Each year, Barclays provides 60 Aspiring Solicitors members with a one week work placement with Barclays Legal Team. BLEW is an opportunity to virtually join Barclays’ legal team for one week of unique insight into the working of an in-house legal function and how it supports a world leading financial institution.  The placement delivers structured sessions over five days, including work shadowing, workshops and networking opportunities.  Each week is currently expected to be structured to include:

  • Introduction to Barclays Legal including panel sessions with keynote legal speakers
  • Employability skills and networking sessions
  • Work shadowing in the Barclays Legal Function

When are the schemes?

Likely to be the first two weeks of September 2024.

Where are the schemes?

Likely to be mostly virtual with potentially an in-person element at the end of the placement.

What is the application process

  • The process will be form based
  • An application form will be sent to eligible students who have completed the expression of interest form
  • The application form will open later in the year

Sign up deadline

The deadline to express your interest is 2 June 2024, the application form will then be sent to members who have expressed an interest.

Eligibility

To apply for this opportunity, you must:

  • Be an Aspiring Solicitors member from one of our four underrepresented groups
  • Be an undergraduate (any year) or graduate
  • Have received or be on target for at least a 2.1 degree classification (excluding mitigating circumstances)
  • Not have previously participated in BLEW
  • Not have accepted a training contract with any law firm or legal team
  • Have an interest in pursuing a legal career
  • Have a UK right to work
My experience was absolutely enriching. I'm glad to have experienced in house legal affairs, commercial law, corporate law and so many other aspects all under the same roof. This experience includes interesting activities which gets you all excited and competitive at the same time. Basically, I'd call it a total package.
BLEW was an immersive, insightful and inspirational experience. This programme was able to provide me with one-of-a-kind career advice as a student keenly interested in acting as a solicitor in the future. BLEW felt almost one-on-one with only a small cohort of other students. Subsequently, every question I had was able to be answered! I could not recommend BLEW enough.
Arthur’s success story
"As an international student from Africa, the UK legal industry was foreign to me."
Read My Story
Freshfields
Future Trainee Solicitor
I am currently on secondment at Barclays as part of my training contract and was taken along to speak to some of the BLEW participants this year. Full circle! I really do think it’s a wonderful programme and I am certain I wouldn’t have had the opportunities I later did without this first bit of ‘real’ corporate legal experience.
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