Yorkshire law firm welcomes the aspiring lawyers

Yorkshire law firm Gordons has welcomed three new aspiring lawyers to its pioneering legal apprenticeship.

Katie Breckin, Abby Sidebottom and Danny Knee are all recent school leavers and have joined the firm as they take their first steps on the legal career ladder.

Since launching the first-of-its-kind legal apprenticeship in 2011, the Leeds and Bradford-based firm has now taken on 26 apprentices. As part of the programme, Katie, Abby, and Danny will be provided with practical hands on experience and academic study, as well as having Gordons pay their salaries and course fees. Alongside full-time work as part of the Gordons team, the trio will also study at college one evening a week as they work towards their qualifications.

Gordons created its multi-award-winning apprenticeship to provide an alternative route into the profession for bright youngsters without them needing to attend university. The firm was the first to offer an apprenticeship taking its chartered legal executive lawyers to the maximum Level 6 – an honours degree equivalent – rather than the Level 3 offered by similar schemes.

Gordons has welcomed the trio within weeks of being named the best employer for skills development at The School Leavers Awards for 2020, organised by careers advice company All About School Leavers. The same organisation also recognised Gordons as one of the UK’s top 30 employers for school leavers following a nationwide survey of 150 companies.

Gordons commercial disputes solicitor and apprenticeship programme lead, Frances Michell, said: “We’re pleased to welcome our latest intake of legal apprentices to the Gordons team. We believe that the legal profession should be open to all with the appropriate ability and drive, and all three of our new starters demonstrated those qualities in abundance throughout the selection process.

“We’re dedicated to developing those from a variety of backgrounds so that they have successful legal careers. We’re pleased to welcome Katie, Abby and Danny to the team and hope that they have long and successful careers with us.”