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Before the Flex Trainee scheme launched in October 2021, there were several organisations we were very keen to partner with. [The Crown Estate](https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/) was chief amongst them. As a [uniquely-founded corporate entity](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/9-10/55/contents) that handles one of the country’s largest and most varied land and property portfolios (including the seabed), working within The Crown Estate’s legal department would provide a training experience like no other.

Of course, the scheme represented a significant commitment. Whilst it aligned with the social mobility aims of The Crown Estate, they had never before taken a legal trainee into their ranks. Accordingly, concerns were raised about the financial, logistical, and administrative aspects of taking on a trainee. Fortunately, the Flex Trainee scheme has been meticulously designed in consideration of all of these factors.

After meeting with Flex Legal’s CEO, [Mary Bonsor](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-bonsor-8a270859/), to discuss the practicalities of the scheme, The Crown Estate were convinced and agreed to participate in the scheme. Now, more than a year later, we’re delighted to say that the arrangement is working out tremendously well for all concerned parties, and The Crown Estate are preparing to welcome their second Flex Trainee to the organisation.

## **How The Crown Estate became interested in Flex Trainee**

The Flex Trainee scheme was originally conceived as a social mobility scheme, designed to take advantage of the legal industry’s adoption of [the Solicitors Qualifying Examination](https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/sqe/). By introducing the means to circumnavigate the [widely discussed “training contract bottleneck”](https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/blog/will-the-sqe-affect-diversity-in-the-legal-profession), the SRA hoped that phasing in the SQE would open legal qualification up to a wider pool of talent.  
  
Increasing access to the profession, especially amongst historically under-represented demographics, has long been close to the heart of Flex Legal. We realised that by retrofitting [our established agency-worker business model](https://flex.legal/why) around the SQE, we could engineer win-win trainee scenarios to help improve social mobility within the legal industry, and offer organisations like The Crown Estate a valuable junior resource. Not only are The Crown Estate a fascinating and unique business, but they are [organisationally committed to social mobility](https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/about-us/the-value-we-create/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/).

When Mary met with The Crown Estate team, a central point of discussion was how an SQE trainee might interface with the incredibly unique nature of their work. They also explained our partnership with [STRIVE](https://www.strivetalent.org/opportunities/flex-trainee-programme), and how Flex Trainee would enable The Crown Estate to develop in-house junior talent without the admin or risks of employing directly. They were incredibly interested.

“*The Crown Estate is delighted to be involved with the Flex Trainee programme, which enables us to hire a very talented individual and help her to achieve her ambition of qualifying as a solicitor. What is particularly important to us is that, through STRIVE’s involvement, the programme is perfectly aligned with our commitment to broaden access to those who have potential but may otherwise lack the opportunity to prove themselves. I commend Mary for her excellent initiative.*” - **Nicholas Cheffings, Special Advisor, former Interim Head of Legal, at The Crown Estate**

## **Preparing an SQE Trainee to work with The Crown Estate**

We scheduled some early-stage interviews with The Crown Estate’s senior legal team and a selection of suitable potential trainees. Flex Legal’s core on-demand business takes pride in *perfectly* matching junior legal talent with legal teams, and Flex Trainee is no different. After meeting the candidates, the incredible [Ghazhal Noory](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghazhal-noory-55057118a/) stood out as the perfect match for The Crown Estate. They noted that “*she will be an asset to the team and a good addition to the business”.*

Before Ghazhal’s placement began, she underwent Flex Trainee’s bespoke “readiness programme” alongside the rest of her cohort. This four week intensive training course aims to equip all trainees with the hard and soft workplace skills they will need to hit the ground running and add value from day one of their placement. It’s a mixture of talks, workshops, and practical exercises delivered by our Head of Learning and Development, [Sophie Gould](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-gould-95832316/).

Ghazhal noted: “*There were two sessions that really stood out to me. The first session I took lots of value from was the interviewing and presentation exercise where we were tasked with doing a SWOT analysis of Flex. It helped me understand the different functions of a business, what questions to ask to gather key information, and how to present my findings in the best way. The second session I really enjoyed was the contracts session we had with a GC with tips on good contract drafting (e.g. terminology to use, definitions etc.).*”

## **The Crown Estate’s first ever legal trainee**

Ghazhal emerged from the readiness programme with her professional aptitude freshly honed, and was ready to hit the ground running. As The Crown Estate’s first ever legal trainee, all eyes were on her. Fortunately, she picked up what was expected of her quickly and integrated with the in-house team fluidly.

