Welcome to our blog. We're on a mission to change the legal industry for the better. Follow our blog for industry insights, career tips, human stories, and everything in-between. Don't forget to sign up to our newsletter too!

The Flex Legal Blog

All Flex Legal Blog Posts

index

Welcome to our blog. We're on a mission to make the legal industry more human and agile. Follow our blog for Flex Legal stories, industry news and views, and career tips. Don't forget to sign up to our newsletter too!

Flex Legal Blog

Sign up for our monthly legal industry newsletter

If you would like to be kept up to date with the latest legal and paralegal insights please join our newsletter.

Service Areas

Flexible options to meet your needs

Our partners

Articles from our blog

After three years of growth, Flex Legal’s award-winning Flex Trainee scheme is now launching in the boutique law firm space. Flex Trainee is a unique social mobility scheme, designed to empower legal teams to take on trainees and grow their own talent in-house where they may not previously have had the resources or processes in place to do so.

Since its launch into some of the UK’s top in-house legal teams (The Crown Estate, Tesco, Vodafone, and more), Flex Trainee has seen 60+ talented young individuals from historically under-represented backgrounds enter organisations as SQE trainees. Taking a Flex Trainee has allowed organisations to demonstrate their ESG commitments, whilst also joining a new network of like-minded partner organisations.

After three years of helping aspiring lawyers thrive in an in-house environment, Flex Trainee is now opening up to boutique law firms. Given the scale and resources of this kind of firm, the Flex Trainee model is a perfect fit. Flex Legal employs the trainee and seconds them into the firm’s team, taking away the burden of admin and helping the trainee through their academic and professional journey. Trainees get a great learning experience, the firm gets a junior resource, has the opportunity to develop their own talent, and gets to build a network with other legal teams (both in-house and boutique) in their trainee’s cohort.

The Flex Trainee process begins well before placement commences. Firstly, Flex Legal works with charities such as STRIVE and the Social Mobility Business Partnership to find the best socially mobile candidates. After an initial application screening, the candidates take part in interviews and assessment centres to find the very best aspiring lawyers to enter the next Flex Trainee cohort. Each year, two cohorts of Flex Trainees train together and meet regularly. This gives the trainees a chance to build a supportive peer network to rely on throughout their training.

Successful candidates are then carefully matched with potential hosts, and begin a comprehensive interview process to make sure of a great fit. Some Flex Trainees will have prior experience, and some will be fresh graduates – the firms can conduct their own vetting to find the perfect match.

The Flex Trainees will then undergo our comprehensive “Readiness Programme” before joining their new team. The Readiness Programme is entirely bespoke, equipping trainees with knowledge they need to thrive in a law firm environment including:

● How their specific organisation and practice area works.

● Practical legal skills including contract drafting, review, and negotiation.

● Core soft skills including presenting, communicating confidently, and active listening.

When all of this is done the trainees join their new teams, ready to hit them ground running and add value. Flex Trainees are employed by Flex Legal, so we handle their employment admin; pay, holiday, PAYE, etc. All the host firms need to do is give them the work that allows them to gain the qualifying experience they need. We appoint a trained mentor to every trainee, who holds supportive virtual meetings with them throughout the scheme. These meetings are a good opportunity for us to offer guidance, ensuring that they get the most from their opportunity. We also hold monthly meetings with their supervising solicitors to gather feedback and identify additional training requirements.

Alongside working in their new role, Flex Trainees prepare for their Solicitors Qualifying Exams: the SQE1 and SQE2. We arrange their exams and deliver training with BARBRI, who are industry leaders in SQE preparation courses. To qualify under the SQE, trainees must pass both exams and gain two years of legal work experience. Of course, the best parts of the Flex Trainee calendar are our regular client events, where we invite our partner organisations to meet and network. This allows them to discuss the scheme and share experiences with other forward-looking solicitors from in-house and boutique teams.

When the minimum 12 months has been completed, the host organisation can choose for their trainee to stay and continue their development for another year, or we can find a placement for them elsewhere.

