Tell him to set up himself as an Attorney or Legal Counsel and offer his wares under a limited company.

No SRA to worry about, freedom to steer his own ship.

Needs a degree of balls, but his current gig sounds mega depressing.

Going down the Lexcel route is a better bet imo. If he hasn't got one by now, unlikely to suddenly be successful. Has he had many interviews in that time?

He’s had about 15, he’s a Cambridge grad and I suspect got a Desmond , can’t be sure however. He seems perfectly decent and well presented, nothing to set alarm bells ringing.

Tell him to wait a couple years or so:

https://www.sra.org.uk/home/hot-topics/Solicitors-Qualifying-Examinatio…

15 and no TC? Sounds like he needs to work on interviewing skills.

Needs a degree of balls...  and some PII....

D

N

I

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What does DNIW mean ?

We took on a sort of paralegal, good law degree, bright, wanted a TC but couldn't get one straight away. In Business Development in a big law firm. She did well and I put in a good word for her. She got one after a couple of years, same firm.

Foot in the door.

How was she on her rugby?

15 TC interviews and no success? Sounds like interview skills to me as well. First seat trainee here so I and a lot of my peers have recently gone through this process. It's not particularly unusual to hear of 15 unsuccessful applications but once you get to the interview stage the odds are pretty good. 

This is a nidwup.   No.  I mean a nupdiw.  Oh woteva. U no wot I mean. 

The fact that he keeps moving firms would seem to suggest that something he's doing isn't hitting the spot for his employers.  If you're a decent paralegal in a big firm then even when your initial contract comes to and end they should be able to find a spot for you on another project.

I know a paralegal who has been doing it 12 yrs and still no TC (he's an Oxford Grad - 2.1). He gave up trying a long time ago.

Five years and no TC ?  Forget it.  Move on.  Get a proper job.