The in-house team at The Crown Estate primarily deal with contractual work, which includes their crucial “Marine portfolio” of coastline and seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Ghazhal was initially tasked with supporting the London portfolio and helping the team with consultancy agreements, licences to occupy and conducting legal research. In her second year of training, Ghazhal now looks after the Marine, Windsor and Rural portfolio and supports the teams with their various contractual needs. 

As Ghazhal has broadened her knowledge of the organisation, she has been successfully deployed to other business areas outside of the legal function. Ghazhal has now performed tasks for The Crown Estate’s Operations, People, Sustainability and Strategy teams - even doing some exciting and secretive research into the metaverse. Ghazhal also deals with applications received by the HM Land Registry and liaises with assets managers across the business to ascertain whether the applications conflict with The Crown Estate’s interests/ownership.

As testament to how far Ghazhal has come in her role, when The Crown Estate recently welcomed a new paralegal into their team, Ghazhal conducted 90% of the paralegal’s training. It goes without saying, but the sheer scope of tasks Ghazhal has performed shows the value she has added to The Crown Estate. All concerned parties are immensely pleased with her work, and couldn’t be happier for her!

*“Whilst most of the team was on annual leave during a period this summer, I had a moment of realisation of how far I had come in the few months of training at The Crown Estate in relation to my confidence to deal with matters from start to finish. I have definitely exceeded my own expectations.”* - **Ghazhal Noory**

## **Studying for the SQE exams as a Flex Trainee**

Qualifying as a solicitor through the SQE route requires multiple criteria being met, and the Qualifying Work Experience is only one aspect of the route. Candidates must hold an undergraduate degree, meet [“character and suitability” requirements](https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/character-and-suitability/), and pass [two rigorous legal assessments](https://sqe.sra.org.uk/) - the SQE1 and SQE2.

The Flex Trainee scheme takes full account of this, and supports our Trainees in their SQE studies alongside their work commitments. We have partnered with industry-leading training provider [Barbri](https://www.barbri.com/), to offer all Flex Trainees access to [their SQE prep courses](https://www.barbri.com/sqe/sqe-prep-courses/). This means that every Flex Trainee spends four days per week working with their partner organisations, and one day per week studying for their exams.

Obviously, this is no easy feat. Ghazhal has had to simultaneously juggle her SQE exam prep and her working commitments. However, she has diligently balanced the requirements for both, and has found that they inform each other: “*Doing both at the same time is challenging but manageable. SQE 1 is more of a black letter law exam and I found that with my experience at The Crown Estate, I had to invest less time into the Land law and Property law modules as I could easily remember and understand the content. SQE 2 assesses legal skills such as drafting, interviewing and negotiation etc in the context of the black letter law. I think that my experience to date will place me at an advantage when I come to sit the assessment as legal skills is something I practise daily.*”

## **What is next for The Crown Estate and Flex Trainee?**

At the time of writing, Ghazhal has been working as an increasingly integral part of The Crown Estate’s legal team for almost a year and a half. Her SQE studies are progressing smoothly, and she is well on her way to qualifying as a solicitor via the SQE. We are thrilled to announce that not only are The Crown Estate incredibly happy with their Flex Trainee experience so far, but that they have agreed to welcome a second Trainee into their ranks as part of our Spring 2023 cohort!

Flex Trainee has always been about making the legal profession a more accessible and inclusive place to work. We take enormous satisfaction from the knowledge that organisations such as The Crown Estate share in this vision. Together, driven by the tireless efforts of remarkable individuals such as Ghazhal, we know we can make the industry better. We look forward to continuing our work with The Crown Estate, and cannot begin to thank them enough for the trust they have placed in us.

### **Additional Resources:**

* [Hire a Flex Trainee](https://flex.legal/hire/flex-trainee) - If your legal team could benefit from involvement in the Flex Trainee scheme, then [arrange a call with our team today](/contact) to learn more.
* [Apply to be a Flex Trainee](https://flexlegalltd.recruitee.com/o/flex-trainee-2023) - Are you an aspiring lawyer from an under-represented background? You might be a great candidate for the Flex Trainee scheme! Learn more on [our Recruitee page](https://flexlegalltd.recruitee.com/).
* [The Phoenix Group and Flex Trainee](/blog/how-phoenix-group-are-improving-legal-industry-diversity) - One of our earliest Flex Trainee partnerships was with legendary FTSE100 company, The Phoenix Group. [Read about their experiences here!](/blog/how-phoenix-group-are-improving-legal-industry-diversity)

How the Crown Estate found their first legal trainee

How The Crown Estate found their first legal trainee - NO TEXT

How The Crown Estate found their first ever legal trainee

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It’s been over 15 months since we launched our groundbreaking SQE training scheme, [Flex Trainee](/hire/flex-trainee). Designed to support socially mobile aspiring lawyers to achieve qualification, we’re incredibly proud to have placed 27 talented trainees within 23 top in-house legal teams across the UK, from Vodafone and ASOS, to The Crown Estate and TrustPilot.

