A 3-day virtual programme for Black/mixed Black heritage Aspiring Solicitors Members. The programme will help develop your confidence and build your commercial awareness and personal branding.

We are delighted to announce that we will be running our Elevate programme again this year focusing on assisting AS Members of Black/mixed Black heritage to prepare for entering the legal profession in 2025 and beyond. This is the sixth consecutive year of this hugely successful programme and we strongly encourage you to apply if you are considering applying for training contracts and vacation schemes next academic year, as this is a great springboard!

To apply for AS Elevate 2025, please complete the form and we will contact you after the deadline to confirm if your application has been successful.

What is Elevate?

AS Elevate is a 3-day virtual programme for Black/mixed Black heritage Aspiring Solicitors Members. The programme will help develop your confidence to pursue a career with our partner firms and help develop specific skills and areas of knowledge such as commercial awareness and personal branding.

Who is involved?

The law firms and corporate partners involved include A&O Shearman, Amazon, Baker McKenzie, Bank of England, bp, Centrica, Mayer Brown, RPC, Stephenson Harwood and Travers Smith.

When does it take place? 

AS Elevate will take place from 10 to 12 June 2025 (inclusive).

This is a virtual programme. The virtual workshops are delivered by Aspiring Solicitors via a series of online webinars (via Zoom), with contributions from law firms and corporate organisations.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this programme you must:

  • Be an Aspiring Solicitors member and be of Black or mixed Black heritage;
  • Have secured ABB at A-Level and be on track to receive a 2:1 in your degree (taking into account mitigating circumstances if you have them and do not meet the grade requirements);
  • Be either a current first year law student (finishing your first year in summer 2025) or penultimate year non-law undergraduate student (as above) who will be eligible to apply for training contracts or vacation schemes in Autumn 2025;
  • Have a strong interest in becoming a commercial lawyer; and
  • Not have secured a training contract

What does the scheme cover?

Across the Elevate programme, you will take part in a number of workshops and Q&A sessions which will help you to develop a set of essential skills ahead of applying for a vacation scheme or training contract.

The workshops will focus on topics such as:

  • Law firm etiquette
  • Personal brand and communication skills
  • Commercial awareness
  • Effective business writing and drafting
  • Perfecting your law firm applications

In order to get the most out of this opportunity, please only sign up if you are in the position to be an active participant, who is able to communicate effectively with our law firm and corporate sponsors throughout the entirety of the three-day programme.

Why should I take part?

Elevate is a unique opportunity to build relationships with law firms and corporate sponsors ahead of applying for vacation schemes and training contracts. Being able to communicate with representatives from firms is a key part of a vacation scheme and/or training contract assessment process, so this programme gives you a safe space to practise these skills in advance of a formal assessment.

Not only this, but you will learn key nuggets of information from law firms and corporate sponsors, which will be able to transfer into your applications. The information and skills that you learn will put you in a great position ready for autumn.

The group size will be limited, so you will have the opportunity to make meaningful connections with the speakers and also your fellow Elevate attendees, giving you a network to nurture going forward.

Finally, it is a fantastic opportunity to add to your CV or application forms as work experience!

Sign up deadline

The deadline to apply is 21 May 2025 at 5pm. However, we encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity/ahead of the deadline, as we may take the decision to close applications early due to the popularity of the programme.

Overall, the Aspiring Solicitors Elevate programme has been a transformative experience, enhancing my confidence and providing a wealth of insights that are crucial for my development as a future solicitor.
I can affirmatively state that the AS Elevate Programme was an enlightening and resourceful experience. I liked that a number of representatives from participating firms were of minority backgrounds, and that they openly shared their career journeys from university to their current positions. It enabled students like myself to actualise our own capacity not only to break into the legal profession but also to distinguish ourselves in it, by extension. For these reasons, I believe the AS Elevate Programme was invaluable.
Listening to trainees who I ethnically identify with, speak about their journeys and their achievements, really helped to boost my confidence and motivation.
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