Harrison Drury recruits six trainees and apprentices

We’re proud to announce the recruitment of three trainee solicitors and three legal apprentices as we continue developing the next generation of talent.

Lucy Parkhouse, Casey Moonie and Louise Shaw have started their traineeships, while Georgina MacKereth, William Hornby Phillips and Taylor Eastham have begun legal apprenticeships.

James Robbins, partner and training principal at Harrison Drury, said: “We’re committed to creating opportunities for people to grow and have rewarding careers with us, something which is strengthening the firm in all areas.

“Our trainee programme has expanded rapidly in recent years and we now have people who started as trainees gaining senior positions within the firm, which is fantastic to see.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome our latest trainees and apprentices and we look forward to supporting them on their journey towards becoming skilled, confident solicitors.”

Pictured above: William Hornby Phillips, Taylor Eastham, James Robbins, Lucy Parkhouse, Casey Moonie and Louise Shaw.

Harrison Drury creates opportunities for people to become solicitors through both the traditional trainee solicitor route and the newer solicitor apprenticeship route. We currently have six trainees and seven legal apprentices, all at different stages of their training.

Lucy joined Harrison Drury in June 2022 as a paralegal, after graduating with a first-class degree in Law from the University of Liverpool. Her first training ‘seat’ is with our property litigation team.

Casey, a graduate of University of Lancaster, gained experience as a legal assistant with a Cumbria-based law firm before taking up her trainee role. She will initially join our property litigation team.

Louise, who holds an undergraduate degree from University of Manchester, previously worked as a paralegal within the real estate team of a Manchester law firm. She will start her training with our commercial property team.

Taylor studied law, sociology and criminology at Cardinal Newman College and then gained experience as a paralegal at a Lancashire-based firm before starting her legal apprenticeship. She will be based at our Preston office.

Georgina, a legal graduate of University of Cumbria, joined Harrison Drury in 2022 as an executive administrator before starting her apprenticeship. She will be based at the Kendal office and will qualify in two and a half years as she is already a graduate.

William studied history, geography and physics at Lancaster Royal Grammar School before taking up his legal apprenticeship. He will be based at the Lancaster office.

The traditional route to qualification as a solicitor involves undertaking a university degree, followed by further study to complete the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and then two years of on-the-job training as a trainee solicitor.

However, the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is being phased in to become the new centralised way to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales and will ultimately replace the Legal Practice Course (LPC) route to practice, but the two years of on-the-job training remains a requirement for qualification.

The legal apprenticeship integrates study with on-the-job training, enabling qualification as a solicitor while gaining valuable and varied work experience throughout. Harrison Drury’s six-year legal apprenticeship programme invites applications from both college leavers and graduates, who join the programme at a later stage. The latter stages of the apprenticeship incorporate a law degree and Solicitors Qualifying Exams.