Graduate and undergraduate schemes
Our Vacation Schemes
Our Vacation Scheme lets you experience what it's like to be a trainee solicitor in a fast-paced international law firm.
From your first day, you’ll benefit from comprehensive training, with an induction programme that introduces you to our partners, our employees, and our business strategy. You’ll also be given a buddy amongst the current trainees who can answer your questions having been in your shoes.
During the Summer Vacation Scheme, you’ll spend two weeks immersed in two different practice areas, gaining first-hand experience under the supervision of our approachable associates and partners. For our Spring Vacation Scheme, you'll experience the same, but within a one-week timeframe. You'll also be involved in socials, networking opportunities, pro bono work, and more, so you'll end the scheme with invaluable experience and a clear sense of career direction.
We take on up to 30 Vacation Scheme applicants per year. To be eligible, you'll need to be in the second year of your degree or beyond. We also welcome applications from those who have graduated, as well as career changers.
Completing a Vacation Scheme with us is the only way to be considered for a training contract. Our Spring Vacation Scheme is one week in April. Our Summer Vacation Scheme is held across London and Cambridge for two weeks in June.
Applications are open for our 2026 Vacation Schemes.
Our training contract
We focus on giving our trainee solicitors a wide range of experience across the firm, so you can find the area of law you're passionate about.
Across our two-year training contract, you'll move through four six-months seats in different practice groups. All trainee solicitors undertake a seat in either Corporate or Finance, and at least one seat must involve contentious work.
For your remaining two seats, you’ll be able to choose from a range of our exciting practice areas:
Banking and Finance
Construction and Engineering
Corporate Real Estate
Disputes and Investigations
Emerging Companies and M&A
Employment, Pensions and Mobility
IP, Regulatory and Digital
Patents
Private Client
Private Equity
Real Estate, Environment and Planning
Restructuring and Insolvency
Tax and Incentives
As soon as you start, you’ll receive an in-depth induction to help you fit right in, as well as legal technical training throughout your seat. In each seat you'll work closely with a supervisor who'll provide feedback and guidance, with the option to additionally request a mentor to help you achieve your long-term professional goals.
We also offer client secondment opportunities and short relationship-building international secondment opportunities to boost your real-world experience. And if you like to learn at your own pace, you can sign up to personal development programmes and online learning to help you improve your interpersonal skills and increase your commercial knowledge.
We don’t believe there's a set path in law. Many of our lawyers joined the profession from different backgrounds, and we believe their diverse experiences help us find solutions others might not consider and enhance the service we provide to clients.
We encourage applications from both law and non-law students who meet our eligibility criteria. Kickstart your career with us from September 2028.
Training contracts in Cambridge
Cambridge is Europe's largest tech and life sciences cluster, with IP-rich start-ups and large multinationals developing the future of deep tech, biotech, and pharmaceuticals.
Our Cambridge office is one of the leading practices in the region for life sciences, patents, and corporate work, and is ranked in the top tier across multiple practice areas by The Legal 500.
As part of our strategic growth plans, we extended our Trainee Solicitor Programme to our Cambridge office in September 2024.
The programme has been designed to mirror everything available in our London office. All trainee solicitors will spend time immersed in our key practice areas, where they'll get on-the-ground experience working with our specialists. They'll also get the opportunity to attend a client secondment, or spend time in our London office.
We’re looking for individuals who are interested in training in Cambridge and looking to develop a long-term career in the region commencing September 2028.
Nurturing our home-grown junior talent in the Cambridge office has been a long-term goal for us, and it's hugely rewarding to see this plan come to fruition.
Our Cambridge office has an exciting remit covering some of the cutting-edge technology being developed in the region and beyond, so offering training contracts here is an incredible opportunity for those looking to carve out a legal career in tech or life sciences.
We're looking forward to finding the right fit for our successful teams in these practice areas and kickstarting two promising legal careers in Cambridge.
- Ross McNaughton, Partner
Nurturing our home-grown junior talent in the Cambridge office has been a long-term goal for us, and it's hugely rewarding to see this plan come to fruition.
Our Cambridge office has an exciting remit covering some of the cutting-edge technology being developed in the region and beyond, so offering training contracts here is an incredible opportunity for those looking to carve out a legal career in tech or life sciences.
We're looking forward to finding the right fit for our successful teams in these practice areas and kickstarting promising legal careers in Cambridge.
Ross McNaughton, Partner
SQE with Taylor Wessing
Before you commence your training contract with the firm, you will undertake the SQE 1 and SQE 2 examination. We have partnered with University of Law for this course, which will enable you to gain a breadth of knowledge before commencing these examinations.
Additionally, you will also undertake an SQE Plus course to provide you with further legal knowledge ahead of joining the firm, which includes a master's.
In the SQE Plus course, you will undertake courses in Business of Law, Mergers and Acquisitions, Innovation, Technology, and Legal Project Management. To enable you to tailor your learning to your own preferences, you will have the additional option of selecting two other practice areas you are interested in learning more about: Employment, Advanced Dispute Resolution, Advanced Real Estate, Intellectual Property, Commercial, and Private Wealth.
Ahead of commencing the course, you will meet with the Early Talent and Development team to learn more about the course and our expectations and be provided with support throughout the year-long course.
By completing the course and examinations ahead of your start date, you will be able to hit the ground running and gain your two years qualifying work experience through our training contract.
The firm will also provide a £17,000 maintenance grant to support you financially whilst you study.
The SQE Plus programme provided an invaluable bridge between academic study and the realities of legal practice. Attending focused practice area training, along with participating in office sessions with knowledge lawyers and marketing, have equipped me with the knowledge I need when I join the firm.
Ryan Lysycia, Future Trainee Solicitor