Solicitor Apprenticeships | A&O Shearman careers

Welcome to the future of law

Designed for school leavers at the start of their careers, our solicitor apprenticeships give students the opportunity to become first-class lawyers over a six-year programme, combining study with hands-on practical experience.

Programme overview

What you’ll gain

We believe talented and ambitious people will always thrive with the right investment and support. With our Solicitor Apprenticeship Programme, we are giving you the opportunity to gain the qualifications and experience to excel in a leading law firm, while earning a salary of GBP32,000 in the first year of your apprenticeship (increasing every year).

Work experience

Across the six-year programme you will gain experience across our legal departments, including time in our Finance, Corporate, ENRI (Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure), and Disputes departments as well as having the opportunity to embark on a secondment. Each year, you’ll gain a wide variety of experience with the security of a supervisor and training principal to guide you.

Study time

In years 1 to 5, apprentices study one day a week at BPP University, learning about the English legal system. Apprentices also have coaching and skills development training at BPP University, with a dedicated point of contact for support.

Growth and development

We offer exceptional professional and personal development, providing training, supervision and practical support. In every year of the solicitor apprenticeship, you have dedicated points of contact and support to ensure that you receive the best pastoral care possible, including legal qualified lawyers as your day-to-day supervisors. With us, you will constantly be learning and growing.

About the programme

Over six years, you will immerse yourself in the world of law, with your time divided between working with A&O Shearman colleagues and focused study time. The programme is designed and balanced to provide everything you need for a successful career in law.

Four days of each week will be spent working in practice groups on real projects, live deals, and interesting, challenging cases for clients. Throughout the programme you will move between teams and departments within the firm to gain valuable insight into all the services we provide. This will give you the perfect platform for you to gain an unmatched understanding of everything we do, learn, expand your knowledge and ability as a solicitor, and show what you’re capable of at the highest levels.

One day per week will be spent studying with our training provider, BPP University, where you will work towards an LLB (Hons) Law and Legal practice and a Solicitor Level 7 apprenticeship. We will cover your entire tuition fee, and you will also earn a salary throughout the programme.

Studying

Years 1-4

Apprentices study one day a week at BPP University learning about the English legal system, client care, legal research, tort law, land law, one of dispute resolution, property practice or commercial practice, public law, criminal law, company law, wills and administration of estates.

Apprentices also have coaching and skills development training at BPP University, including client care, legal research, professional conduct and a professional practice skills module at each stage of the programme, working with people and processes, ethics and professionalism, research and analysis, and advocacy and negotiation.

In every year of the Solicitor Apprenticeship, you will have dedicated supervisors and other dedicated points of contact to ensure that you receive the best pastoral care possible.

Years 5-6

BPP University focus on SQE preparation and examinations.

Work experience

Years 1-3

You will be a member of one of A&O Shearman’s legal departments, rotating once a year. In addition, within each department, you will have the opportunity to rotate practice groups during the year to experience a greater breadth of legal work. This means you’ll get to experience time in our finance, corporate, ENRI (Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure) and Disputes departments. During each year, you will work for different members of that department to gain a wide variety of experience but with the security of a training principal to guide you. Depending on which department you are working in, you may also have the opportunity to work closely with other teams, such as the A&O Shearman tech innovation hub, fuse, the markets innovation group, legal tech, eDiscovery, or project management teams.

Years 4, 5 and 6

You will experience the same kinds of seat rotations as the graduate trainee population. We also aim to provide secondment opportunities for our apprentices during the programme.

This programme gives you the opportunities you need to expand your skills across multiple areas. And the great thing is there’s no one single type of person who succeeds here. Whether you’re determined, curious, resilient or open-minded - whoever you are - this programme is a chance for you to start your journey early and develop your legal expertise. You can earn your qualifications without the burden of tuition fees - and open the door to people from all academic and social backgrounds.

Programme details

Academic qualifications

We accept applications from anyone with a minimum of AAB (or equivalent) at A-level and seven GCSEs at grade 6 or above (including Maths and English).

Eligibility

Please note, due to funding requirements, all candidates must fulfil the criteria associated with the Level 7 apprenticeship levy, including living in the UK for the last three years and having the right to permanently live and work in the UK for the full duration of the apprenticeship. Applicants must be in either year 13 or a school leaver without a university degree.

Personal skills

Ambition, collaboration, resilience, passion.

Application window

Applications open: Monday 1st December 2026
Applications close: Wednesday 17th February 2027

Scheme dates

August / September 2027 (exact date TBC).

Salary

GBP32,000 in the first year, in addition to a GBP3,000 sign-on bonus.

"I think it’s hugely important to make sure any apprentice feels happy and feels like they belong here. People go above and beyond to make sure that apprentices are integrated."
Philip Wells SENIOR ASSOCIATE

Meet Xante and deep dive into the solicitor apprenticeship

Xante’s journey shows that being an apprentice is about learning, balance and backing yourself.