Now we’ve worked with three full cohorts of trainees, with another three due to launch this year, we thought this would be the perfect time to check in with one of our first partners for the scheme, [Sarah Gormley](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-gormley-3a423ba3/), Head of General Counsel Operational Excellence at [Phoenix Group](https://www.thephoenixgroup.com/).

## How did Flex Trainee help Phoenix Group to find an SQE Trainee?

Phoenix Group is the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business. Their legal team pride themselves on being a centre of excellence, supporting operations across the whole group. As a team, their day-to-day tasks include taking care of: commercial contracts, transactions and insurance, and any M&A deals.

Phoenix are passionate about being a purpose-led organisation, for both their customers and employees alike. This bleeds all the way down to their legal team, and Sarah is particularly keen to challenge the current barriers to entry that many experience within our industry. This purpose-led approach aligns strongly with Flex Trainee’s mission to help socially mobile aspiring lawyers achieve qualification. So, as you can expect, we were delighted to place one of our first ever trainees, Jordan, within Phoenix Group back in October 2021.

After having previously worked with Flex for the [on-demand paralegal side of our business](/hire/), Sarah felt confident in our shared corporate ethos and values. Particularly in relation to Phoenix’s early careers programme which aims to help deserving socially mobile candidates secure life-changing opportunities. Following a successful chat with Flex CEO, Mary Bonsor, three of our trainees were shortlisted as suitable matches, and all three were viewed by Phoenix as top quality candidates. After much deliberation, Jordan was selected as the perfect match for Phoenix… and they’ve never looked back since.

## How the Flex Trainee ‘Readiness Programme’ helped Jordan to hit the ground running

Before each Flex Trainee is seconded to their in-house team, they undergo a rigorous, bespoke four-week Readiness Programme at Flex HQ. Created by Flex Legal’s Head of Learning and Development, [Sophie Gould](/team-members/sophie-gould), this programme looks at the hard and soft skills that would normally take months to absorb in a professional workplace, and formalises it into up-front training. We cover need-to-know legal skills, advanced workplace soft skills, and even a full final week of training specific to the organisation each trainee is placed with.

Phoenix found this incredibly beneficial, especially as Jordan was coming straight from university into an office environment for the very first time. This training ensured that Jordan settled into the role fantastically from day one, and has been a crucial part of the team ever since. Over a year later, Jordan has made such a great impression that her placement has been extended into a second year, meaning that the entirety of her QWE will be completed at Phoenix Group.

## What has Jordan’s in-house training looked like?

Throughout her time at Phoenix so far, Jordan worked for six months within the Mortgage Solutions Team, supporting with equity release mortgages and technical product work, followed by six months in the Commercial Contracts Team, focussing on contracts and IP.  

As part of her second year, Phoenix has worked with Flex to arrange a law firm secondment for Jordan, where she still carries out work solely for Phoenix Group, but within CMS’ law firm setting. Again Jordan has received remarkably positive feedback from CMS, and this incredible experience will equip her with a formidable mix of both in-house and private practice experience. 

As well as getting stuck in with a range of legal tasks, Jordan has also been encouraged to get involved with wider organisational strategy days, away days and employee networks across the group, and even contributed towards the programme design for Phoenix’s Black History Month last year.

It’s wonderful to see our trainees embedding themselves into their organisations so well, and we’re really excited to see where the rest of Jordan’s legal journey takes her.

Together with like-minded, forward-thinking organisations such as Phoenix Group, we want to flip the script and help to make our industry more diverse, inclusive and accessible for all.

**Additional Resources:**

* [Hire a Flex Trainee](/hire/flex-trainee) - If this post has you contemplating how the Flex Trainee scheme might help your legal team, then arrange a call with our team today to learn more.
* [Apply to be a Flex Trainee](https://flexlegalltd.recruitee.com/o/flex-trainee-2023) - If you’re an aspiring lawyer from an under-represented background, then read the full details of how to apply to the Flex Trainee scheme on [our Recruitee page](https://flexlegalltd.recruitee.com/).
* [Tomorrow’s legal industry, today](/blog/flex-trainee-tomorrows-legal-industry-today) - Discover how Flex Trainee can help you to enhance your in-house team with a talented, deserving future lawyer.

