Will Ellerton, Head of Litigation and Dispute Management, DAS Law
Bristol-based law firm DAS Law has launched a new Graduate Academy that comprises a fully funded three-year apprenticeship scheme for law graduates and post graduates.
The academy, which begins in September, is aimed at students wishing to pursue a career in the law without the uncertainties of securing a formal training contract.
On completion of the course, graduates will become qualified Chartered Legal Executives with the opportunity to join one of DAS Law’s core legal departments – Litigation, Employment, Legal Advice or Personal Injury (PI).
The academy will utilise funding from the Government’s Apprenticeship scheme and supersedes DAS Law’s previous Graduate Academy which was launched in 2016 and comprised a two-year course focussing solely on PI.
DAS Law’s Graduate Academy focuses on learning and development through practical experience. Graduates will be given early responsibility and will work towards taking on their own cases and clients within the first year, under the supervision of senior team members.
Alongside learning about the law and how to apply it, the academy also covers all of the additional skills that graduates will need to build a successful legal career, including a focus on communication, drafting, negotiation, legal research, advocacy and client care.
Formed in 2013, DAS Law employs over 200 people and provides legal advice and support across a wide spectrum of issues, ranging from employment matters and personal injury litigation to commercial disputes. The company is part of the DAS UK Group, the UK’s leading provider of legal expenses insurance, which in turn is part of the ERGO Group, one of Europe’s largest insurance groups (the majority shareholder in ERGO is Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers).
As well as working on behalf of DAS Group on legal expenses insurance funded claims the firm also undertakes a range of work on behalf of its parent companies and in the wider legal market, providing the academy’s graduates with a broad and varied training scheme.
Will Ellerton, Head of Litigation and Dispute Management at DAS Law, said: “I am very excited about our Graduate Academy. There is a huge gap in the market for talented law graduates who wish to pursue a structured training course outside the usual solicitor training contract. This scheme is aimed squarely at them and makes use of the government’s apprenticeship levy which is an excellent but under-used scheme within the legal industry.”
To apply for a place at the DAS Law Graduate Academy, please visit the company’s website here Note that applications close on Monday 9 July.
