Graduates
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 qualify as a solicitor with us, our Vacation Schemes and everything you need to know about being a trainee at Express Solicitors.
Chief Executive Officer’s Introduction
To help our clients, we develop technical experts.
To defend our clients, we make formidable litigators.
To support our clients, we create emotionally intelligent lawyers.
We have carefully developed our training philosophy with proven results. Our commitment to training is underpinned by senior heavyweight solicitors whose full-time roles are aimed specifically at our aspiring lawyers. We offer unrivalled and unparalleled training and investment.
We have grown bigger and stronger despite all legislative changes, and we have the expertise and the market reach to succeed. We know the number of claimant injuries per year is fairly static and even with the Civil Liability Act reforms, we have a strong future and a national presence. Where others see a threat, we see opportunity. We have continued to grow both in size and in revenue and remain extremely ambitious for the future.
We employ in the region of 600 staff members. We care about the development and training of our staff at all levels, and I am enormously proud of both our staff and the company for the results we have gained for our clients – results that can only be gained by exceptional staff with exceptional commitment. Our clients have often suffered life-changing injuries due to the negligence of others. It’s our passion to help them recover compensation to start rebuilding their lives, an ethos instilled in all our new employees.
Our clients are at the heart of what we do every day, and we are looking for the next generation of Lawyers who want to help us, help them.
James Maxey
Chief Executive Officer
Training Contracts/SQE
Express Solicitors does things a little differently from other law firms. We generally take our trainees directly from our current employees. We don’t do a separate training contract recruitment hire.
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 before moving into a fee-earning role where you will be running your own cases as a Litigation Executive. We will give you three appraisals per year so 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.
A trainee contract with us is part of our progression route and it’s where we want all of our law graduates to get to. We offer both an SQE route and a traditional training contract route. We are happy to support you through either progression route.
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.
Our Graduate Scheme has been awarded the Princess Royal Training Award. This award recognises our exceptional commitment to learning and development and the positive impact it has on our organisation and people.
Here’s What Our Graduates Have to Say
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: Please apply with a CV and cover letter to recruitment@expresssolicitors.co.uk.
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 – Partner Interview: those successful in the video interview will be invited to a partner interview. 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.
What we look for
Interest in Personal Injury – It is really important to us that all candidates have a genuine passion for personal injury, and that you want to help injured people and get the best for them.
Emotional Intelligence – We look for the key skills of patience, engagement and empathy for dealing with vulnerable clients.
Industry Understanding – We do expect you to know about what’s going on in the sector, both legally and commercially.
Confidence & Drive – We are litigators but it’s not about being the loudest person, it’s about going the extra mile and having the willingness to push through obstacles.
Analytical Skills – Sometimes winning a case relies on the smallest detail, where one fact or omission could change the outcome. Express Solicitors use their attention to detail to win cases that other solicitors won’t even take on.
Advocacy Skills – Express Trainees get advocacy experience early on, doing PADA and telephone hearings etc. Therefore, it’s important that you feel comfortable getting your point across. By being informed, knowledgeable and prepared you should be ready to state your case.
Time management – Running your own caseload means you must be able to prioritise. This is not just about deadlines but being able to make decisions based on commercial requirements and client needs & expectations.
FAQs
The use of AI within the recruitment process
While AI can be useful in preparing for interviews, we do not recommend that you use it to generate answers in your video interviews. Here are some of the downsides:
- AI-generated content lacks uniqueness and can easily blend into the crowd.
- Candidates reading an AI answer generally don’t present or engage well and will likely lose points in these areas.
- Our questions are designed to assess your potential and involve looking at how you would deal with a given situation. AI generate answers that are generally poor in application to specific situations.
- Finally, they are not a genuine reflection of yourself. It’s you the person we are interested in, so let us meet you!
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.
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.
Meet Your Emerging Talent Team
If you would like to know anything about our graduate roles, vacation schemes, pupillages or legal apprenticeship roles please contact:
Luiza da Costa – Emerging Talent Manager
Luiza manages the overall recruitment process for both graduates and students and ensures we offer all of our candidates the best possible experience. Connect with Luiza on LinkedIn here.
Oliver Doak – Emerging Talent Officer
Oliver represents Express Solicitors at a variety of events and helps to review prospective candidates. Connect with Oliver on LinkedIn here.
Ollie’s Tips On Making the Most of a Careers Fair
Over the past 12 months, I have had the opportunity to travel to many different Universities in the UK, meeting so many passionate and enthusiastic future legal professionals. Many of them have left their mark and some even took the chance and joined Express Solicitors as Litigation Assistants and completed our Graduate Scheme.
We always have at least one of our Trainee Solicitors attending, so you can find out first-hand what life is like at Express Solicitors practically and talk to them about how they managed to secure their TC/SQE. This is your chance to really find out about Express Solicitors from the employees themselves.
In this article, I will provide some advice on how to fully prepare for attending a graduate law fair, how to stand out, what a good conversation is, and how to follow up with that employer afterwards.
Prepping for the fair as a graduate
Being a prepared candidate is beneficial, as you develop a purpose and a plan. Here are some tips to enhance your preparations:
- Have a hit list: look at the employers attending and select your top 5-10 that you are keen to speak to.
- Research & Purpose: make sure you know some general information about the firm, this will inform what you want to talk about and improve your conversation.
- Have a LinkedIn account set up: It doesn’t have to be a fully active account with lots of activity; even a basic profile is enough to be able to share with employers, which is good to have.
A candidate reached out to me before a fair in Liverpool, as she saw my post about Express Solicitors attending. She made a point of messaging before to ensure I knew she was coming to talk about the firm, as she was interested in us. This put me on notice to watch for her at the fair.
What is a good conversation and how to stand out from the crowd?
Here are some tips for having a good conversation and to stand out:
- Ask relevant questions to what you want to know: e.g progression or culture,
- Use open questions so you can find out more,
- Do be patient while waiting to speak to someone,
- Smile and actively engage with the team,
- Don’t interrupt other students speaking to the employer,
- Don’t just take items off a table,
- Do not wear anything that could be seen as controversial or inappropriate.
Good communication is key for Solicitors and Barristers, so this is your chance to prove to a future employer how efficiently you can communicate your interest and passion in a salient manner.
How to follow up.
Following up after you have spoken to an employer can be tricky as you don’t want to come across in the wrong way. Most firms will ask you to complete forms and email you after the event. I often offer them to add me on Linkedin, as an accessible way to reach out after a fair to discuss opportunities or advice.
When you are providing your email, take the time to make sure you have spelt it correctly. No employer wants bounceback emails, as you have put .com instead of .co.uk.
When it comes to Linkedin, a friendly message thanking the person for their time is always appreciated and it allows you to ask any questions you may have thought of after or ask about opportunities that are open at the company.
I hope you find this helpful and please do reach out if you would like any further information or advice. We look forward to hopefully seeing you at your University fair soon.