HIRE A FLEX TRAINEE

Phoenix Group Logo

How Phoenix Group are improving legal industry diversity

Amongst the first partnerships Flex Legal struck up for [our Flex Trainee scheme](/hire/flex-trainee) was with the fantastic [Next Fifteen Communications Group PLC](https://www.next15.com/). Next 15 is a global marketing communications business, consisting of 24 subsidiary agencies. In total, they employ over 3,500 people, across a staggering 50 offices, in 15 countries.

Having previously worked with Next15 for the [“on demand”](/why) side of our business, and knowing that we share corporate values, we were really keen to partner with them again for Flex Trainee.

We approached [Mark Sanford](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-sanford-8b269813/) (pictured), General Counsel and Company Secretary at Next 15, when we [launched the scheme last year](/blog/flex-trainee-tomorrows-legal-industry-today). There was a clear alignment in our ethos and vision for the scheme, and we were thrilled when Next 15 agreed to welcome [Afroditi Griva](https://www.linkedin.com/in/afroditi-griva-594167104/) into their legal team as a Flex Trainee. Here’s how it all went down:

## How did Flex Trainee help Next 15 find an SQE Trainee?

The launch of the Solicitor’s Qualifying Exam was greeted with [mixed responses](https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/blog/cutting-to-the-chase-on-the-sqe) from the wider legal industry. We saw the potential of a massive force for good. Specifically, we saw a clear parallel between the QWE requirement of the SQE, and our existing processes for pairing legal talent and legal teams.

By setting up a new arm of the company for Flex Trainee, we began to seek out partners. Our hope was that by taking on the time-consuming admin of identifying exceptional and diverse young talent, we could make the process of taking on an SQE trainee tremendously simple.

Given how important diversity is to Next 15, and how they share our commitment to improving social mobility within the industry, they made for perfect early partners for the scheme.

Next 15 were incredibly receptive to the programme, and felt it really aligned with the social mobility mission of their organisation. “*As a company we have a culture of inclusivity and diversity. I love the way the trainees were selected and this met with the ethos of our company*” says Mark. We subsequently placed the incomparable Flex Trainee [Afroditi Griva](https://www.linkedin.com/in/afroditi-griva-594167104/) with Next 15.

## How does the Flex Trainee “readiness programme” work?

The secret ingredient to Flex Trainee’s success is our readiness programme, which developed in the formative days of the scheme. Our partners and Trainees had placed an enormous amount of trust in us, so we were incredibly committed to making the early Flex Trainee placements a success.

To this end, we tasked [Sophie Gould](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-gould-95832316/), Flex Legal’s Head of Learning and Development, to design a bespoke “readiness programme”. This would ensure that each Flex Trainee could make meaningful contributions to their organisations from day one. She created a rigorous 4 week training programme, built around the hard and soft workplace skills a legal professional needs to succeed.

## How has Next 15’s Flex Trainee experience been so far?

Next15 are incredibly pleased with the Flex Trainee experience thus far, and recently extended Afroditi’s placement for another year. Afroditi has fully embedded herself into Next15’s team, and has taken on routine tasks such as reviewing commercial contracts for sub-brands, drafting settlement agreements, and updating post-acquistion templates. She has even stepped up as an “acting GC” when wider team members have been away on holiday.

When asked to name a standout moment from her Next 15 experience so far, Afroditi said “*When I drafted a three way influencer agreement between one of our brands, their client which was one of Europe’s largest cinema operators and a famous actor (Golden Globe recipient!) and was involved in heavy negotiations between our brand’s client and the influencer’s agent around the retention of IP*”.

Next 15 case study blog banner

Next 15 logo

Flex Trainee: how Next 15 found the perfect SQE trainee

Flex Trainee: Q&A with Mark Sanford, GC at Next15

We have been absolutely thrilled with the huge response to [Flex Trainee](https://flex.legal/hire/flex-trainee), our ground-breaking SQE qualification programme aimed at making the law a more diverse and socially mobile industry! Not only have we had interest from clients who share our passion for widening access to the legal industry, but we’ve also been inundated with questions from hopeful Flex Trainees themselves.

This post will explain how to apply to the scheme through our partners at [STRIVE](https://www.strivetalent.org/), who handle the applications and selections side of the Flex Trainee programme. This means that you don’t apply to Flex Trainee directly through Flex Legal – but will have to [register with STRIVE here](https://www.strivetalent.org/become-a-member) and apply via their selection process.

In this post, you can see all of STRIVE’s eligibility criteria, requested personal information, and diversity and social mobility information. Please remember that at present the scheme is relatively new, and we don’t have quite as many places available as we’re hoping to have soon. If you aren’t successful in your application, please don’t take it personally! You can always try applying again for the next cohort.

