Olliers Summer Internship Programme 2023

Following the success of our previous intern programmes, Olliers Solicitors are offering week long paid internships at our Manchester city centre office to graduates and undergraduates who are interested in a career in criminal defence work. The internship programme will run between late July and early September 2023. Criminal law is an exciting and challenging area of law and will provide our interns with an opportunity to spend a week with a leading Manchester based criminal defence firm.

Watch Matthew Claughton explaining why now is a fantastic time to pursue a career in criminal defence

What will I experience during the Internship?

During your week we aim to ensure that you:

• Observe a number of police interviews with suspects
• Observe Magistrates’ Court proceedings
• There is a possibility of observing a trial
• Shadow Counsel in the Crown Court at either Crown Square or Minshull Street, Manchester
• Observe client appointments
• Review files and undergo a mini induction with our Practice Manager
• Speak to our senior lawyers, Senior Management Team and Managing Director, Matthew Claughton about a career in criminal defence work

The week long internships will be remunerated. Criminal defence work is not for the faint hearted but for many practitioners it is the most interesting and rewarding area of law to practice. Previous programmes have been an outstanding success. All three of our current trainees, Hannah Poole, Martha Odysseos and Isobel Phillipson, were previous interns and are now benefiting from Olliers’ structured training programme. Furthermore, two of our 2022 interns have additionally joined Olliers, and due to commence training contracts later in 2023.  We also have two solicitor apprentices. We remain passionate about attracting new entrants to the profession.

Hannah Poole, 2020 Intern

Hannah was one of our 2020 Summer Interns and reflected as follows: “I felt extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to undertake the summer internship at Olliers. I gained a real insight into the new normal way to work and how vital it is to adopt a pro-active approach in the early stages of a case for a client. From attending police interviews to observing Crown Court hearings, whilst interacting with highly experienced professionals proved crucial to my understanding of the criminal legal system. The experience reaffirmed why it is so important to provide a voice for individuals who require legal support and furthermore has led to a rewarding long term opportunity with the firm for myself. I would urge anyone with a real interest in pursuing a career in criminal defence to apply for the internship, one certainly not to miss.”

How can I apply?

If you want to experience a week in the life of Olliers Solicitors during 2023 please contact us by email with CV and a covering letter explaining why you feel attracted to a career in criminal law. All applications should be by email to mariadouglas@olliers.com and the closing date is 4pm on Friday 28th April 2023. The internships will be based at our Manchester city centre office at Third Floor, 196 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3WF.

Olliers Solicitors – leading criminal defence law firm

Olliers is a leading criminal defence law firm with offices in both Manchester and London. We have a highly experienced team of lawyers based in our Manchester office and specialist teams dealing with criminal investigations, fraud, serious crime, sexual offences, regulatory matters, professional discipline and inquiries/inquests. We are ranked as a “Top Tier” defence & regulatory firm by both of the authoritative guides to the legal profession, namely the Legal 500 and the Chambers Guide. We are a Times Best Law Firm 2022. Our Managing Director Matthew Claughton is the 2023 Legal 500 Northern Powerhouse Criminal Lawyer of the Year. In 2022 we were awarded Small Law Firm of the Year at the Manchester Legal Awards. We were also ‘Highly Commended’ in the Boutique Law Firm category at the Modern Law Awards 2022. In 2021, we won the award for Crime Team of the Year at the Manchester Legal Awards – for the fifth time. We were also crowned Law Firm of the Year and our Managing Director, Matthew Claughton, was recognised as Law Firm Partner of the Year. In the same ceremony, fellow director Ruth Peters was recognised as Solicitor of the Year 2021.