Similarly, when a Flex Trainee qualifies there is no obligation to take them on permanently - we can always try to find an NQ role for them elsewhere. Or they can, of course, join the team as a newly qualified solicitor who already understands their firm’s culture, team, and practice.

Now is an exciting time for Flex Trainee, with the scheme finally expanding to boutique law firms for the first time. If you’re interested in learning more about others’ experiences with the scheme, you can [watch a video case study here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mszlOmQx0-0)

Otherwise, you can contact us by clicking the button below.

Flex Trainee on the Flex ribbon background

Contact Us

Flex Trainee: The easy way for boutique firms to grow their own talent

Flex Trainee: the easy way for boutique firms to grow their own talent

Tesco as a whole is committed to empowering and enabling diversity across all of its operations, from supply chains to the people who serve in its stores.

The Tesco legal team is no different – it has undergone significant transformation within the last few years, with major change for its people, processes and technology.

## **An untapped pool of diverse talent**

They are, of course, determined to ensure that they continue to hire the right people, with the right skills and the right mindset, but with an additional focus on continuing to expand on their already diverse team. Bringing different voices and experiences to the team is a critical factor in team development.

[Adrian Morris](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-morris-80046044/), the Group General Counsel, had already made fantastic strides in this area, with an exceptional internship programme which sees eight law graduates from diverse backgrounds from across the Company’s stores spend time in the legal team each Summer.

However, Adrian and his team concluded a year ago that they were only scratching the surface of this untapped pool of talent and wanted to go further. His vision was that they set up a formal pathway for this talent and go even further by offering them the support and sponsorship to go on to actually qualify as solicitors into the Tesco legal team.

These candidates, already passionate about working for Tesco, would know Tesco from the bottom up and bring fresh perspective to the team. The challenge was always going to be how to manage a project of this nature to deliver both a great training experience for the new team members, as well as ensuring they could add value to the business as soon as possible.

Adrian and his team brought in Flex Legal, with its award-winning and established Trainee and Apprentice programme, to brainstorm how best to take this forward.

## **Flex Trainee: A groundbreaking initiative in social mobility**

The result is a truly groundbreaking initiative in social mobility and the legal profession.

Flex Legal worked closely with the Tesco team to design a bespoke programme that would satisfy all of these goals, was scalable, repeatable and would enable Tesco to leverage Flex’s deep expertise and knowledge of the SQE pathway to qualification.

Tesco worked hard to identify appropriate candidates before Flex Legal took on the task of whittling it down further by running one of our assessment days onsite in the Tesco Head Office.

Having scoped the desired attributes, motivations and experience that Tesco wanted to see, we ran a 5-hour workshop comprising: a 1:1 interview with each candidate which included guidance and prompts for the Tesco team to surface much-needed insight into the applicants’ personalities and drivers, an engaging group activity designed to give them space to showcase their research capabilities, ability to work as a team, and highlight which candidates might have the burgeoning leadership skills which would set them up for success in a team with so much opportunity for growth and development. The group activity culminated in a presentation to Flex and members of the wider Tesco legal group with space for questions, and on-the-spot feedback.

We also put each candidate through our own online assessment to get a steer on their attention to detail and time management. After the candidates left, Flex sat down with the Tesco team to work through a scorecard matrix which put appropriate emphasis on each aspect of the assessment centre to allow Tesco to see clearly which candidates were their next potential shining stars.

Understanding the Tesco team, and how they worked, was absolutely critical to the success of this workshop, and we loved getting to know the team. As Tesco would employ the candidates directly, Flex’s role was to put a framework around the assessment and facilitate the day itself.

## **From shop floor to legal trainees**

The upshot was that Tesco took forward three fantastic candidates who had all worked in store or in supporting roles. Two law graduates have joined as apprentices, and one LPC graduate as a trainee.

Tesco was also pleased to find a new way to tap into their underused Apprenticeship Levy - navigating how to do this in the wider corporate market continues to be a challenge.

