Manchester Training Contract & Graduate - Level Solicitor Apprenticeship 2029

Gateley Plc; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Learn platform

My Flex rewards

Cycle to work

Health care

Pension

Season ticket loan

Retail benefits

Community Online Academy

Job summary

Gateley is offering a 2029 Training Contract or Graduate-Level Solicitor Apprenticeship for aspiring solicitors. You will gain four six-month seats across different areas of law, with hands-on experience and direct client exposure from the first seat, under regular supervision from experienced lawyers.

We support personal and professional growth with coaching, training, and a comprehensive rewards package. This role leads to a rewarding legal career within a forward-thinking, straight-talking

Qualifications

• Growth mindset: eagerness to develop, learn and improve continuously, embracing challenges.
• Collaboration: enjoy working with others, communicate effectively, contribute to success.
• Time optimisation: manage time, organise work, prioritise under pressure.
• Personal responsibility: own work, make decisions, deliver excellence.
• Commercial awareness: curious about business, see opportunities in client objectives.
• Relationship management: build trust, nurture professional relationships.
• Resilience: adapt, recover from setbacks, stay positive when busy.
• Pride in work: commit to high-quality output and meeting expectations.

Responsibilities

• Four six-month seats across different areas of law.
• Hands-on experience and meaningful responsibility from first seat.
• Direct client exposure to build confidence and commercial awareness.
• Regular supervision and mentoring from experienced lawyers.

Skills

Growth mindset

Collaboration

Time optimisation

Personal responsibility

Commercial awareness

Relationship management

Resilience

Pride in work

Job description

About The Opportunity

Your Path to a Rewarding Legal Career Starts Here

Gateley is offering an exciting opportunity for aspiring solicitors to join our 2029 Training Contract or Graduate-Level Solicitor Apprenticeship.

We are looking for driven and ambitious individuals with a genuine interest in law, who want to take on real responsibility, learn from experienced lawyers and develop a successful legal career with a forward-thinking, straight-talking business.

Our available entry routes are:

• Non-law graduates: Complete your degree by summer 2027, followed by the PGDL and LLM (SQE1 & SQE2), before joining us in September 2029.
• Law graduates: Complete the LLM (SQE1 & SQE2) before joining us in 2029.
• LPC graduates: Join through the Professional Skills Course route.
• Graduate-Level Solicitor Apprenticeship: A 25-month programme combining on-the-job experience with one day a week studying with the University of Law.

What We Offer

From day one, you'll be supported to take on real responsibility and develop the skills you need for a successful legal career.

• Four six-month seats across different areas of law
• Hands-on experience and meaningful responsibility from your first seat
• Direct client exposure to build your confidence and commercial awareness
• Regular supervision and mentoring from experienced lawyers
• Technical and skills training, alongside quarterly coaching
• Regular feedback through mid and end-of-seat reviews

What We’re Looking For

At Gateley, we seek candidates who bring a blend of key soft skills and a passion for personal and professional growth. Candidates will be able to demonstrate the following attributes:

• Growth Mindset: An eagerness to develop, learn and improve continuously, embracing challenges and actively seeking opportunities for self-improvement.
• Collaboration: An enjoyment of working with others, communicating effectively and contributing to collective success.
• Time Optimisation: The ability to manage time efficiently, organise work and prioritise effectively to deliver strong results under pressure.
• Personal Responsibility: A willingness to take ownership of work, make considered decisions and remain accountable for delivering excellence.
• Commercial Awareness: Curiosity about the business world, the ability to spot opportunities and an understanding of how legal work supports broader client objectives.
• Relationship Management: The confidence to connect with others, build trust and nurture strong professional relationships.
• Resilience: The ability to adapt, recover from setbacks and remain positive and focused when work is demanding.
• Pride in Work: A commitment to producing high-quality work and consistently meeting or exceeding expectations.

About Us

The benefits

With support, coaching and feedback from some of the most engaging colleagues around our great development and progression opportunities will reward your commitment and loyalty. We offer a competitive remuneration package where you'll be rewarded for your individual performance with an opportunity to receive an annual bonus.

In addition, we have a wide range of learning and development opportunities via our Learn platform to develop new skills and progress your career. Our My Flex comprehensive rewards package includes options covering annual leave (and the benefit of purchasing extra days), cycle to work, critical illness benefit, employee assistance programme, group personal pension, health care, season ticket loan and many more benefits (grade dependent). Finally, with Perks At Work/Home you can select a host of retail benefits that suit your needs alongside a Community Online Academy, free courses for all from fitness to coding to languages to hip hop dance.

We are Gateley

We are forward thinking and straight talking, our approach is to find solutions to the problems that our clients face. Gateley is a legal and professional services group, we are a group of formidable experts in all areas of law and business. Passionate problem solvers, we get our kicks from finding the right answers and getting our legal and business clients where they need to be. We support more than 5,700 active clients, ranging from FTSE 100 companies to private individuals, in the UK and beyond. Being part of Gateley is not just about the expertise that you bring; it's about attitude too.

The' Gateley Story' is the story of our people and our culture. It is what has got us to where we are today as a successful business and it's the driving force behind the Gateley Team Spirit and the values that have shaped it. We have a set of shared internal values that capture what the Gateley Team Spirit is and this includes five elements that bind us all together as one Gateley: Ambitious for Success, Forward Thinking, Room to Breathe, Trusted to Do and Working Together. Every year across the group, we recognise members of our team that have gone and above and beyond and have lived these shared values. They are recognised at our annual Gateley Team Spirit awards.

Diversity, inclusion and well being

Diversity, inclusion and well being is an important part of Gateley's culture and values. We recruit talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, providing equal opportunities for all to join our team regardless of age, sex, race, sexual orientation, disability, or culture.

We create an exciting and rewarding place to work that aims to fulfil everyone's potential and together to achieve personal and business goals. We offer flexible working patterns to help our staff achieve a good work/ life balance and we encourage candidates seeking flexibility in their next role to apply for any of our vacancies.

We are proud to have been recognised by The Law Society as gold standard for our Diversity and Inclusion Charter and to be Stonewall Diversity Champions.

Additional Information

If you are successful in receiving an offer of a role with our company a variety of pre-employment screening checks will be completed. Our screening checks can include but are not limited to your eligibility to work, professional and academic qualifications, any criminal records, your financial stability and references from previous employers. The screening that takes place will be relevant to your role and will vary from role to role.