Why train with us?

When you join us, you’ll be one of just six trainees. This means you’ll get plenty of opportunities to make your mark.

We’re looking for trainees who are genuinely excited to join a smaller firm that’s driven by its values, who understand that making a positive impact is as important to us as making a profit. We offer clients you can commit to, as well as incredibly interesting work. We enable and empower you to have client contact from the very beginning of your career.

You’ll begin to experience all of the unique qualities of a career at Bates Wells from the moment you’re given your training contract. We’ll keep in touch and invite you to our social events before your first day in the office.

We aim to have all our trainees qualify into the firm, where there is plenty of opportunity to grow and progress. One-third of our partners started out as Bates Wells trainees.

Our Values

To learn a little more about who we are, the values that drive us, and our B Corp certification (we’re very proud to be the first UK law firm to get accredited), take a look at our About Us page.

Financial Assistance

We currently pay first year trainees £41,000 and second year trainees £45,000. Our NQ salary is £73,000. We review all salaries annually.

If you secure a training contract with us and have not already completed the LPC or SQE, we will fund your SQE studies by paying your course fees, provided you have not already accepted a place on a course at the point at which we offer you a training contract. Please note that we do not cover course fees retrospectively.

We also provide maintenance grants of no less than £8,000 to support you whilst you’re studying.

 

Our trainee team

Applications for training contracts and vacation schemes open on 1 October 2024

Click here to apply