LAC announces apprenticeships for legal services

The LAC has joined forced with Skills for Justice, which has been working to create a formal paralegal apprenticeship framework with a host of firms, to launch several legal apprenticeships by 2013.

In a statement, LAC business development executive Colin Fredriksen said: “I thought that there should be an apprenticeship pathway for law, similar to the apprenticeship pathway for accountancy, so I got in touch with Nigel Savage, CEO for the College of law, and board member for Skills for Justice.

“We were delighted to meet with Skills for Justice key account manager Charles Welsh to talk about how LAC would like to be involved in the facilitating of an apprenticeship scheme for Legal Services, covering those working in paralegal roles.”

Skills for Justice, which helps the profession with workforce needs, began its work with 14 law firms, including DWF and Eversheds, as well as the Legal Services Board, the legal regulators, central government and the national apprenticeship scheme (NAS) to help create national standards that will sit at the heart of a structured apprenticeship programme for the legal services sector (2 November 2011)

The news follows the Co-operative Legal Services becoming the latest organisation to join with the charitable organisation to launch a formal apprenticeship scheme (21 February 2012).