This was not the end of the Flex Legal - Tesco story: having helped Tesco find their own budding lawyers, Flex has extended the pastoral side of its existing Flex Trainee initiative by appointing individual mentors from Flex HQ to buddy up with the new trainees, as well as having monthly check-ins with the project lead at Tesco to make sure all remains on track. We look after all aspects of working legal life from how to approach evidencing Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) using our online journal, to offering much welcomed support throughout the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQEs) where we enjoy a close relationship with our preferred course provider, Barbri.

The result has been an overwhelming success. The candidates are thrilled to have been given a chance to qualify as lawyers within a company they know well. Tesco are incredibly proud to have found a concrete way to support aspiring solicitors through to qualification and to have a tangible way of further contributing to a more balanced and representative legal profession.

**And, in so doing, Tesco is also benefiting from tapping into a fantastic legal talent pipeline already in their business.**

For our part, Flex Legal is delighted to have played a part in creating the first unique scheme in the legal industry, and forging continued strong links with such a forward-thinking partner.

## **What's next?**

Flex is delighted to continue to support Tesco as the company formalises how it attracts talent from traditionally under-represented groups. We cannot wait to be involved with the upcoming Summer internship programme, ahead of repeating the exercise with a fresh bunch of ambitious individuals committed to a career in law, and building a talent pipeline we can both be proud of.

**Additional resources:**

* [Hire a Flex paralegal](/hire/paralegals) - If reading this case study has you scratching your chin, wondering if hiring a Flex paralegal is a good idea, then why not learn more? Click the link to get the ball rolling.
* [How Saad went from Flex Paralegal to Flex Trainee](/blog/how-saad-went-from-flex-paralegal-to-flex-trainee) - Paralegals working through Flex don’t stay that way forever. Some of them graduate onto the Flex Trainee scheme, just like Saad did. Read more!
* [Apply to be a Flex paralegal](/apply/) - Are you interested in interim paralegal opportunities? Flex Legal is here for you! Submit your CV today and apply to the platform.

Tesco Case Study Banner

Hire legal professionals now

Flex Legal & Tesco: Unlocking diverse legal talent

The Flex Trainee scheme is making waves in the legal industry, and offering aspiring solicitors from historically under-represented backgrounds a new way to qualify via the in-house SQE route. For people like the sensational [Saad Ali](https://www.linkedin.com/in/saad-ali-403505155/), who had previously used Flex Legal to find interim paralegal work, joining the Flex Trainee scheme was a logical next step in his legal journey.

Saad is currently enrolled as a Flex Trainee, and is on placement with [Waters Corporation](https://www.waters.com/nextgen/gb/en.html) whilst he accrues the [Qualifying Work Experience](https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/sqe/qualifying-work-experience-candidates/) portion of his SQE qualification. We absolutely love stories like Saad’s, and have always found Saad himself to be a delight to work with. We recently caught up with Saad to hear his side of the story, and learn how it feels to go from a Flex paralegal to a Flex Trainee.

## **How did Saad first hear about Flex Legal?**

Saad first heard about us during his Bachelor of Laws studies at [Manchester Metropolitan University](https://www.mmu.ac.uk/). “*Flex had a stall open with a couple of its employees representing them on that day. I was informed how, at the time, Flex was quite a recent start up that was looking to find students work experience, and the flexibility of work functioned around one’s schedule.* *The ball was in your court - you decide when you wanted to work and how long you wanted to work for, and if Flex had any availability to meet your requirements, they would notify you.*”

  
This kind of interim employment model wasn’t something Saad had encountered previously. Like many students and aspiring legal professionals, he was struggling a lot with getting his foot in the door of the legal sector. It’s a classic Catch-22 situation where you need experience to secure legal jobs, but can’t get that experience without having a legal job first. “*I remember making loads and loads of applications for paralegal opportunities and not hearing anything back*”.

Saad applied to Flex Legal. From his pro-bono experience with Slater and Gordon, to volunteering with the [Citizens Advice Witness Service](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/about-us1/citizens-advice-witness-service/about-the-citizens-advice-witness-service/), we could clearly see that he was passionate about pursuing a career in law. He was also well on his way to completing the LLM at the University of Law. We were absolutely delighted to accept his application, and welcomed him to the Flex Legal platform.