## STRIVE Eligibility Criteria

You are only eligible to apply to Flex Trainee if you have:

1. Already been admitted as a STRIVE Member (if not, the application is quick and can be found on [the STRIVE website](https://www.strivetalent.org/become-a-member));
2. Have any one of the below: (a) a law degree from any university, (b) completed your GDL, or (c) completed your LPC but are willing to transfer to the SQE;
3. The right to work in the UK – Flex Legal is unfortunately unable to sponsor visas at this time.

You must then confirm the following:

* Please confirm that you have been admitted as a STRIVE Member.
* Please confirm that you have the right to work in the UK, or are able to arrange the right to work in the UK without assistance or sponsorship from Flex.

## Personal Information

This section is very straightforwards, and simply requires you to provide:

* Your first name.
* Your last name.
* Your email address. Please note this will be the sole means of communication between STRIVE / Flex Legal and you in relation to this application.

## **Diversity and Social Mobility**

Diversity and social mobility are at the very core of what STRIVE do, and what Flex Trainee is all about. We appreciate that the questions in this section will overlap with those within the diversity questionnaire in the STRIVE Membership application. However, your responses to this section are only for the purposes of the current application.

Please note that this section is extremely comprehensive and will contain questions with a focus on social mobility. For all questions, you have the option of choosing 'Prefer not to say', but we recommend avoiding this option as far as possible, as all information gathered will be extremely useful in helping us determine your diversity and social mobility circumstances, which in turn helps us accurately assess your suitability for this opportunity.

Please be as honest as possible in this section; your answers will be treated with the strictest confidence.

---

**How would you describe your gender?**

* Female
* Male
* Non-binary
* Prefer not to say
* Other

---

**Was this the gender assigned to you at birth?**

* Yes
* No
* Prefer not to say

---

**Which age group do you fall into?**

* 18-21
* 22-25
* 26-30
* 30+
* Prefer not to say

---

**Which of the below best describes you?**

* Currently in university pursuing my first degree (undergraduate)
* Already graduated from my first degree, and currently in employment
* Already graduated from my first degree, and currently not in employment
* Currently in university pursuing a postgraduate degree

---

**What school type did you attend up until GCSE’s?**

* State school
* State grammar
* Private grammar
* Private with means-tested funding (i.e. scholarship or bursary)
* Other

---

**Which school type did you attend at A-Level?**

* State school
* State grammar
* Private grammar
* Private with means-tested funding (i.e. scholarship or bursary)
* Other

---

**Did you receive free school meals?**

* Yes
* No
* Prefer not to say

---

**How would you describe your ethnicity?** (If mixed, please select all that apply)

* Arab
* Black/African
* Asian (Chinese or East Asian)
* Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi) Caribbean
* White British
* White (non-British)
* Prefer not to say
* Other

---

**How would you describe your religious beliefs?**

* Christian
* Muslim
* Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist
* Hindu
* Buddhist
* Jewish
* Sikh
* Prefer not to say
* Other

---

**Have you ever been placed in local authority care?**

* Yes
* No
* Prefer not to say

---

**Do you identify as LGBTQ+?**

* Yes
* No
* Prefer not to say

---

**Are you from or in a single parent household?**

* Yes
* No
* Prefer not to say

---

**Do you have a disability under the Equality Act 2010? This is a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term (12 months or more) effect on your ability to carry out normal activities.**

* Yes
* No
* Prefer not to say

---

**Are you the first generation within an immigrant family?**

* Yes
* No
* Prefer not to say

---

**Are you the *first generation* within your family to go to university? For instance, if your parents have not gone to university but your older siblings have, select 'yes'.**

* Yes
* No
* Prefer not to say

---

**Are you the *first* person within your family to go to university? For instance, if your parents have not gone to university but your older siblings have, select 'no'.**

* Yes
* No
* Prefer not to say

---

**Did you attend a Russell Group university?**

* Yes, at undergraduate level
* Not at undergraduate level, but only at postgraduate level
* No

---

**Please state the full name of the university at which you are doing/did your undergraduate degree.**

---

**Which year will you graduate/did you graduate from your first (i.e. undergraduate) degree?**

---

**Which borough did you live in up until the age of 14? If unsure, please** [enter your postcode here](https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council) **to check.**

If you did not grow up in the UK, please skip this question.

---

**Which of the below best describes your mother's employment when you were aged around 14? Your response to this question will be used for the sole purpose of determining your social mobility.**

* Blue-collar professions
* White-collar professions
* Unemployed
* Mother was not present
* Prefer not to say
* Other

---

**Which of the below best describes your father's employment when you were aged around 14? Your response to this question will be used for the sole purpose of determining your social mobility.**

* Blue-collar professions
* White-collar professions
* Unemployed
* Father was not present
* Prefer not to say
* Other

If you selected 'blue-collar professions' or 'white-collar professions' in the previous two questions, please use this space for any further detail you wish to provide. Your response to this question will be used for the sole purpose of determining your social mobility.

