At Provenio, we celebrated National Apprenticeship Week between 6 and 12 February 2023.
National Apprenticeship Week is an opportunity to celebrate apprentices, and their contributions to business and the community. Apprenticeships allow those starting their professional journey to work alongside studying, opening doors for those who may not have been able to pursue traditional, full-time education routes.
In August 2022, Provenio launched its graduate solicitor apprenticeship programme. Provenio have two trainees - Lucy Baker and Jack Enright - undergoing the graduate solicitor apprenticeship programme, studying for the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE1 and SQE2) with the University of Law (ULaw).
During the programme, trainees have the opportunity to work alongside the highly experienced team of solicitors and are directly engaged in work on high value and complex commercial disputes. Alongside this, ULaw provides subject-specialist support with supervised tuition, guidance and feedback from the university’s team of qualified solicitor tutors.
Said Lucy Baker: “During my 6 months as a trainee solicitor at Provenio, I have had the opportunity to work on a number of exciting and challenging disputes. As part of this, I have already expanded my legal skillset significantly, from preparing for High Court hearings, drafting settlement agreements and working alongside experts in alternative dispute resolution processes. At Provenio we work with corporates and high-net worth individuals in solving complex commercial disputes, often with international elements.
“Further, training at Provenio has significantly developed my confidence and networking skills. I have had the opportunity to represent the firm at a number of business development events, such as taking part in networking lunches with the Liverpool Ladies Network and attending the Chamber of Commerce’s Day at the Races at the Grand National.
“I would encourage all future trainee solicitors to consider the solicitor apprenticeship route into law, as it has allowed me to focus on developing key commercial litigation skills, alongside studying for the necessary qualifications, effectively providing a fast-track to qualification over a two-year period. As I am also already practicing many of the skills relevant to the SQE examinations in work, it has given me a head start when it comes to studying the same skills in my ULaw apprenticeship course.”
Said Jack Enright: “Working at Provenio has afforded me the opportunity to work on high-quality complex litigation. I have been engaged in each phase of the litigation process from the formulation of the claim to attending trial in the commercial court.
“In a traditional training contract, it would be at this point where trainees would be starting to move to another seat in a different department, but the advantage with Provenio and the programme is that the entirety of the training is in dispute resolution. Rather than garnering a small amount of relevant experience in a number of different practice areas in each seat, we continue to develop our experience and skills in our one practice area, high value complex litigation.
“Working closely with leading partners on casework at Provenio is unparalleled, and the development and support is focussed on creating a new generation of leading litigation lawyers, capable of operating at the highest level.
“The team at Provenio are focussed on nurturing and developing new talent, not only through the Graduate Apprenticeship Scheme, but through the development of paralegals as the source of next generation trainee solicitor apprentices, and work experience placements throughout the year.
“Whilst at the firm, I have been fortunate to be part of the team representing Provenio at the Liverpool Law Society Awards Dinner, where Provenio won the Outstanding Litigation Team Award. Separately, I have been introduced to the Merseyside Young Professionals networking group through the firm, and have enjoyed many of their great events.
“The apprenticeship was an obvious choice for me, as it is a more practical, quicker and accessible route into law. The work at Provenio has been supported by ULaw’s academic programme. The course is varied, fast paced and well supported. The course is new, and the programme leaders and tutors are approachable and friendly. The new route to qualification is a great choice.”
Said Mark Goodwin, Managing Partner at Provenio Litigation LLP: “We have a clear strategy to grow our business by developing our trainee solicitor apprentices through effective delegation and supervision on complex high value cases. We also have a bespoke Provenio training programme designed to deliver the know-how to the wider team. This is supported by the apprentice scheme provided by University of Law.”