Graduates

Getting Qualified with Express

Express Solicitors does things a little differently from other law firms. We take our trainees directly from our current employees. We don’t do a separate training contract recruitment hire. What this means is when we are recruiting for Litigation Assistants to join our Graduate Scheme, we are looking for our future trainees.

We want to ensure that personal injury is the right area of law for you and the only way to truly know that is to work in the area itself. Therefore, our potential trainees start as Litigation Assistants, assisting a senior fee earner, learning what’s involved in running personal injury matters and what it takes to do so.

A training contract with Express Solicitors, is part of our progression route for our Litigation Assistants and it’s where we want all of our law graduates to get to. How this works in practice, is that every 4 months, you have a formal appraisal with your supervisor, where we can discuss your progress and readiness to be a Trainee Solicitor. You will always know, what your next steps are or what you need to improve upon. The average time it takes is 6 to 18 months, however, some Litigation Assistants have done it in 3 months! It depends on each individual’s capability and commitment.

While other firms offer a prescribed route that you either follow or not, Express Solicitors offers a variety of routes, allowing us to be flexible in considering each person’s different qualifications and experience. We can offer formal periods of recognised training for those who have studied the LPC, and we have options available for those who have studied for the SQE even if you haven’t yet completed it. Or perhaps you just need to gain qualifying work experience, having already passed your SQE exams. Whatever the route, we’re happy to discuss this with you when you’re ready to take the next step

Graduate Scheme

All law graduates who join us as Litigation Assistants start in our Graduate Scheme. This five-week training course provides them with the support they need to make their first steps into a legal career.

During the scheme, they will be based in our dedicated training suite, where they will have a mixture of:

• Black Letter Law Seminars
• Case Management System Training
• Workshops in areas like legal drafting and managing client’s expectations.
• Soft skill sessions on topics like time management and teamwork

In the latter weeks of the graduate scheme, graduates will take on tasks from live files. Still working from within the training environment, they will receive one-to-one guidance, as they deal with their first real legal matters. Each new task will then be reviewed and dedicated feedback provided.

After this solid foundation, they will move to their designated personal injury department, where they will start to apply all of their new skills & knowledge as a Litigation Assistant. During the next nine weeks, they will still have further in-depth training workshops on additional personal injury litigation modules specific to their department.

These designated departments are:

Applying for the Graduate Scheme

Express recruits into its graduate scheme four times a year, with start dates generally in January, March, June and September. Applications will open around 10 weeks before. Keep an eye on our social media channels, we will always announce on those when applications have opened and confirm the start date for the next Graduate Scheme.

Our Graduate Scheme recruitment process has 3 stages:

Stage 1 – Application: Applications are made via our current vacancy page. You can either apply directly for a graduate scheme or you can send a speculative application if we are not currently recruiting.

Stage 2 – Video Interview: if your application has been successful, you will be invited to complete a strength-based video interview. Video interviews:

• Allow us to assess a wider range and larger number of candidates on more than just the information provided on a CV & cover letter.
• Video interviews are more flexible for candidates as while subject to a deadline, it can be completed in your own time, around any existing commitments.
• Video interviews also ensure consistency in the interview process, making them a fair method of assessment.

Stage 3 – Formal Interview: those successful in the video interview will be invited to a formal interview with either Raana Lowry, Training Principal or Eleanor Turton, Graduate Programme Lead. This will be on a one-to-one basis and will be skill-based, set around a case study. This gives candidates the chance to demonstrate their potential as personal injury lawyers and gain genuine insight into their future roles.

On a successful offer of a position, we will request two satisfactory references (from a teacher/employer). You will also be asked for copies of your academic credentials at the start of your employment.