## Cover Letter & CV

This section of the application is also straightforward, and simply encourages you to submit a Cover Letter, CV, and optional link to your LinkedIn profile. Once you have followed the requested instructions, you are asked to tick boxes to confirm you have do so.

* Please send a 1-page cover letter in PDF format, addressed to Mary Bonsor, CEO & Founder of Flex Legal, to [flex.ts@striveconsultants.co.uk](mailto:flex.ts@striveconsultants.co.uk) Please do not submit this application form until you have sent your cover letter.
* Please send your CV to [flex.ts@striveconsultants.co.uk](mailto:flex.ts@striveconsultants.co.uk). Please do not submit this application form until you have sent your CV.
* If you have an up-to-date LinkedIn profile, please provide the URL.

how to apply to flex trainee

How to apply to Flex Trainee Banner NO TEXT

APPLY TO FLEX TRAINEE

How to apply to Flex Trainee

Flex Trainee is our scheme for trainee lawyers, designed to help them and the legal industry at large take full advantage of the opportunities offered by [the SQE](https://flex.legal/blog/the-sqe-explained). The scheme was first launched in 2021, and is currently well into its second cohort of Flex Trainees. We designed the entire scheme from the ground-up to help create a more diverse, representative, and socially mobile legal profession.

## **What is the Flex Trainee mission?**

**  
**Access to the legal profession is a known and often-cited challenge. 35,000 law graduates apply for only 5,000 training contract places each year. Privately-educated individuals comprise only 7% of the UK population – but make up more than half of city law firm intakes. Russell Group graduates represent roughly 22% of all UK graduates, but 61.6% of all trainees. These are big, concerning challenges; overcoming them requires systemic change. The introduction of the SQE is a huge step towards addressing these issues – but time-poor lawyers can struggle to breathe life into this opportunity thoughtfully and responsibly.

We continually speak with in-house leaders who are passionate about building a more accessible and diverse legal profession, and genuinely want to make a difference within their own teams. Unfortunately, they often struggle to do so. Identifying bright and diverse young talent at such an early stage is daunting, difficult and time-consuming. In reality, in-house teams often lack the capacity, budget, and processes to properly recruit, train and manage unqualified legal professionals. 

  
We want to work hand-in-hand to support in-house legal teams as they rise to these challenges. When the SQE was first announced, Paul Philip, SRA Chief Executive, [said that](https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/2018/sqe-launch-2021/) “the SQE offers a fresh opportunity to increase access to the profession. A competitive training market, offering real choices, will help the profession attract the best talent". Now that we’re in 2022, and the SQE is being steadily phased in, we are playing a central role in making that vision a reality.

## How does the Flex Trainee scheme invest in legal talent?

We have partnered with legal social mobility charity [STRIVE](https://www.strivetalent.org/opportunities/flex-trainee-scheme) to identify aspiring lawyers from unique backgrounds, who deserve their chance to break into a legal career. We’re incredibly proud of the candidates we’ve been able to identify for our first two cohorts!

Before a Flex Trainee is seconded to a client, we put them through a bespoke and highly personalised *Flex Trainee Readiness Programme* curated by Flex Legal’s Head of Learning and Development, [Sophie Gould](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-gould-95832316/). We want the best for each and every Flex Trainee, which is why we’ve sought to supercharge their professional development. The Readiness Programme takes the hard and soft skills that would normally take months to absorb in a professional workplace, and formalises it into up-front training. We cover need-to-know legal skills, advanced workplace soft skills, and even a full final week of training specific to the organisation each Trainee is placed with.

We also give our Flex Trainees access to the [SQE 1+2 prep courses with our partners at Barbri](https://www.thelawyer.com/vodafone-and-crown-estate-among-in-housers-taking-diverse-trainees-as-part-of-new-sqe-scheme/), and full access to our [SQE Journal](https://flex.legal/sqe-qwe-journal) so they can work with their supervisors to record and manage their progress towards SQE qualification. For the first 3 months of each placement, a Flex Mentor holds weekly 1-to-1 meetings with the Trainees to ensure they are settling into their teams, making an impact, and offer proactive training on anything they need to know. After three months, this reduces to a monthly check-in to review their progress. Finally, our Flex Trainees are all invited to attend monthly training and social events, to help them form a long-lasting, trusting professional network that will put them in good stead for their professional lives.

