Pioneering apprenticeships: shaping the future of legal talent
28 Oct 2025
3 min read
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Burges Salmon has just been attending the City Century apprentice event for the legal profession at the O2.
At Burges Salmon, we believe that the legal profession should be open, dynamic, and accessible to all who have the talent and drive to succeed. That’s why, for over a decade, we’ve championed apprenticeships as a core part of our approach to nurturing the next generation of legal and business professionals.
Despite being true, I am conscious that the above sentence sounds a bit like a standard line straight from the (social mobility and diverse talent) recruitment manual. So how about this:
To me, the rationale for apprentices is not just that it is right from a responsible business angle, but I am unapologetic to major on the fact that it makes good business sense.
Our journey began in 2014, when we helped shape the new standards for paralegal and solicitor apprenticeships as part of the legal sector Trailblazer group. We were among the first law firms in the UK to launch a legal apprenticeship scheme - a shout-out to the others which included Addleshaw Goddard, Eversheds Sutherland, Simmons & Simmons and Stephenson Harwood - and since then, our commitment has only deepened. Today, we employ 26 apprentices across our legal and business services teams, with eight already qualified as solicitors – some of whom are now two years qualified - a real testament to the success and sustainability of this route.
The benefits and impact of apprenticeships at Burges Salmon is tangible. Our apprentices have brought fresh perspectives, ambition, and energy to every department they join; from Real Estate to Finance, IT, and Marketing.
We keep hearing about the challenges that the legal sector is facing in terms of recruitment and retention, so there is good reason for us to cast our net for talent more widely. By the end of their apprenticeships, we have talent that is embedded, loyal, tested and committed to the firm.
So, what of the wider aim outlined at the start of this piece?
21% of our legal apprentices were eligible for free school meals, and only 21% have parents who attended university. All started their apprenticeships aged 21 or under. In many cases, their journeys have been linked to another scheme we introduced, our ‘Bright Sparks’ work experience scheme. This scheme has been running for over a decade and is unique to Burges Salmon. We design and run it in-house and have established a broad network of partnerships to ensure we offer fair and equal access to quality work experience for young people aged 15 to 17 in our local communities. These models can break down barriers - financial, social, and geographic - and they open the profession to talented individuals who might otherwise have been excluded. Consequently, our firm is enriched by a broader range of voices and experiences, which ultimately benefits our clients and the communities we serve.
Choosing to implement these schemes cannot be about ticking boxes. It’s about committing to creating real opportunity. Our apprenticeships do, and must, continue to offer a practical, hands-on route into the law firm profession in its widest sense, combining academic learning with meaningful work experience, otherwise they become discredited and more importantly, as a law firm you miss out on all the business benefits I have mentioned above.
We’re delighted to have recently joined City Century’s career-creation collaboration, sharing our insights and experience with 50 other leading firms. As I commented in response to City Century’s announcement, while London is not the centre for our apprentices, we bring over a decade of pioneering experience to the group, and we’re committed to helping shape the future of solicitor apprenticeships wherever emerging lawyers may be found.
As we look ahead, I really want to see apprenticeships remain central to our strategy. The cohort of legal apprentices who joined us in September 2026 marks ten years since we first launched our apprenticeship programme - a milestone that reflects our long-standing belief in the value of this route into law.
Apprenticeships are not just a pathway to qualification, they are a pathway to a more equitable, diverse, dynamic and better law firm and legal profession. One of the best decisions we made.