SQE Non-Law Graduates

SQE Non-Law Graduates

We welcome applications from non-law graduates, recognising that there are transferrable skills from many other disciplines that complement the skills necessary to become a solicitor.

If you have not completed a qualifying law degree then we offer a route to qualification over 3 years, which incorporates a Graduate Foundation in Law (GFL), similar to the Graduate Diploma in Law that is currently available. This will also be provided via the CoLP on a fully funded basis.

As a non-law graduate you will:

  • Commence full-time study of your GFL study in the 20 weeks prior to starting your role with us. You will be paid a stipend during this time to allow you to complete your study in full.
  • You will start a year-long Paralegal role with us whilst undertaking your SQE1 preparatory course on a part time basis. Your studies will be completed through paid study leave and your own time.
  • Your SQE1 exams will be held around 2 months prior to you starting your Qualifying Work Experience.
  • You will then follow the relevant schedule for either the SQE Rotational or SQE Specialist route you have chosen.
  • You will qualify three years following the commencement of your Paralegal role.
  • Your SQE2 preparatory course will start ahead of your second seat and continue through to the middle of your third seat (approximately 9 months). As with SQE1, you will complete your SQE2 study through a combination of your own time and paid study leave.
  • SQE2 exams are taken shortly after you start your fourth seat and you will receive a pay increase to upon successful completion of these.
  • Towards the end of your fourth seat, you make an application for the NQ role(s) you would like to be considered for and subject to being successful, you will spend your fifth seat in the department you will qualify in to.

Alternatively, your fifth seat may be spent in a repeat department or one you have yet to experience.

The Application Process

Submit Your Application

Apply via our online submission form before the closing date.

Successful Application Acknowledgement

We will be in touch with further information if your application is successful.

Acuity Interview Process

Successful applicants will be invited to a video interview with a series of e-psychometric tests.

Assessment Centre

We will invite you to attend an assessment centre day with group activities at our Cardiff office.

Final Interview

You will be invited to a final interview with a selection of Acuity Partners.
Offers will then be made if successful.

What We Are Looking For

As a future Acuity solicitor, you will have a strong academic background, a keen interest in the commercial world and the appetite to challenge and innovate. With a passion for all things legal, Acuity trainees will be able to demonstrate practical work experience in a commercial environment, legal or otherwise.

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Diversity Statement

Our training contracts are based at our Cardiff head office but there may be the opportunity to do a seat in our other UK offices. We also occasionally have client secondment opportunities.

We try to give our trainees the opportunity to develop their own careers by choosing which departments they wish to cover during their training contract. Therefore, whilst we will allocate your first seat, you will be invited to put forward your preferences for the remainder of your training contract with us.

Our training contracts adopt a hands-on approach as we believe that you learn more by getting fully involved from the outset. You can also expect high levels of client interaction, partner-led supervision and engagement and real responsibility from your training contract.

You will receive regular and constructive feedback from your supervisor or other senior lawyers in the team and you will be allocated a buddy for each seat, most of whom have trained with us.

We are a team of lawyers that like to do things a little differently. Our team of 100+ exceptional and instinctively commercial lawyers have an entrepreneurial spirit and an appetite for better legal services.

As an innovative firm, we adopt a hybrid approach to working and encourage our trainees to work flexibly where possible, in addition to being able to benefit from valuable office time. Whether you prefer being office-based every day or working flexibly, we work with you to ensure the best learning experience possible.

We have done away with a strict dress code and entrust our people to dress appropriately for the day ahead; sometimes this will mean jeans and sometimes it may mean a full suit.

With an array of Acuity committees comprising Acuity colleagues’ firm-wide, there is plenty of opportunity to get involved. From legal bake-offs, summer parties, quiz nights, ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays’ to our annual netball tournament, there is plenty of opportunity to build great relationships with your colleagues.

As legal change-agents, our thought leadership and innovation initiatives provide the ideal opportunity to challenge the status quo and to partner with some of our industry-leading experts. Whether you enjoy producing podcasts or penning legal articles, we encourage our trainees to broaden their interest beyond the realms of the traditional legal world.

With a passion for providing bespoke legal solutions, designed with our clients in mind, you could be the pioneer of the next Acuity product. We recognise that our trainees are often best placed to innovate and challenge and we actively engage our trainees in new product development.

We understand that pursuing a career in law can be difficult to access for certain individuals and we have a discretionary fund available which we can utilise to aid with social mobility and to help break down the barriers some face with entry into the legal profession.

All applications must be made via our online process. Please do not sent a CV and covering letter as we are unable to accept these

  • Applicants who pass the initial application stage, will be invited to undertake a series of e-psychometric tests and a short video interview.
  • An assessment day will then be held consisting of group and written exercises, verbal and critical reasoning tasks, and an opportunity to meet our current trainees and junior lawyers within our firm.
  • Final interview with our HR Manager and a selection of Acuity Partners
  • Offer will then be made to successful applicants

Due to an exciting period of growth, we are looking for trainees for 2023 & 2024.

An Acuity Trainee should have a natural drive to succeed, an inquisitive nature, a strong academic background and committed interest in developing a long-term career with us. For us, your training contract is only the start – we are able to offer an exciting and fulfilling defined career path once qualified and so we are looking for candidates that want this too.

You will ideally have:

  • A minimum of 3 A-Levels or equivalent at grades BBB or above;
  • A degree level at 2:1 or above or working towards (unless there are genuine mitigating circumstances).

We are looking for you to demonstrate a real commitment to a career in commercial law by gaining experience and taking commercial modules on your LPC (as applicable).

If you have previously applied for a training contract and have been unsuccessful then please note the following.

We appreciate that it often takes several rounds of applications before successfully securing a training contract and do not want to discourage you from applying to us again if you feel Acuity Law is the right fit for you – we recognise this is part of the learning process. However, we will only consider a new application from you if you have gained significant work or volunteering experience (at least six months), achieved an award for your academic achievements or addressed any obvious shortcomings since your last application.

If you are in the same position as you were when you previously applied, then you will unfortunately not be considered on this occasion.

Please click on the link below and complete our application form. We look forward to receiving your application.

Acuity Law champions equality and diversity. All of our employees, officers, consultants, contractors, volunteers, interns, casual workers and agency workers as well as any job applicants, will receive equal treatment regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.

Creating a workplace culture that celebrates equality and diversity doesn’t just make business sense, it’s the right thing to do. We recognise that by embracing and supporting diversity allows our lawyers and business to be more innovative and better positioned to succeed. We have a global, multicultural client base —we want to reflect that inside our own walls. We strive to create workplaces that reflect the clients that we work with and where everyone feels empowered to bring their “whole” selves to work. Everyone is welcome.

testimonial

Words From Our Colleagues

  • Acuity is a friendly and nurturing place to train. The mentoring system helps ease new trainees into lawyer life and gives you access to support from all levels, from newly qualified solicitors to senior partners. Working in an open plan office promotes collaboration and you are constantly learning from senior members of the team, hearing them on the phone and interacting with a wide range of clients.

    Adam McGlynn
    SOLICITOR
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