## How is the Flex Trainee programme going so far?

We’re delighted to say that the Flex Trainee programme is a roaring success so far! Not only have our second cohort just finished their Readiness Programme, but we’ve partnered with an incredible range of like-minded organisations who share our passion for advancing diversity and social mobility within the legal industry. We couldn’t be happier to be working alongside the likes of Trustpilot, Vodafone, ASOS, and The Crown Estate to make the law a better place to be.   
  
We’ve also held our first quarterly client dinner, where we invited representatives from each partner organisation to discuss the scheme over a candlelit dinner. It was a fantastic evening and the perfect opportunity to get everyone sharing their thoughts and experiences with the scheme so far. We’re really keen to keep these dinners going, and know that they will help make the law a better and more diverse place to be.

We’re currently in the process of lining up our Trainees and clients for the third cohort, which will be the biggest one yet and will launch later this year. If you’re reading this and would like to be involved in our mission to build a better tomorrow, today, then reach out to us via [the contact form on our website](https://flex.legal/contact).

Flex Trainee cohort 1 and 2

Flex Trainee, cohorts 1 and 2 blog banner

LEARN MORE ABOUT FLEX TRAINEE

Flex Trainee: tomorrow's legal industry, today

As you’ve probably seen, we launched our Flex Legal SQE Journal in May and since then, we’ve had well over 25,000 qualifying work experience (QWE) hours recorded by SQE candidates. The Flex Legal SQE Journal is the first digital record of QWE and as you can probably tell, we are really excited about it! To show you what a great tool it can be for QWE supervisors, rather than just SQE candidates, we caught up with [Luana Gomes Medalha](https://www.linkedin.com/in/luana-gomes-medalha-934541184/) and asked her a few questions about our journal. She gave some great insight into how the SQE Journal has benefitted her in her supervisory position.

Luana is a supervisor at The National Community Law Project, an organisation which aims to provide the community with free legal support. In her role as a supervisor, Luana manages teams of volunteers, and monitors their SQE Journal entries, to ensure that the organisation’s clients receive the best possible support. As Luana is not yet a qualified solicitor, she only approves SQE candidate journal entries. To confirm a journal, which is a collection of journal entries relating to one organisation, the supervisor must be a solicitor, qualified in England and Wales.

## **Is the SQE Route better than the LPC/Training Contract Route?**

Luana expressed the view that the SQE is a ‘positive change from the LPC/Training Contract route as it allows more diversity and opportunity’. This, she believes, is because the SQE is likely to be a more cost-effective option. Whilst the financial benefits of the SQE have been contested, there is certainly a significant difference in the minimum costs for each route. The SQE examinations cost around £4,000, whereas the average cost for the LPC is £17,000. SQE preparatory course fees do vary significantly but with BARBRI offering both SQE1 and SQE2 prep courses for a total of around £6,000, the SQE is still likely to be substantially cheaper than the traditional route to qualification.

Luana also made the point that the SQE ‘will help the community as many people who choose to go down the SQE route will likely be volunteering at legal support charities to complete their experience time’. As part of the SQE, candidates are required to complete two years full-time (or equivalent) QWE. This can be completed at up to four organisations and can include paid or volunteer work. This flexibility is fantastic as it means SQE candidates have the opportunity to get involved in pro bono work, an area that is in desperate need of additional support.

## **What are the main benefits of the Flex Legal Journal for QWE supervisors?**

Luana explained that one of the main benefits of the Flex Legal Journal is the ‘coordination’ that it creates. The Journal allows her to be ‘more time efficient and organised’, which in turn enables her to ‘better manage \[her\] team’. This is because the Journal shows ‘the progress of each volunteer’, whilst also providing her with an understanding of the skills that each volunteer has, making assignment to projects easier.

At this point, it may be useful to explain how the Flex Legal Journal helps supervisors’ organisation and coordination with their candidates. As you can see from the image above, the Flex Legal Journal holds all journal entries submitted to a supervisor in one location. From here, supervisors can read, approve and reject candidates’ journal entries. The Journal also allows supervisors to track the status of each journal entry, as well as the journal it belongs to, on this page. So, as Luana said, the Flex Legal Journal fosters considerable coordination between SQE supervisors and their candidates by providing a single location for supervisors to fulfil most of their responsibilities.

## **How useful is the Flex Legal Journal for SQE candidates?**

Luana believes the Journal ‘to be extremely useful for the candidates, as often when asking about experience, a lot of individuals cannot recall all the details about what they have done. The Flex Legal Journal allows candidates to go back and look through what they have done and remind themselves of how they completed the task and what it taught them’. So, the Journal can be highly beneficial for keeping track of tasks completed over the 2 years of QWE.

