Paralegal to trainee scheme: bringing through the next generation of legal talent

They are the latest in a long line of aspiring solicitors to benefit from our established paralegal-to-trainee scheme - designed to bring through the next generation of legal talent.

We are proud of our record of awarding over 25 opportunities since the scheme's inception in 2016 - with almost all trainees going on to successfully qualify for the profession.

Meet our new trainee solicitors

• Catherine Mears joined our Eastbourne team in August 2022. In 2021 she completed her Bachelor of Laws qualification in international law. She currently attends Nottingham Law School, where she is studying for her Legal Practice Course qualification alongside a masters in Professional Legal Practice. 
   
• Kate Gillies joined our Ulverston team in August 2022. She graduated from Newcastle University, having studied Law (LLB), and is now completing her Legal Practice Course with masters (LLM) at the University of Law. 
   
• Katie Bacchus joined our Brighton team in July 2022. She is currently studying for the Solicitors Qualifying Examinations (SQE) to qualify as a solicitor. Katie graduated from the University of Southampton with a 1:1 in History and obtained a distinction in the Post Graduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) at BPP University. 

Elsewhere, Dylan Leet, Jessica Barnes, Megan Grover, and Nathalie Mackinnon are also currently undertaking training contracts with SO Legal.

The challenge of securing a training contract

Securing a training contract is one of the toughest challenges graduates and paralegals face in the legal industry. The Law Society's latest annual statistics report highlights that annual trainee registrations dropped by 2% to 5,495 – the lowest in the past five years.

Trainee opportunities at regional law firms are also extremely limited - with the City of London making up over a third of all registrations. Collectively, with the rest of London, half of all registrations are within Greater London.

Hamed Ovaisi, managing director and co-founder at SO Legal, said:

"We are delighted to welcome Catherine, Kate and Katie as our latest trainees. I want to congratulate them for embarking on this important milestone in their careers, and we wish them success. We heavily invest in our paralegals and trainees, allowing them to build long-term careers at our firm.

"The number of trainees who choose to stay with us once qualifying is a testament to the quality of our training programme. We have a reputation for promoting from within wherever possible - several of our senior solicitors, including partners, joined us as trainees." 

Co-founder Jamie Salvidge added:

"When we founded the firm, a significant part of our aspiration was to provide opportunities to aspiring, ambitious young solicitors. We've seen some extremely dedicated and talented trainees come through the process at SO Legal, and I'm sure these three exceptional ladies will be no different. It is a proud moment for all of us."

Are you interested in a career at SO Legal?

We encourage all our paralegals and trainees to share their ideas, get involved, and contribute to the firm's success.

Our paralegal-to-trainee scheme is where you can put into practice everything you've learned about the law. The best way to learn is from real-world experience, and even in the early stages of your training contract, you will be given the opportunity to work on a variety of matters.

Throughout the training, we work closely with you to ensure you have the professional support and structure to reach your full potential and become a successful solicitor.

We offer paralegal opportunities and training contracts in all six of our offices in Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, London, Uckfield, and Ulverston.

If you or someone you know is interested in a career in law, please get in touch with us, or visit our careers page to learn more about our latest opportunities.