Eligibility & Application Process
At Lewis Silkin, we’re looking for smart, committed and passionate people, ready to succeed in a fast-paced office environment.
Key skills we are looking for are:
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- A good eye for detail
- Strong organisation and time management abilities
- Creative thinking and analytical skills
We also look for the following qualities:
- An excellent team player
- Ability to follow instructions
- Motivated with a strong commitment to learning
- Desire to provide excellent client service
In order to be considered, our Apprenticeship provider requires a minimum of three A Levels totalling 128 UCAS points (ABB or equivalent) in addition to 5 GCSEs or equivalent qualifications, including English and maths.
Applications open for our London Solicitor Apprenticeship on 2nd October 2023. To apply, please follow this link: Apply here.
Throughout your application, we will be look to answer two fundamental points throughout the process:
- Why you want to be a solicitor?
- Why you want to do the Solicitor Apprenticeship route with Lewis Silkin?
You should view your application as an opportunity to introduce yourself to us, and layout what makes you a strong candidate for our apprenticeship. Please read the questions asked of you, and consider how your answer relates to the two questions asked above. Please also be conscious of timelines - the deadline for applications is 23:59 on Monday 22nd December 2023.
After reviewing initial applications, candidates will then be shortlisted and invited to complete our preselection exercises. This will include a video interview and a written exercise. This is your opportunity to really showcase the skills you highlighted in your application.
Video Interview
In regards to the video interview, please rest assured that we know these may feel a little…unnatural. We are not assessing you on your screen presence. We are assessing you based on how you approach the questions asked of you and your approach to presenting information. Please use the time given to you, and consider how you structure your response. You'll be given some time after being asked the question to digest what has been asked of you, take a couple of notes, have some water, and then you'll be given two minutes to provide you response. If you do find video interview's a little daunting, we recommend practicing in advance. This can be simply recording yourself answering any questions, and watching it back. At the very least, this can help you move past the discomfort of being filmed.
Written task
The written task will not require any legal knowledge but will assess some of the skills that you will rely on as you start your legal career. We will be reviewing your commercial awareness, your approach to solving problems, and how you relay information. This will be timed, and of course, reasonable adjustments will be made if required. Please consider how you use your time. We recommend planning out your answers and considering the structure of your response.
This task is designed to give you a taste of what life will be like as a solicitor apprentice.
It will be split into two parts:
- Prioritisation exercise
You’ll have several emails to sort through and rank in order of priority. There is no right or wrong way to order the emails, and there’s a lot of room for personal interpretation. Think of a logical way you’d handle the situation in real life and make your reasoning clear and concise. Tell us why you’ve ranked each particular email in that order of importance. - Written task
You’ll be asked to reply to one email from the selection you’ve been sent. This section will involve researching a specific legal case, writing a short summary and including it in a reply to the email.
Following the pre-selection exercises, shortlisted candidates will be invited to our assessment day. This will include two interviews and a case study exercise. You'll also get the opportunity to tour our offices and meet our current apprentices. The advice "be yourself" can feel a little redundant at assessment days, but this advice really means "try not to let the nerves get the better of you". If you've made it to the assessment day, that means that two HR professionals, two Partners, and two of our Managing Associates have endorsed your application to attend our assessment day, and are already rooting for you! The assessment day is also as much an opportunity for you to get to know us, as it is for us to meet you. We implore you to ask any questions you have, and get to know our firm.