Apprenticeship question

kronsington

hi,

ok, here's the deal. like many, i have found it increasingly difficult to obtain a full training contract despite the fact i have all fe-1's etc. in the last few days however, an individual i know, who is registered as a sole practitioner with the law society has offered me an a'ship but the thing is he does very little pure legal work these days. is it possible for me to be apprenticed to him but to do stints in other offices(with the clearance of my master and the office in question) for say, couple of months at a time, to gain experience in the areas that are required by the law society (Conveyancing and Landlord and tenant Law, Litigation ,Wills, Probate and Administration of Estates
Two other areas from a catch all bloc (full list of areas is on Indenture Deed)
i am planning to email or phone the law society today to enquiry about this and my proposed master has said he will do so too this week. i have not heard of anyone doing things this way and was wondering could anyone shed any light on my query? i know all about secondments etc and this isn't the same, but i thought i'd ask the learned minds of boards.ie

incidentally, i know this is a poorly written email so i hope my point comes through

thanks lads,
k

dazza21ie

What areas does he practice in can i ask?

ronnie3585

I'm not sure if you can be seconded in your first stint in the office after PPC1, I've never heard of this happening. You can change masters when you are in PPC1 with the consent of your original master. You can be seconded to another office for a few months after you complete PPC2. Again this requires the consent of your master and I think it goes before a Law Society committee for approval. A trainee in our office did it last year and it isn't as straight forward as ticking a few boxes.

As for your proposed master only specialising in one area and not covering all the areas referred to in your indentures, I think that you would have to get the definative word from the Law School on that one.

dats_right

ronnie3585 wrote: »

I'm not sure if you can be seconded in your first stint in the office after PPC1, I've never heard of this happening.

I know of one person who did their secondment straight after PPC1, so I assume that it can be done.

Stirling

It can be done though, know of one lad who was working with a sole practitioner who did 99% Tax and he was able to work through secondments for his apprenticehip. Again though I don't think its just a matter of ticking boxes