Forbes Solicitors announces largest cohort of 22 trainees

Lancashire-headquartered Forbes Solicitors has announced its largest-ever training programme, as it strives to create more opportunities for people to enter the legal profession and to help enhance diversity and inclusivity throughout the sector. 

The firm, which has offices across Lancashire, Leeds, and Manchester, has embraced new qualification routes for solicitors, with Forbes’ approach leading to its cohort of 17 trainees rising to 22 from September next year. 

Training programme placements will be open to applicants taking the newer Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) route into law, graduate apprenticeships, and trainees studying the more traditional Legal Practice Course (LPC) qualification. SQEs were introduced by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in September last year to improve accessibility to the legal profession. 

Kella Bowers, a partner and the graduate training principal at Forbes Solicitors, said: “SQEs and Graduate Apprenticeships open-up the legal sector to people from different backgrounds and who may have previously thought the profession wasn’t for them. Less rigid and more flexible entry routes can really help improve diversity and inclusivity, and truly enrich the overall wealth of experience and expertise to benefit the development of the sector, innovation and services provided to clients. 

“We’re excited to welcome such a large number of new trainees into the Forbes family and are confident we’ll be working together with future leaders of our firm.”

Pauline Rigby, managing partner of Forbes Solicitors, joined the firm as a trainee 20 years ago. She added: “Growing our trainee cohort is a strong strategic move by our Graduate Recruitment Team and is symptomatic of the firm’s continued growth and positive attitude to change within the landscape we operate.”