Bristol Graduate Apprenticeship P&C 2023

Clyde & Co LLP
What is Projects & Construction?

The construction industry is one of the UK’s major industries, contributing to 7% of the UK’s GDP and accounting for around 3 million jobs. It can include the building of houses, renewable energy projects, roads, tunnels, hospitals, and sporting stadiums (to name a few).

The work that we do supports the legal framework that keeps the wheels of this fundamental industry moving.

As a construction lawyer, you work primarily in the field of contract law. This can be negotiating and drafting construction contracts at the outset of a project, advising clients on managing the contracts throughout a project, and dealing with disputes that may arise at any point.

Clyde & Co’s Projects & Construction offering

Projects and Construction at Clyde & Co is a large global team of 200 lawyers, working with a wide variety of clients.

No one project is the same and we work on a massive range of projects, from the operation of African power plants to the construction of west country housing developments and ground-breaking offshore windfarms. Projects can be small scale, medium scale or on a grand scale, such as the £23bn Hinckley Point C project in Somerset.

The Projects and Construction group is a friendly welcoming team and would support you throughout your career as a Projects & Construction lawyer.

What does the job involve?

As a Projects & Construction lawyer, you would have the opportunity to work on a wide variety of different contentious and non-contentious matters. You could be leading a High Court disputes case one day or drafting the contracts for a major new deal the next day. Every day is different, and you can shape your career around what interests you.

As a Graduate Apprentice, you will work closely with qualified solicitors in the team and would be supported in your development from day one. Our team has a long history of developing trainees right through to the top, with two of our recent partners having been trained at Clyde & Co themselves.

As part of a global team, you would also have opportunities to spend time abroad throughout your career and benefit from all that Clyde & Co has to offer.

About the programme:

Our graduate solicitor apprenticeship is a fast-track route to qualify as a solicitor and will support you through the new pathway to qualification by completion of the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE1 and SQE2) and an internationally recognised Master’s qualification (LLM), alongside gaining two years qualifying work experience. You will study with our nominated provider, the University of Law, in Bristol, and will undertake the majority of your study by way of block release for the first seven months of the apprenticeship.

After that, for the remainder of the 32-month programme, you will work full time in the Firm’s Projects and Construction department, subject to time off for any further necessary study or to sit SQE2. From day one, you will be involved in a variety of legal work whilst under the supervision of lawyers who are experts in their field.

This apprenticeship prepares students for day 1 as a qualified solicitor with a particular focus on the skills of Interviewing, Advocacy, Case and Matter Analysis, Legal Research, Legal Writing and Drafting. Upon successful completion, subject to the SRA Character & Suitability test, you will become a fully qualified solicitor with the SRA and subject to your performance on the programme, we hope to be able to offer you a newly qualified solicitor position in our Bristol Projects and Construction team.

What we are looking for

We are looking for those who are interested in projects and construction law and committed to a career as a solicitor at Clyde & Co as well as the following:

You will need to have, by the start date in September 2023, a law degree or a non-law degree plus the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL).
You will be expected to have AAB at A-level and a 2:1 degree, although we will take into account mitigating circumstances using the Rare contextualised recruitment system.
As apprentices have employed status you must have the right to permanently live and work in the UK. Apprenticeships are not covered by student visas.

What we offer

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package as a newly qualified solicitor. You will also be entitled to a range of rewards and benefits:

• Private medical
• Pension scheme
• Group income protection
• Maternity and paternity pay
• Holiday purchase
• Season ticket loan
• Cycle to work scheme
• Gym subsidy

We’ll make sure you have plenty of support throughout your programme – alongside having support from your dedicated supervisor, University of Law skills coach and tutor, you will also have regular one to one session with the early careers team and will be allocated a mentor from one of our newly qualified lawyers, enabling you to get peer-to-peer support and guidance. You can also look forward to a tailored induction programme and on-going internal training designed to ensure you have the skills, knowledge, and commercial acumen you need to become a well-rounded solicitor.

The application processes

We are looking for applicants with the motivation to join our firm and potential to be successful in the role throughout our process. The application process varies slightly from programme to programme, but this is what you’ll need to do for this opportunity:
Explore the programme specific information to understand which opportunity is the right one for you.
You’ll need to make your application online via our online application system.
You will need to make your application online via our online application system. Application deadline is the 20th February 2023.

You will then be invited to complete our digital immersive assessment which simulates a realistic preview of the role of a trainee solicitor. It looks to assess specific strengths and skills required in the role and asks you to complete a series of motivational and strengths-based questions though video interviews.
Following this, if successful we will be in contact to invite you to our assessment day which will consist of a Group Exercise, Role Play, Written Exercise and Interview.