Manchester Graduate Scheme - September 2026

Express Solicitors Limited; Manchester; On-site; GBP 24,750 - 30,250; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid Working

23 Days Holiday

Private Medical Insurance

Job summary

Express Solicitors Limited invites driven law graduates to join its Manchester Graduate Scheme, starting 21st September 2026. You will undergo five weeks of bespoke training in black letter law, client care, and case management before moving into a department to assist on real cases as a Litigation Assistant.

The programme offers 12 weeks of tailored training to become a successful Paralegal, regular appraisals, and a competitive salary of £27,500 per year, with hybrid working and generous

Qualifications

• Aspiring Personal Injury Paralegals with strong legal academic achievements (LLB, GDL, LLM, LPC or equivalent).
• Full-time availability from 21st September 2026 and no leave for the first 12 weeks.
• No legal work experience necessary.
• Passionate about being a lawyer and helping injured people.

Responsibilities

• Assist an existing fee earner on their caseload, getting involved directly with legal tasks and liaising with clients.

Education

Law degrees or equivalent

Job description

Manchester Graduate Scheme - 21st September 2026

Are you ready to step into the Legal World?

Established in 2000, Express Solicitors is an award‑winning, no win no fee law firm specialising exclusively in personal injury claims. Headquartered in Manchester, we support clients nationwide across all areas of personal injury, including employers’ liability, serious injury, clinical negligence, occupiers’ and public liability, road traffic accidents and industrial disease.

We are ranked 64th in The Lawyer UK Top 200, out of more than 10,000 law firms nationwide, and after achieving a 20% year‑on‑year growth, Express Solicitors are the largest personal injury claimant firm in the UK.

Our commitment to outstanding client care is reflected in our Trustpilot rating of 4.8 (Excellent), placing us among the highest‑rated firms in the sector.

Our Graduate Scheme has been awarded the Princess Royal Training Award. This award recognises our exceptional commitment to learning and development and its positive impact on the organisation and people.

We now also offer training from the incredible Matthew Fowler for developing a growth mindset, psychological resilience and emotional intelligence. Giving you the skills to be the best version of your self in law.

We set you up to succeed

The focus of our award-winning Graduate Scheme is to provide you with a solid foundation to launch your legal career. You start with 5 weeks of initial training, which is everything from black letter law all the way through to support during initial tasks (witness statements, claim form drafting) and communicating with clients.

Once you are in the department, the support doesn't stop; you have a weekly supervisor meeting, which is there for you to lead on work and ask questions you want guidance on. You also have a Buddy in the department to help you too.

We are so proud of the progression at Express Solicitors, we wanted to share the success by numbers:

100% of our Trainee Solicitors came from our Graduate Scheme.

The average time from the Graduate Scheme to SQE/TC is within 6 - 15 months of starting with Express Solicitors.

We work hard and play hard

Law has always been seen as a challenging profession. Express Solicitors expect you to work hard for our clients. But we also love to have fun, with regular department socials, yearly Christmas parties (paid for by the business) and every other year a summer social at the CEO's house paid for by James, himself.

We also have lots of other regular activities, with weekly football and netball games, a running club and a board game night.

\"The collaborative culture within the company, combined with structured mentorship and continuous feedback, has been good in shaping my career.\"

\"The grad scheme provided me with a helpful foundational knowledge of what to expect once I arrived at department and the tasks that I would be doing\"

Billy Mollart

\"The Graduate Scheme was, without a shadow of a doubt, a significant driving factor in allowing me to progress so quickly from Litigation Assistant to Trainee Solicitor\"

About the role

For your first five weeks at Express Solicitors, you will be in our training suite, where we offer bespoke training on black letter law, soft skills and case management. After this solid foundation, you will move to your designated department, where the real work begins, applying your skills as a Litigation Assistant.

You will assist an existing fee earner on their case load, getting involved directly with legal tasks and liaising with clients.

What we offer you

• 12 weeks of tailored training to ensure you’re a successful Paralegal.


• Three appraisals per year and weekly meetings with your supervisor to guide you.


• Salary – £27,500 per annum.


• Hours – 8:30 am - 5:30 pm Monday - Thursday with a 5 pm finish on Friday (39.5 hours.)


• Hybrid Working


• 23 Days Holiday


• Rising to 26 days, plus bank/public holidays.


• 3 holiday buy backs and an extra day for your birthday after service length requirement.


• Looking After Your Health


• Private medical insurance available after 2 years’ service, annual flu jab and Employee Assistance Programme.


• 24/7 onsite Gym, Netball/Football team, 10km Manchester team and more.


• Work Life / Balance


• Active social committee with generous departmental and firm-wide social budget.

Once you finish the grad scheme you feel quite prepared to go into your departments. Once you’re in, you will be assigned with buddies, so if you come across areas which are new, you can ask your buddies for guidance.

Megan Rowbotham

\"I found the Graduate Scheme to be really helpful in preparing me for when I came into department. The trainers helped us develop the necessary skills for our role and we covered everything from IT skills to black-letter law and client care. I would highly recommend the scheme to any law graduates looking to start their career in law.\"

Harry Gowler

\"I was much better equipped than I would have been if I was thrown straight into department. It was also great to be given soft skills training, increasing my confidence in client interaction in a safe learning environment where it was okay to make mistakes.\"

What are we looking for?

Aspiring Personal Injury Paralegals with strong legal academic achievements (LLB, GDL, LLM, LPC or equivalent).

Full-time availability is required from 21st September 2026 and that no leave is required for the first 12 weeks.

Closing date for applications are 7th September 2026. Please be aware that this is a rolling recruitment cycle and once the cohort is full, the role will close. This does mean the firm reserves the right to close applications early .

No legal work experience necessary.

Passionate about being a lawyer and helping injured people.

Where are we?

South Court,
1 Sharston Road,
Manchester,
M22 4SN

Recruitment Process

Our interview process is two stages. The first stage is a one-way pre-recorded video interview (done in your own time) and then a face-to-face MS teams interview.

Our employees are our most important asset, we rate skill and ability above all else and our recruitment policy encourages applications from all.

Need more info?

Oliver Doak, our Associate - Emerging Talent Specialist , is happy to answer any questions you may have, about what Express Solicitors can offer you.

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