About our training contracts

We’re a firm with a shared purpose, and we’re driven by our values to create positive impact environmentally, socially and for our clients and colleagues.

When you join us, you’ll be ready and willing to bring your ideas and be the best of version of yourself.

We’re looking for future lawyers who understand the work we undertake, the clients we work for and our values, and who are passionate about our principles. We encourage candidates with a range of outside work interests, which we’d like to see maintained and developed over the coming years. If this sounds like you and you are also a good communicator who can demonstrate academic potential please get in touch.

Finding and developing home-grown talent is important to us. We recruit six trainees each year and look to retain all of them at the end of their training contracts where possible.

We are happy to consider applications for part-time training contracts. Please use the dedicated space on the application form to let us know if you would like to train part-time.

Trainee seats

Over the two years of the training, you’ll complete four seats of six months each.

Trainees must complete a seat in our Charity and Social Enterprise department during their training contract. Other seats available include: Corporate & Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Employment, Immigration, Public & Regulatory and Real Estate.

As a trainee, you will have the opportunity to input into the seat allocation process throughout the two years, which provides excellent flexibility during your training. We’ll work with you to help you choose the seats that will best prepare you for your future career.

You’ll have a dedicated supervisor in each seat, who’ll make sure your work is relevant and varied, with plenty of training and support. At the interim and final appraisals for each seat, your supervisor will give feedback on your performance and set objectives for the next stage.

How the application process works

Your application for a vacation scheme will also be considered as your training contract application. Please do not apply for more than one position. By applying, you are confirming that you are eligible to begin training with us in 2026. We are following the SQE route to qualification, but if you have already completed or are currently working towards the LPC, you are still eligible to apply.

 

Complete online application form through our website

The form will cover your academics, motivation for joining the firm and profession, as well as what work experience, both legal and non-legal, you have been involved with. We also want to know about any voluntary work you have undertaken, as well as about your hobbies and interests outside of your work and studies. Our application form is a great opportunity to talk about your passions and how they can be applied to the life of a solicitor. Be sure to understand what a B-Corporation is and why we are proud of being the first UK law firm to achieve that. We recruit on a rolling basis, so please try to get your application submitted sooner rather than later.

We use the upReach RealRating contextual recruitment tool, which is built into our application form, to make sure that we do not miss any high-potential candidates. We take mitigating circumstances very seriously and encourage you to tell us about anything that you think we should be aware about on your form – whether it is periods of illness or bereavement, caring responsibilities or anything else. Should you wish to discuss your experiences in confidence, please contact us at [email protected].

 

Complete the Watson Glaser critical thinking test

If you submit an application that aligns to our values, shows academic ability or potential and a commitment to the life of a solicitor, then you may be invited to complete the next stage of the process:  the critical thinking test. If you are sent the test, you will be given up to 7 days to complete it, and a free practice test will be sent to you before you take the real thing. The test helps us assess your critical thinking skills, and once you’ve completed the test, we will re-review the application and test score to shortlist candidates to interview.

If you’d like to practice or explore this further then please click this link to be taken to a free test.

Interviews and assessments

If you have applied for a place on our vacation scheme, you will be invited to have an interview with two members of the recruitment panel to secure your place. The interview will cover questions about your application as well as some other competency-based and strengths-based questions. There may be conversations on things happening in the world, so make sure to keep up-to-date on current affairs and be prepared to provide an opinion on the subject. Decisions following an interview are usually communicated over the phone within 5 working days.

If you have applied for a direct training contract, and not for a vacation scheme, you will be invited to an assessment day where you will have an interview with two members of the recruitment team as well as complete a written assessment. Before coming onto the assessment day, you will be given information on how best to prepare with opportunities to ask questions. We’ll give you exposure to other people in the firm, including our trainees, so you can get a better idea of the people you might be working with.

Feedback on interviews and the assessments are gathered to determine who will be selected for a final interview. Regardless of whether your application is progressed to the final stage, everyone will be encouraged to have a feedback call with the recruitment team.

 

Adjustments

Please speak to us at [email protected] should you require any adjustments to be made to the process owing to a disability, or for a general conversation regarding adjustments. It might be that you need extra time in order to complete a written assessment or perhaps you need coloured overlays to make your screen easier to read – whatever your required adjustments are, we will be more than happy to discuss them with you.

 

 

Final Interview

Not all candidates will be invited to the final stage interview. Our Managing Partner alongside another Partner will interview candidates shortlisted for the training contract at the final stage. These interviews take place from June, and will last for approximately an hour. We aim to have decisions communicated by August at the very latest.

Feedback to help you prepare for the final interview will be offered to every candidate at this stage, which is also a great opportunity to ask questions and provide your own feedback on your experience of the process.

 

All applications for training contracts and vacation schemes should be made via our website.

Our trainee team

Applications for training contracts and vacation schemes are now open.

Click here to apply