Start your claim
Trustpilot

Training Contracts/SQE

If you are looking to take the first step in your legal career, Express Solicitors can help. Keep reading to find out more about how to get a job as a trainee solicitor at Express Solicitors.

Training Principal’s Introduction

I qualified with Express in 2014 and really enjoyed my time as a trainee. As the current Training Principal, I want to ensure that all of our present and future trainees get the same positive & supportive experience I had. We offer our trainees early responsibilities, with frequent client contact and genuine hands on experience.

Trainees receive a structured learning experience with weekly reviews with their supervisor and informal catch ups with me every week. There are also trainee socials and firm-funded events with the Manchester Trainee Solicitors Group. We aim to look after not only our trainees from a technical development side but also to offer mentorship and guidance to assist their wellbeing.

Support and learning are the key foundations to our training contracts. Express has always placed a huge emphasis on supporting junior lawyers throughout their careers. We are confident that on qualifying with us you will already be well on your way to being a personal injury expert.

We have always done things differently to other firms as we want to ensure that those who join us, have an in-depth understanding of the law and a long term development plan with us. We consider every trainee to be a prospective partner and the future of the firm itself.

Qualifying with Express is only the beginning. I can’t wait to be a part of your qualification journey.

Raana Lowery
Partner – Head of Training – Training Principal

Training Contracts/SQE

Express Solicitors does things a little differently to other law firms. We take our Trainee Solicitors directly from our current employees. 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 within our Graduate Scheme, working their way to a training contract. You will have three appraisals per year, where we can discuss your progress and readiness to be a Trainee Solicitor.

We offer a range of different qualification routes. 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.

Progression is built into your development path and it generally takes 6 – 18 months, for our law graduates to obtain a Trainee Solicitor position. We currently have 200 Trainee Solicitors at any one time and we have a year-round intake of trainees, so you can progress to this stage throughout the year. There is an exception if start dates are tied to course dates.

Why be a Personal Injury Trainee Solicitor

Here are our top 5 reasons for being a personal injury trainee solicitor:

Supporting and helping vulnerable clients

Most people get into the law to help people and we at Express are no different. Our clients are at the very core of our business and the reason we strive to do our best.

Individual client connections

By the very nature of the work we do, some of your cases will always stay as a happy achievement.

Making a genuine difference

Working to help someone long term, you will build connections and get to know the difference you have made in your clients’ lives. Be that a small change or a life changing one, you know that you helped.

Winning at trial

Many of our trainees have said that they enjoy the buzz of success when they win a trial. It’s the culmination of all the hard work they have put into a case and gives them a great sense of victory

Seeing a case from start to finish

Our trainees will have their own caseload by the end of their training period. We ensure that our trainees have the chance to run a case from initial instructions all the way to trial or settlement. We want you to be confident in every step before you qualify.

What benefits does an Express Trainee Solicitor job offer

Here are 5 key reasons to become an Express Trainee Solicitor:

Express make PI experts

We are a firm believer that in order to give our clients the best possible outcomes, we need to ensure that our solicitors are experts in their fields. To help with this we provide a high level of training from start, which is taken through to each step on your career.

Early file experience

All of our trainees get a very hands on experience. Whether you are assisting a senior solicitor or running your own case you get to deal with all aspects of a case from start to finish.

Growth and expansion

Express Solicitors continues to grow and expand every year. In size and in revenue, this means there are plenty of development and progression opportunities.

Progression

We do believe that every Litigation Assistant has the potential to be a partner. A third of our partnerships have progressed from being Litigation Assistants themselves!

Specialities in a variety of areas

We handle a wide variety of personal injury work. So much of different PI work is interesting, military case, product defects, accidents at work. It's not run of the mill and there is plenty to get your teeth stuck into.

What does a Trainee Solicitor do?

We think it’s really important that you understand what it’s like being a trainee solicitor here at Express. To have a genuine understanding of the ins and outs of a trainee solicitor role. To help with this one of our current trainees, has put together what a typical day looks like for them – to give you an idea about what your day might look like and that tasks you might get involved in.

Day in the life of an Express Trainee

Grace Rainey is a Trainee Solicitor in the Occupiers’ and Public Liability Department. Grace works alongside Daniel Slade, Chief Executive Officer (Legal) and Katryn Mercer, Partner at Express.

Working closely with Daniel and Katryn, Grace has gained a wealth of experience dealing with particularly complex, serious and catastrophic injury claims. Grace is currently studying for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam and is on route to becoming a qualified Solicitor.

You can read about Grace’s typical day here

Training and Support

Every trainee solicitor has a supervisor who will support them with a weekly supervision meeting. While we have an open door policy for day to day queries, this weekly session allows for in-depth conversations and file reviews for those more complex matters. It also helps guide trainee solicitors, to help them stay on track with their targets and caseload milestones.

Each team member has a buddy to help them and we also have a Trainee Solicitor Teams chat group, which allows for our trainees to help and support each other.

All trainee solicitors will have 3 appraisals per annum so we can discuss your progress. You will always know what your next steps are or what you need to improve upon.

Trainees also have the opportunity to meet with our Training Principal, Raana Lowery, once a week for an informal drop in catch up. As someone who trained with Express herself, Raana is ideally placed to guide and mentor our trainees, with practical advice from her own experience.

Raana also heads our Learning & Development here at Express, along with the rest of her team. You can find out about the great help they provide here.

Applying

As mentioned above, you cannot apply directly for a training contract at Express Solicitors. These are awarded to litigation assistants who already work for us and have demonstrated the necessary skills and committed to personal injury.

You can find out everything you need to know about working as Litigation Assistant from our Graduate page. 

Frequently asked questions 

What are the minimum academic requirements?

We recognise all degree levels from graduates, though candidates with a lower-class honours degree must be able to show additional skills and experience. If your chosen route involves a training provider, you will need to meet their additional minimal requirements.

Will you make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process because of my disability?

We are an equal opportunities employer and make our workplace as accessible as possible. We offer ground-floor meeting rooms and will happily carry out any reasonable adjustments to facilitate an application where a disability is involved.

Do you support Visa applications for international students?

At this current time we are not approved by the Home Office to support any visa applications.