The good news for anyone considering a career in the law is that after a long period in the doldrums, the demand for solicitors is now huge. So says Keith Walsh, auditor of the Solicitors Apprentices Debating Society of Ireland (SADSI), the representative body for solicitors apprentices.
Time was, when most people bent on training to become solicitors, found it almost impossible to find practices that would take them on as apprentices. And even if they were lucky enough to locate an accommodating solicitor, they could reckon on years of rock-bottom pay followed by the prospect of trawling a stagnant jobs-market, once qualified. Nowadays, though, legal practices are inundated with work.
"This means it's much easier to get an apprenticeship with a solicitor," he says. "There's a lot more work available and solicitors are far busier than they were. The shortage means that they have to hire more apprentices because they can't get solicitors." In order to qualify as a solicitor, you need a degree (in any discipline). Then you have to sit the Law Society's Final Exams Part 1 (FE1s). These include exams in eight core subjects, which you have to pass in order to be eligible to become a solicitor's apprentice. Once you have your FE1 - and First Irish (written and oral exams in Irish) - under your belt, you can line up a solicitor to take you on as an apprentice.
You and the solicitor - who is now your master - then apply to the Law Society for permission to start your apprenticeship. Once the permission is granted, the Law Society sends you your indenture deeds. These are signed by both master and apprentice.
Once the indentures are signed, the Law Society will assign you a slot on the first available six months' full-time professional practice course. Successful completion of this course means that you can take up work as a solicitor's apprentice. You then spend the next two years training to become a solicitor - 12 months in the office, three months on the professional practice course (part two) and a further nine months back in the office.
Up until May last year, the Law Society was taking only 98 students on to each course. The backlog was enormous. In May, however, 300 students were admitted, and a total of 660 students were enrolled on two subsequent courses. "This means we'll have 1,000 people entering the profession within months of each other," Walsh notes.
The downside of becoming a solicitor is that it takes up to seven years to qualify, if you include studying for a third-level degree. It can also be expensive. Total fees for the two professional practice courses amount to around £6,000. Apprenticeship fees were abolished back in the 1970s and since then many apprentices have received salaries.
Until recently, however, apprentices were badly paid. In May 1999, Walsh and a colleague surveyed 300 apprentices on the professional course and discovered that over half of them were earning no more than £120 per week. More than one-third of students reported receiving no financial support from their firms while on the course. Some 5 per cent said that their earnings ranged from nothing up to £80 per week, before starting the course.
Recently, the education committee of the Law Society has proposed an increase in the recommended rate of weekly apprenticeship pay: £200 for all pre-professional practice course apprentices, £265 for post professional practice course apprentices and £315 for apprentices who have completed part two of the course. The new pay rates for apprentices who have completed the professional courses are now requirements, rather than recommendations, according to the Law Society.
"Finally," Walsh says, "apprentices are being rewarded with salaries they can live on." If you are interested in becoming a solicitor, Walsh advises that you get a work placement in a solicitor's offices while at college. "Doing a work placement allows you to see if you'll like law and is a huge help in getting an apprenticeship," he explains. "Get a work placement as early as you can. If at first you don't succeed in getting an apprenticeship, keep trying," is Walsh's advice.
