Reed Smith & Queen Mary Team Up To Offer “Degree With Apprenticeship in Law”

Jan 13, 2015

Written By Billy Sexton, Editor, AllAboutLaw.co.uk

Reed Smith and Queen Mary University of London are teaming up to offer students a “degree with apprenticeship in law”.

The unique aspect of the LLB course is that students will have the opportunity to undertake a year-long placement at Reed Smith (interested? We thought you would be).

Five talented students will apply for a placement to take place in 2016-17. Students undertaking the placement will take on a mixture of paralegal and trainee solicitor work, but Reed Smith are open to giving as much responsibility to the placement student as possible.

Though the primary aim of the placement is to give students an opportunity to experience the daily work of a leading City law firm, if the student goes on to apply for a training contract with Reed Smith, they will be guaranteed an interview.

The placement application process will involve an eligibility assessment at the end of law students’ first year, followed by a special skills module in their second year. The placement will take place in third year, with students completing their studies in fourth year.

Professor Valsamis Mitsilegas, head of the department of law at Queen Mary, commented, “We are very excited to collaborate with Reed Smith on this innovative new programme. It supports and reaffirms our commitment to deliver real-world, practical experience, alongside traditional educational approaches and academic excellence that students expect from one of the UK’s leading law schools.”

Nigel Spencer, global director of learning and development at Reed Smith, said, “Our new ‘degree with apprenticeship in law’ offers… students… not only… in-depth critical thinking of a law degree at a top university but also gain hands-on commercial experience of legal practice in a City law firm.”

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