18th January 2023
We were delighted to catch up with Yasmin, as she was 1 of 30 students in the entire country that secured an apprenticeship taster session at the Allen & Overy law firm! Yasmin is currently a Year 13 student at St Brendan’s and over the last few months has been looking at her next steps after college with support from our in-house careers team.
Allen & Overy is a prestigious global law firm that helps the world’s leading businesses to grow, innovate and thrive. For almost a century, they have built a reputation for thinking ahead and bringing original solutions to their clients’ most complex legal and commercial challenges. Allen & Overy accepts 10 students per year for an apprenticeship taster session in their Central London office, this was the second taster session the organisation has held. These 10 candidates then have the opportunity to apply for one of the 6 places available on the company’s Solicitor Apprenticeship programme.
Alongside studying Criminology, Psychology and Religious Studies at St Brendan’s, Yasmin has also taken full advantage of the College’s in-house careers service including weekly catch-up meetings with one of our qualified Career Advisors - John.
Yasmin mentioned how grateful she is to John and all of the support he has provided her over the last few months. The Careers Team is a massive asset to our College and students, they help with everything from university application support, proofreading personal statements and C.V.s to keeping a look out for relevant unique work experience and apprenticeship opportunities. John and Yasmin discovered the Allen & Overy scheme via the St Brendan’s Careers Newsletter and the clock was ticking as Yasmin had just one day to submit her application. We asked Yasmin why she applied and she told us: “I wanted the first-hand experience of working in a legal firm before I decided to go ahead with a Law apprenticeship or to study Law at University.”
To apply for this scheme Yasmin was asked why she was interested in law, here is her answer:
Having come from Somalia as a young girl, my parents strived to make sure my siblings and I knew the importance of education. The legal field was introduced to me when we were fighting for citizenship in the UK. Being an immigrant in a western country was difficult and came with several legal issues and discrimination. From the year 2009, my father began applying for our passports, this meant meetings with solicitors explaining why we felt we had a right to citizenship. The process, although long and strenuous, made me consider how important the legal system is in the UK. Laws are the foundation on which a country is built, I find that fascinating.
The apprenticeship taster session took place in November and Yasmin found the day to be really insightful. It consisted of speaking to the firm’s partners and associates from different departments such as banking and finance, corporate law and pro bono. Yasmin and the 9 candidates also spoke to current apprentices at the firm about their day-to-day responsibilities.
Since returning from the Christmas break, Yasmin has also applied for and secured a place on the National Allen & Overy Law Application Masterclass that is taking place at the end of January and she has every intention of also applying for the apprenticeship scheme that the firm offers.
We’d like to thank our Career Team for offering exceptional service to our students and for always showcasing the finest opportunities that are on offer from leading organisations and universities.
