trainees do not take up their place until after they have completed an additional year studying the Legal Practice Course (LPC).

Successful applicants will be client facing during periods of their training and will gain valuable experience across a number of Deloitte Legal’s areas of practice including tax litigation, employment and corporate and commercial law.

In addition, trainees will also be able to use first-hand some of the firm’s proprietary legal technology, including dTrax, an AI-enabled contract management tool, and MyInsight, a secure client portal that enables clients to track and monitor their legal compliance services. This innovative approach will help foster a new generation of high quality, forward-thinking solicitors.

Professor Andrea Nollent, Vice-Chancellor and CEO of ULaw, said: “It has always been hugely important for us to nurture the next generation of legal talent. With the new SQE Training Contracts allowing students to experience the real legal world earlier in their career and education, we are now able to team with leading organisations such as Deloitte to continue our aim of providing a more practical and hands-on legal education.”

Michael Castle, UK managing partner for Deloitte Legal, said: “The legal training environment is undergoing significant change to contend with a rapidly evolving legal landscape. Deloitte Legal is in the fortunate position of being able to immediately adopt the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam, allowing us to be at the forefront of what is undoubtedly an exciting new era in legal education and training.

“We want to broaden access to the profession and make it as inclusive as possible. This is a fantastic opportunity for aspiring solicitors to earn while they learn, while also encountering the wealth of expertise beyond legal work that Deloitte Legal can offer as a multidisciplinary firm.

“Deloitte Legal is a fast-growing and ambitious team that provides clients with new solutions to legal problems. Our trainees will be able to experience the future of law, today.”

In addition to the graduate training contracts, Deloitte Legal has also included new legal apprenticeships as part of the wider firm’s successful BrightStart Apprenticeship. The programme offers students the chance to gain professional qualifications while being fully immersed in a job helping to solve some of Deloitte’s clients’ most challenging problems.

As with the graduate-level training contract, ULaw will deliver the Level 7 solicitor apprenticeship programme on behalf of Deloitte Legal.

Dimple Agarwal, Deloitte’s managing partner for People and Purpose, added: “We are investing in the future of the legal profession, with a focus on high quality training. A Deloitte Legal apprenticeship can be the first step in an exciting career, working on projects that have a real impact to our clients’ businesses. We provide training for all of the skills and knowledge needed to do the job.”

Deloitte Legal has continued to grow since being awarded its ABS license in the summer of 2018. The practice now has a UK headcount of more than 200 people delivering technology-enabled legal solutions in areas such as employment, litigation, corporate and commercial and immigration including more than 80 client-facing practicing lawyers. Globally, Deloitte Legal currently has c.2,500 professionals operating in more than 80 countries around the world.

In the 2019 financial year, over 4,000 people joined Deloitte, including 1,200 graduates and school leavers in Deloitte’s UK apprenticeship programme.

Applications for the Deloitte Legal Training Contract for 2020 are now open. Applications for the BrightStart Apprenticeship will open on 4 November.

For more news from The University of Law, visit: https://www.law.ac.uk/