The Journal is, however, not only useful for remembering past events. Luana expressed the view that the Flex Legal Journal allows SQE candidates to identify areas in which they lack experience and ‘plan their future participation in order to improve on \[these\] key areas’. This means the Journal helps SQE candidates to take control of their future work experience and ensure they get the most out of their QWE.

Luana also highlighted the comments feature of the Flex Legal Journal and explained that this ‘allows the candidates to improve on the skills that they have learned’. As part of the journal entry approval process, supervisors are encouraged to leave a comment; this may be specific suggestions on how to improve the entry or words of general encouragement, such as ‘Great job!’. So, the comment feature provides an opportunity for meaningful interaction between a supervisor and candidate, ensuring the final journal entry is a collaboration that both parties are happy with. This makes candidates’ final journal confirmation by a solicitor easier, as all of the entries have already been approved, and ensures candidates learn as much as possible from their experience.

## **What makes a good Flex Legal SQE Journal entry?**

Luana wants to be able to easily see ‘what the candidate has learned’ from their QWE in their journal entry submission. She enjoys when a candidate can ‘identify the skills that they have learned’ and ‘expressly recognise how the skills can be of value and transferred to future endeavours’.

Supervisors clearly appreciate when an SQE candidate reflects on their QWE. To ensure journal entries are as good as possible, candidates should dissect their QWE into the specific skills that they have developed. The Flex Legal SQE Journal makes this easier by encouraging candidates to select the specific SRA competences that they feel they had the opportunity to develop, but this exercise still requires thought from the candidate. Candidates should ask themselves what technical and cultural knowledge they acquired and how this will be relevant to their future work as a solicitor. It is also great for candidates to consider how their new-found skills could be transferred to an alternative project or practice area. Just remember to think outside the digital journal entry boxes and look to the future!

**Additional Resources:** 

* [The SQE Explained](https://flex.legal/blog/the-sqe-explained) – This blog article explains the SQE, including the QWE component, in more detail. 
* [SQE Supervisors: help your candidates get a head start!](https://flex.legal/blog/calling-all-supervisors-support-sqe-candidates-to-get-a-head-start-on-qualification) – This article provides additional information on how supervisors can use the Flex Legal Journal to track their candidates’ QWE. 
* [The SRA’s guidelines for SQE supervisors](https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/sqe/qualifying-work-experience/qualifying-work-experience-employers/) – Take a look at the SRA’s guidelines to understand your responsibilities as an SQE supervisor in more detail.

A supervisor's perspective

SQE Journal: The Supervisor's Perspective

Flex Legal's SQE Journal: A Supervisor’s Perspective

The Flex Legal SQE Journal: A Supervisor's Perspective

The Flex Legal SQE Journal is now open to everyone! You can start tracking your Qualifying Work Experience as of *right now*, and you don’t even have to be a Flex platform member. [Start recording your SQE QWE online now.](/sqe-qwe-record)

We’ve made no secret of the fact that we’re big-time enthusiasts of the SQE. The existing training contract bottleneck is problematic, and the route to qualifying is all too often closed off to a lot of talented and capable aspiring solicitors. We sincerely believe that the SQE can carve through this bottleneck, and create a fairer and more open path to qualification for those that deserve it. We are committed to supporting the SQE and what it represents, which is why we’ve been hard at work on the SQE Journal.

Our SQE Journal is the *first* digital record for tracking SQE Qualifying Work Experience. It is designed to work seamlessly alongside the QWE requirement of the SQE, and offers SQE candidates the means to record their QWE in line with the SRA’s solicitor competencies. If you aren’t entirely sure how the SQE works, we’d advise you to take a quick look at [the breakdown on this blog post](https://flex.legal/blog/the-sqe-explained).

The SQE Journal allows you to fill out digital journal entries, and record current or previous work experience as QWE. Each entry can be directly tracked against the SRAs competencies, which the journal can track and show your progress towards. We’ll also be launching an additional features *very* soon where Journal users can submit their entries directly to supervisors to be approved.

* Reflect on your experience and your learnings
* Track your progress against the SRA competency framework
* Manage your experience across different organisations and between supervisors
* Share your progress with your supervisor and request required confirmations

Anyone interested in the SQE can start tracking their Qualifying Work Experience as of *right now*, and you don’t have to be on the Flex platform to take advantage of it! The service is currently in beta mode, so any and all feedback should be directed to [sqe@f-lex.co.uk](mailto:sqe@f-lex.co.uk). We want this service to be as helpful as it possibly can be, so your thoughts on it are greatly appreciated.

We want this new service to make the SQE even more accessible for the paralegals on our platform, as well as aspirational lawyers in the broader legal community. So [start recording your SQE Qualifying Work Experience now](/sqe-qwe-record) and tell us what you think!