## What legal work did Saad find through Flex Legal?

We eventually found the right opportunity for Saad, and placed him in a fixed-term Contract Paralegal role with [Summize](https://www.summize.com/), an exciting legal-tech company based in Manchester.  

Saad got stuck right into his work at Summize. “*My placement saw me working on Contract Law. With contracts becoming longer and more complex, I worked on a variety of different projects to make contracts simpler and easier to understand. This included reviewing contracts, as well as creating clauses, playbooks, and non-disclosure agreements*”.

Saad’s work at Summize was impressive, and his personality proved to be a good culture fit with their team. So much so that his contract there was extended multiple times, and he secured some stellar feedback from his Summize supervisor; “*Saad has settled in very nicely. He's working hard, friendly to everyone but also remains focused on the task in hand. Thank you for suggesting him to us!*”

## **How did Saad get into the Flex Trainee scheme?**

Saad had now amassed in-house legal work experience, on top of his legal education and volunteering work. He was clearly ready to take that next step. “*I knew the time was right to apply for training contracts but wasn’t quite sure where. I spoke to [Jacob Darcy ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-darcy-388a6776/)*from Flex’s Client Services Team who recommended the Flex Trainee scheme. I reached out to Flex’s current trainee [Maab Saifeldin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/maab-saifeldin-52a6a0106/) *who has had a similar journey to myself*”.

Maab was [amongst the very first cohort of Flex Trainees](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/maab-saifeldin-52a6a0106_i-cannot-believe-i-finally-get-to-write-this-activity-6906570989648302080-pIkb?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop), and had been on the scheme for several months at that point. Like Saad, Maab had worked as a paralegal through Flex before being accepted onto the Flex Trainee scheme. Her placement on the Flex Trainee scheme was particularly high-profile, as her [@lifewithmaab](https://www.instagram.com/lifewithmaab/) accounts on social media has seen her catch industry attention as [a new breed of “lawfluencer”](https://www-legalcheek-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.legalcheek.com/2023/01/the-lawfluencers-to-look-out-for-in-2023/amp/).

Maab explained to Saad her positive experiences of the scheme, and in particular how much the “readiness programme” had benefited her. Saad was convinced; “*Having experienced working both in-house and in private practice, I knew I wanted to qualify via the in-house route. My time at Flex as a paralegal was wonderful and I truly enjoyed my placements, so after weighing up my options I made the easy decision to apply to Flex Trainee*”.

Saad satisfied the social-mobility eligibility requirements of the scheme, and was invited to the Flex Trainee assessment centre. This is a comprehensive multi-stage screening process designed to identify the best candidates for the scheme by testing their legal know-how, professional aptitude, and character suitability. It consists of two interviews, a written legal exercise, and a practical group exercise. Fortunately, Saad aced every stage of the process, and was invited to become a Flex Trainee!

## **How did Saad get on with Flex Trainee's Readiness Programme?**

The Flex Trainee scheme is built on the same principles as the “on demand” side of Flex Legal’s business. We have always strived to facilitate perfect pairings of legal professionals with organisations, and Flex Trainee is no different. Saad is a sensational candidate, and he deserves to work with an equally sensational organisation. We scheduled an interview for Saad with a Senior Director of [Waters Corporation](https://www.waters.com/nextgen/gb/en.html), a leading multinational business that produces scientific instruments and software. The interview went tremendously well for both parties, and Waters were happy to take Saad on as a Flex Trainee.

Before a Flex Trainee goes on placement, they undergo a four week bespoke “Readiness Programme”. The Readiness Programme is designed to take the hard and soft skills that would normally take months to absorb in a professional workplace, and distil them down into a month’s worth of up-front training. Through a series of workshops, talks, practical exercises, and a final week of training specific to each seconded organisation, we make sure every Trainee can get off to a flying start from day one.

