Herbert Smith and Allen & Overy (A&O) are both considering offering training contracts to legal assistants employed at their Belfast nearshoring ventures.

Herbert Smith is looking at whether it should offer training contracts to some or all of the 10 legal assistants it employs in Belfast to provide lower-cost support to the litigation practice. The firm is yet to make a decision on whether or not it will introduce the route to qualification in Northern Ireland.

A&O, meanwhile, has confirmed that it will consider introducing training contracts in Belfast once the nearshoring office opens later this year.

Herbert Smith Belfast director Libby Jackson said: "We have been very impressed by the academic credentials, commitment and enthusiasm of our legal assistants, all of whom are extremely bright law graduates. In future, we would like to be able to offer an opportunity to members of our team to train as solicitors at our Belfast office."

A spokesman for A&O said: "Our focus is on getting the legal services centre up and running and, while we are considering whether to offer a small number of training contracts in future, no decision has been made either way at this stage."

Herbert Smith's base, which went live in April, reviews large volumes of documents for contentious work across litigation, arbitration and regulatory investigations. The firm received 700 applications for the 26 jobs it has offered to date, which also include nine positions for qualified solicitors and seven support roles.

A&O announced plans to open in the region in February, with the centre mainly providing back-office support, with some legal support across all practice areas.