International firm Clyde & Co has revealed it received more than 1,000 applications for its new pathway scheme to becoming a solicitor.

The firm had targeted 300 applications for its so-called ‘paralegal academy’ when requirement opened in March this year.

The applications were whittled down to 25 who started in June and who will spend the next year working to be chosen to apply for the solicitors qualifying examination.

Clyde says this is the first initiative of its kind in the legal sector, focused on finding talent that would not usually be able to gain entry into the profession.

A range of initiatives and programmes are designed to provide individuals with technical and core skills needed to become a confident paralegal. These include an intensive seven-day induction, on the job training, experience working alongside the casualty experts and a clear career development framework.

After 12 months in the academy, the best performing candidates can apply through the firm for the SQE. Of the firm’s existing 230 paralegals within its serious injury practice, 10 have successfully applied to start the SQE this autumn.

The scheme is open to anyone with a UK BA degree at 2:2 or above in any subject, or an equivalent qualification. No previous legal experience is required.

Of the 25 new recruits, 88% are women, 45% come from an ethnic minority background and 45% studied at a non-Russell Group university.

Just over half are based in the Manchester office, with the others working in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newcastle and Southampton.

Richard Stewart

Richard Stewart (pictured), Clyde & Co’s chief operating officer for casualty, said: ‘While we knew our paralegal academy would be attractive to people looking for those first steps in a legal career, we hadn’t anticipated quite how high demand for places would be. This is a genuinely new route to a legal qualification and goes a long way towards breaking down some of the barriers that have deterred some groups from entering the profession.’

 

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