The Legal Cheek View
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Global corporate, Hogan Lovells, emerged as a result of a merger 13 years ago with beloved London headquartered Lovells and Washington DC headquartered Hogan Hartson in 2010. The firm has now made its move into the solicitor apprenticeship market, having recruited its first cohort of three apprentices to start in September 2024. Newbies at the firm can look forward to getting stuck into a whole host of practice areas on offer at the firm. From the classic corporate and finance to IP Media and technology, litigation, regulatory and more, apprentices are sure to get a well-rounded experience of City law.
From the first day, solicitor apprentices can expect a taste of real legal work at Hogan Lovells. With the opportunity to experience eight different practice areas throughout their six-year scheme, recruits gain tons of legal experience before qualification. The first four years involve four yearly seat rotations, allowing newbies to get to grips with each practice area before transitioning onto the Hogan Lovells training contract. For these final two years, apprentices will join their TC graduate counterparts and rotate seats every six months.
Let’s not overlook the educational aspect of the scheme: newbies will also embark on a law degree part-time during their first four years, spending one day a week studying with BPP. In their final two TC years, recruits will focus on preparation for the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE), emerging as fully qualified solicitors upon completion of the programme.
One of the key advantages of the Hogan Lovells apprenticeship scheme lies in the dedicated training and support for apprentices, with the firm revealing to Legal Cheek that much of the training for apprentices will be more in-depth than for their trainees. We’re told that the firm are particularly keen on introducing personal development sessions with their apprentices. These will focus in on tackling imposter syndrome, brand development and confidence. With an allocated learning & development point of contact for each apprentice, support networks seem to be high on the radar for this city firm.
On the social side, we’re told newbies will have plenty to fill their boots. With a relatively young demographic at Hogan Lovells, we’re told that finding a tribe in the firm won’t be hard for apprentices. As well as being invited along to all of the trainee, firm-wide and team socials, there’s tons of sporty clubs at the firm for active apprentices to get stuck into, like football, netball, hockey and running. LGBTQ+ individuals, minority communities, and faith groups alike can also participate in a host of internal networks at the firm.
In what it’s seeking from an aspiring apprentice, Hogan Lovells tells Legal Cheek: “Variety is something we look for on applications: when giving examples, the more variety the better,” they say. “For example, use one academic situation, one example from a part-time job, and one personal scenario. You don’t need to focus solely on any legal work experience you may have either. Non-legal work gives you so, so many transferrable skills. So, I would advise applicants to provide as many examples as possible of skills you’ve developed in these roles.”
This is the Hogan Lovells profile for those considering solicitor apprenticeships. Students looking to apply for training contracts should check out Legal Cheek‘s main Hogan Lovells profile.