"You have this amazing opportunity to work alongside some of the best lawyers in the world, all while studying to become a qualified solicitor at the end of the six years with no university debt. You’ll have a lot of fun along the way."
James Partridge EARLY CAREERS RECRUITMENT PARTNER AND TRAINING PRINCIPAL

"Choosing the apprenticeship pathway was about working with people in the industry who are really aspirational to me, to build a network and really learn from people who are the best in the industry."
Aqsa Ullah SOLICITOR APPRENTICE

Your pathway to success

Training

You will receive training not only from BPP University but also first-class training from industry-leading experts across every sector at A&O Shearman. You will have the chance to apply what you learn to live matters, deals and projects, so by the time you take your exams, you will already have years of real-life experience from working at the firm.
Progression

The knowledge and experience you gain from your apprenticeship will inform your choices of where you take your career. By exploring many areas of our practice, you will discover brand-new career options and be able to tailor your path to achieve your ambitions, whatever they may be.
Qualification

A&O Shearman, with nearly 50 offices around the world, is one of the largest global law firms to offer a fully funded Solicitor Level 7 Apprenticeship Programme. Upon completion of your training and exams, you will also have earned an LLB (Hons) Law degree and Legal Practice qualification from BPP University.
Support

Every single colleague at A&O Shearman knows the value of support. It’s defined all of their careers, and wherever you work with us, you’ll have it. It could be from your supervisor, who will guide you through every challenge, from the lawyers and support staff you work alongside day to day, or from our dedicated HR team. The apprentices completing the programme alongside you will become your mutually beneficial community, supporting each other and advancing together.
Benefits

As well as financial rewards, working at A&O Shearman offers an exceptional range of benefits, including insurance (life, group income protection and private medical), a pension scheme, an interest-free season ticket loan, access to well-being apps (such as Unmind and Headspace), and a range of on-site facilities, including a gym and sports hall, medical, dental and physiotherapy services, a beauty treatment centre, a dry cleaners, and two restaurants. All of these combine to ensure you have what you need, in and out of work, to succeed.

"We offer a variety of support to our apprentices from the moment they receive their offer. This support includes one-to-one calls with a member of the early careers team and a trainee ‘buddy’ scheme providing an informal point of contact if they have a general query about their day-to-day work."
Priya Dale EARLY CAREERS HR MANAGER

Tips, insights and advice, direct from our team

Who better to learn from than the people already here? Our videos feature tips, insights and advice straight from our colleagues, helping you navigate applications, interviews and everything in between. Real people, real experiences, real advice to set you up for success.

Aoífe’s solicitor apprenticeship deep dive

Aoífe from our early careers team breaks down what makes our solicitor apprenticeship such a strong start to a career in law: real experience, real support, and zero student debt.

Information and advice about the programme

Our solicitor apprentices and their trainers leave a message for future apprentices on what to expect from a solicitor apprenticeship at A&O Shearman. Hear how you can help shape the future of law and gain a qualification.

Your experience as a solicitor apprentice

We asked our solicitor apprentices and their trainers to leave a message for future apprentices on how to truly excel at A&O Shearman. Hear how you’ll gain a world-class qualification, hands-on experience, and learn from industry leaders - all while building your career over six transformative years.

Application process

Online application

You will need to submit an online application which details your education history and work experience. This does not need to be legal experience.

Assessment

Once you have completed the written application form, you will be prompted to complete an online interactive assessment, which includes situational judgement questions, verbal and numerical reasoning items and a short motivation question to complete via video. For the video response you will have unlimited time to prepare but your response time will be limited to two minutes.

You will need to submit your online application form and complete the interactive assessment before the application deadline.

Discovery and assessment experience

Successful candidates will be invited to attend our two-day solicitor apprentice discovery and assessment experience.

On Day 1 you will learn about the firm and what we do.

On Day 2 you will attend two interviews. The first interview will be a case study. You will be asked to review some documents, which will be followed by a discussion of the key points.

In the second interview, you will be asked a series of questions based on scenarios you may encounter as a solicitor apprentice.

We are assessing your potential on the day and don’t expect you to know all the answers.

Offer

After your interviews, we will review your performance and aim to get back to you with a decision as quickly as possible.

Regardless of the outcome, we’re committed to providing constructive feedback on your interview performance to help you going forward in your career.

A word of caution

There are a number of websites purporting to provide free samples of A&O Shearman application forms and assessment questions, including questions from our online experience. A&O Shearman takes cases of plagiarism and copyright extremely seriously.

We strongly caution applicants against using, or paying for, unofficial sources claiming to provide information on the A&O Shearman application process. We encourage every potential candidate to review our website for details of our application process and a sample SJT.

Questions

If you have any further questions on the A&O Shearman application process, or if you wish to discuss or report such a website, please contact us.

Please note, all applications will close at 5:00pm on the closing date and you must have submitted your online application and completed the interactive assessment by this deadline.