From 2025
The College of Legal Practice (CoLP) has partnered with South West law firm Ashfords to support its trainee lawyers in preparing for the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE).
The law school, which delivers its SQE prep by way of virtual training, will also provide trainees with skills and foundation law modules.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List shows Ashfords recruits around 13 trainees each year across offices in Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth. It also has a hub in London.
The pair have already been working closely together over recent weeks, with CoLP delivering presentations to Ashfords’ summer vacation scheme students.
Dr Giles Proctor, CEO of CoLP, said:
“We are delighted to be partnering with Ashfords, who are looking at their training holistically and are focusing on giving their future lawyers the best possible start to their legal careers. We are enjoying the close partnership that we have already developed which highlights team’s clear focus on supporting their trainees through these challenging exams.”
Toby Tompkins, talent attraction manager at Ashfords, added: “We are looking forward to collaborating with The College of Legal Practice in order to provide our trainees with the very best preparation for their SQE exams. From our conversations with Giles and the team, we have been impressed with the level of personalised support and training offered to students, which will undoubtedly ensure each of our future lawyers have the best chance of succeeding in their exams and beyond.”
CoLP already has number of similar tie-ups in place with both national and international law firms. The law school already offers transactional training to trainees at the London office of Reed Smith and provides SQE preparation for firms such as Acuity Law, Wright Hassall, Clarke Willmott and PwC Legal Middle East.
The law school also has a number of arrangements with academic institutions to provide SQE training within LLM courses. These include Manchester Metropolitan University, Middlesex University, and, as of February this year, Keele University.
