It has been a highly successful last 12 months for Hudgell Solicitors in which the firm has seen numerous high-profile instructions and achievements.
For the second year in a row, we are ranked in The Times 200 Top Law Firms. Another major achievement was clearing the names of dozens of former sub postmasters who were victims of the Post Office-Horizon scandal and we now represent them at the ongoing Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry.
Our team also represented the families of all four victims of the serial killer Stephen Port at their inquests and as well as families of victims of the Manchester Arena terrorist attack.
Our lawyers have been hailed for the quality of their work in civil liberties and human rights cases in the 2022 Legal 500 guide and our Executive Chairman Neil Hudgell was named Legal Personality of the Year at the 2021 Law Society Excellence Awards.
In February 2021, we announced investment in our own people internally with six training contract offers. In September 2021 we also appointed two apprentices with Phoebe Wigglesworth joining the firm’s Hull office in the role of Paralegal Apprentice and Louise Outhwaite joining the firm’s Manchester office in the role of Business Administrator Apprentice.
A year on from our last trainee solicitor recruitment, the firm is now looking to its next round of recruitment for future solicitors. With an eye on the current transitional stage in the qualification regime for solicitors following the introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) in September 2021, we will now offer up to four positions for either traditional training contracts (for transitional period qualifying candidates) or solicitor apprenticeships. These vacancies are to start in 2023.
‘We take pride that 63% of our staff attended a non-selective state run or funded school’
In the summer of 2021, to coincide with our new Corporate Social Responsibility objectives, we launched a new work experience programme with the aim to prioritise providing local students with good quality work experience placements.
As a sign of the success of our work experience programme, our 2023 vacancies for trainee solicitors or solicitor apprenticeships will be open to both existing internal candidates and individuals who have completed a work experience placement with the firm.
We recognise that we have many candidates who have either completed or are in the process of completing the Legal Practice Course, whilst at the same time we also recognise the value in the apprenticeship model which enables candidates from a wider array of access points whether school leaver, graduate or mature paralegal to obtain a solicitor qualification so they can earn while they learn. It is with a firm view on maximising the diversity of our successful candidates that we are enabling candidates from both access routes to apply for our vacancies.
Hudgell Solicitors have partnered with BPP as the chosen training provider for legal apprenticeships and is delighted to now be joining BPP’s Reverse Mentoring Scheme.
With a central focus on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, the scheme involves the firm entering into a reverse mentor relationship with a group of BPP students who will mentor us on various aspects of our profile and proposition including our website and social media content but also providing valuable insight and feedback on the firm’s culture, values and CSR work.
As stated by BPP in their media release on the new scheme – the composition of the legal industry remains widely populated by a largely similar racial and gender group. According to the latest *ABA National Lawyer Population Survey, 86% of lawyers are white, a statistic that hasn’t changed much over the past decade.
At Hudgell Solicitors we want to learn from our mentors how we can strengthen our E,D & I policies to add further value to our team through future recruitment.
Our commitment to diversity is inherent, and in a profession often seen as elitist we take pride that 63.6% of our staff who completed the 2021 SRA diversity survey attended a non-selective state run or funded school and a further 29.5% attended a selective state run or funded school.
We look forward to listening to the feedback and insights from our mentors to further shape and strengthen our E, D & I policy and in doing so add further value to the business through the diversity of our main asset – our people.
John Cuss is Corporate Services Solicitor at Hudgell Solicitors and also the firm’s Training Principal.
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