Coca-Cola European Partners has become the latest organisation to launch solicitor apprenticeship scheme.

The organisation – the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler – has partnered with City University London and CILEx Law School to develop the six-year programme, which will lead to qualification as a solicitor.

The first apprentices will join the company in September 2018 and will combine working with study, gaining an LLB degree on their way to qualification.

Coca-Cola says that “in addition to examinations throughout the apprenticeship, there will also be an SRA centralised assessment that that our apprentice will need to pass in order to qualify as a solicitor,” a reference to the forthcoming introduction of the Solicitors Qualification Exam.

Applicants will need eight GCSE at grades A* to C, with As and Bs in Maths and English, as well as three A Levels at grade B or above.

Other in-house legal teams that have launched apprenticeships include ITV and the BBC.

Meanwhile, law firm RPC has become the latest firm to launch a paralegal apprenticeship programme.

The firm will recruit up to four apprentices to take on the two-year scheme with a view to them progressing to the solicitor apprenticeship.

The scheme will begin in November 2018 and will initially be run out of the firm’s Bristol office, although if successful it may be rolled out to the London headquarters.

Like Freshfields, Hogan Lovells and Pinsent Masons before it, RPC has partnered with The University of Law and Damar Training to deliver the programme.

Earlier this year, the firm chose ULaw as its sole provider of the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), Legal Practice Course (LPC) and MSc in Law, Business and Management, having previously sent its future trainees to BPP Law School.

RPC training principal Simon Hart said: “We’re very pleased to be getting this programme off the ground – it’s an exciting new development in terms of the range of careers we offer here at RPC.

“We hope that will help attract a more diverse range of candidates to our junior talent programme at RPC.

RPC managing partner James Miller added: “As with our trainees, we want to attract highly motivated people who are keen to learn and progress their careers in a dynamic and supportive environment, whatever their background.”

Candidates will be expected to follow a similar recruitment process to those looking for a training contract at RPC, including completion of an online application form, a verbal reasoning test, and an assessment day.

Some legal apprenticeships

Firm Type of apprenticeship Locations Education partner
Addleshaw Goddard Solicitor Manchester, Leeds BPP
BBC Paralegal London, Salford CILEx Law School
Burges Salmon Solicitor Bristol BPP
Clyde & Co Paralegal London, Manchester, Guildford, Newcastle CILEx Law School
Coca-Cola Solicitor London CILEx Law School and City University
Dentons Solicitor London BPP
DWF Paralegal London, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Milton Keynes, Birmingham BPP
Eversheds Solicitor London, the regions BPP
Freshfields Paralegal Manchester University of Law and Damar Training
Hogan Lovells Paralegal Birmingham University of Law and Damar Training
Irwin Mitchell Paralegal London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds CILEx Law School
ITV Solicitor London CILEx Law School and City University
Kennedys Solicitor                         Paralegal London, Chelmsford, Cambridge, Sheffield, Manchester, Taunton, Birmingham BPP
Mayer Brown Solicitor London BPP
Pinsent Masons Paralegal London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds University of Law and Damar Training
RPC Paralegal Bristol University of Law and Damar Training
Withers Solicitor London BPP