Commercial Awareness for Solicitor Apprentices: Week 2

Introduction:

Hello, and welcome to our second edition of Commercial Awareness for Solicitor Apprentices(CASA). In this week's newsletter we discuss solicitor apprentice life from the perspective of someone who took a gap year in which they discovered apprenticeship opportunities. We also look at Nintendo suing Palworld for imitating pokemon. For our international outlook we discuss and carefully consider the reasons for international law firms closing down. Finally, there will be a piece of advice from me to close of as someone who is applying to apprenticeships myself this year.

Interview:

Our interview this week was with Subhan Ali Shan from TLT, who took a gap year before starting his solicitor apprenticeship. 

Tell us about your background: 

I went to a high performing grammar school from years 7 to 13, where I achieved 5 grade 8’s and 5 grade 9’s at GCSE. I applied to university and received an offer from Kings College London. However, my religious values did not support indulging in interest, as related to Student Finance, therefore I decided to take a gap year, in which I found out about degree apprenticeships. I experienced  a number rejections which was no doubt difficult. 

It is worth mentioning that just 2 to 3 years ago there was little mention of solicitor degree apprenticeships, despite coming from a Grammar School background and this is something I hope to change. 

Can you describe the feelings and processes of changing from having university aspirations to having degree apprenticeship aspirations? 

I got offers from lots of Russell group universities, and I chose not to take them for purely personal religious reasons because I chose not to involve myself with student finance. I found it daunting to completely change my career trajectory, of course because degree apprenticeships are highly competitive. For me it was nerve wracking to get lots of rejections initially, however I had faith in the cause and in my passion. 

What does apprentice life mean to you ?

For me it means hard work, you will be busy some evenings and weekends, but combining study with work is definitely manageable and tolerable. You need to have great organisational skills in exam season to balance work and study. Some potential challenges include a test of  competency, time management and organisational skills; sometimes you will need to compromise one or two leisure activities because time will be of the essence. However, to caveat that there are lots of apprentice specific social opportunities and you will of course get weekend breaks and annual leave!

What does your future hold?

I think the future is very bright for degree apprentices as well as Degree Apprenticeships as a sector. On the Young Professionals get into law conference on Thursday 19th September, there were over 2000 young people on the call which clearly shows degree apprenticeships have become increasingly popular, especially in the last 2-3 years. There is a structured sense of stability for all degree apprentices which is great because I know I will work at my firm for 6 years, with a training contract incorporated and my degree is fully financed.

Interview takeaway: 

Subhan is a clear and shining example of how life may change unexpectedly but these changes have wonderful results in the long term. Regardless of your background and challenges you have faced, if you have faith and confidence in both the system and most importantly In yourself then that will shine through in interviews naturally.

Commercial legal explainer:

As someone who has many friends with an interest in video games, Nintendo suing Palworld for imitating Pokemon caught my eye. The object of the dispute lies in the fact that the patent for using Pokemon material lies with Nintendo, therefore in the eye of the law palworld is liable for not getting the permission of Nintendo beforehand. Some eagle eyed viewers may note that it is not suing for copyright infringement. Patent infringement involves unauthorised use of patented inventions, whereas copyright infringement relates to unauthorised use of original works of authorship. A patent is not always easy to get, and they are worth quite a significant amount financially, therefore a commercial company always seeks to protect their patent from being used without permission. 

 Now, among gamers the argument is always over money on the alleged infringers part. It has been argued, quite successfully, that if it is ‘amateur’ and not for profit then there is no harm, especially if they mention somewhere prominent that credit goes to the original creators. However, lawyers will always argue that the spirit of the law must be protected and if we let one case get away then others may get away as well which could lead to a long term decline in the security of video games in allowing money to go to the original creators who put in the effort to design the game.

 *interview tip: If you want to learn about or brush up on Intellectual Property (IP) law then check out the Bird & Bird work experience module on forage(* not sponsored). Referencing something less widely known is good in interviews as it shows you read a holistic range of news sources. 

Worldwide commercial law news:

Law offices are closing down around the world. Now, one has to be sensitive in these cases and consider both sides very carefully. On the one hand is the business side, where profits in poorly operating countries can lead to a downward trend for overall profits. Managing partners here tend to say that it is for the benefit of the many and not just the few in all countries and they strive to do the very best for all those affected. 

This leads us to the perspective of employees, who will be very upset about the loss of a job, especially in today's macro-economic conditions worldwide. One has to remember that in countries where one firm ceases operations, often numerous other firms also cease operations. Empathy for the affected people as well as practical support is going to be crucial now and into the future should firms continue to shut down offices in different regions.

 *interview tip: Approaching an interview with sensitivity and caution is going to be crucial, and if you do bring it up in an interview then make sure you have all the knowledge about the specific firm's reasons and remember some information may be private and confidential. If you have concerns about a firm that is closing down offices then decide if they are right for you, as no one can tell you what is right or wrong and remember that there are lots of firms offering Solicitor Apprenticeships out there. 

Advice from someone in the same boat:

Knowing what you said in your application is so important, primarily for the reason that you may be asked a specific question about what you write. They aren’t aiming to trick you, rather they want to understand the mindset of a bright and talented applicant who clearly has something interesting to say. To keep on top of this log on to your application every so often and refresh yourself on what you said so that in the interview you can project yourself as aware of what you wrote and confident in your answer being relevant to what you wrote.