The Readiness Programme really helped Saad prepare for his time with Waters; “*The thought of going into such a big business and being their first ever trainee was a little daunting at first - but the Readiness Programme Flex delivered definitely helped me to hit the ground running. One of the things which stands out to me from the programme was elevator pitches, which we practised so much! I remember being put on the spot early on in my placement and was told to introduce myself in a global meeting of Water’s many legal teams. Having practised it so extensively in the readiness programme, my introduction flowed out so naturally. Little things like that has definitely made a difference, and I know for sure I would have frozen if we had not practised this a lot.  It would be wrong of me to not mention the amazing [Sophie Gould ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-gould-95832316/)*who is the Head of Learning and Development at Flex. Sophie ran the readiness programme and helped me to understand what is expected of an inhouse trainee and how I could add value.”

## **How has Saad found his Flex Trainee placement with Waters?**

At the time of writing, Saad has been working in the Wilmslow offices of Waters for a little over half a year and is progressing well; “*There is so much I am learning at the moment and so much more learning to do. The legal team at Waters are really investing in me and helping me to develop*”.

“*The transition from paralegal to trainee has been a lot smoother than I expected. My Flex mentors, [Mary Bonsor ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-bonsor-8a270859/)*and [Louise Anderson](https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiseanderson2/)*, have been in touch on a regular basis to ensure everything is going well. The team at Waters have been amazing, they have been really supportive – encouraging questions and explaining things well by drawing on the white board and bringing in ordinary life examples to simplify information. They have also regularly provided constructive feedback on how well I am doing and how I can turn work from good to great. It’s the little things like this which makes you feel appreciated and valued which has made the switch over from a paralegal to a trainee much easier.*”

When asked what his standout moment with Waters has been so far, Saad said that it had been *“the variety of work I am being exposed to. Every week there is something different, the type of work is not as simple as black and white. It requires thinking that is above what the law says, in particular how to provide practical business focused advice to meet the needs of the company. Having a legal team with diverse level of experience has been a brilliant way for me to learn, discussing matters with them, seeing how they tackle issues is slowly helping me to approach tasks and think about things from beyond what the law is.”*

We’re immensely proud of Saad for all of his efforts so far. Make no mistake - the Flex Trainee programme is demanding. It asks each Trainee to manage the complex demands of a professional legal environment, whilst simultaneously taking charge of their academic studies to prepare for their SQE exams. It’s a lot for anyone to manage - especially for someone who is still relatively junior in their career. Despite all of this, Saad’s drive and warm personality has shone throughout. From his initial placement with Summize, all the way through to his initial Flex Trainee interview and time on our Readiness Programme. He has always been a delight, and we couldn’t be prouder to count him amongst our Flex Trainees. The industry is watching you closely, Saad, and we can’t wait to watch you succeed!

**Additional Resources:**

* [Saad’s LinkedIn profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/saad-ali-403505155/) - Since you’ve read all about his journey here, why not take a look at Saad’s full professional history over on his LinkedIn profile? 
* [Apply to be a Flex Trainee](/apply/flex-trainee) - Given the sheer number of applications we receive, the Flex Trainee scheme is competitive. However, if you’re a good fit then we encourage you to apply here!
* [How The Crown Estate found their first ever legal trainee](/blog/the-crown-estate-case-study) - Saad isn’t the only Flex Trainee! Read how another trainee, Ghazhal Noory, got placed with the legendary Crown Estate.

Blog banner - How saad went from flex paralegal to flex trainee

Blog Banner - How Saad went from Flex paralegal to Flex Trainee

How Saad went from Flex paralegal to Flex Trainee

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

salmon

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

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: The easy way for boutique firms to grow their own talent

How The Crown Estate found their first ever legal trainee

Flex Trainee: tomorrow's legal industry, today

Flex Legal & Tesco: Unlocking diverse legal talent

How Phoenix Group are improving legal industry diversity

How Saad went from Flex paralegal to Flex Trainee

Flex Trainee: how Next 15 found the perfect SQE trainee