Our schemes
Our Vacation Schemes
With outstanding talent and limitless potential, our Spring and Summer Vacation Scheme intake are the next generation of outstanding commercial lawyers.
With outstanding talent and limitless potential, our Spring and Summer Vacation Scheme intake are the next generation of outstanding commercial lawyers.
Our award-winning 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 40 Vacation Scheme applicants per year, and 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 Schemes are held across two weeks in either June or July.
Applications to our Spring Vacation Scheme closes on 1 November and Summer Scheme at 8pm on 1 December
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.
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 take on 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
Commercial Technology and Data
Construction and Engineering
Corporate Finance
Corporate Real Estate and Private Capital
Corporate Technology and Life Sciences
Disputes and Investigations
Employment, Pensions and Mobility
IP and Media
Financial Services and Competition
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. If you're ready to kickstart your career with us, then now is the time to apply.
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 in their first year of their degree, who are interested in training in Cambridge and looking to develop a long-term career in the region, to apply for our First Year Insight Scheme.
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
Our solicitor apprenticeship
We’re renowned for the support we provide to clients, and we’re equally proud of the support we offer our people. We recognise that the university route is not for everyone, so our Solicitor apprenticeship programme enables you to earn while you learn.
We’re renowned for the support we provide to clients, and we’re equally proud of the support we offer our people. We recognise that the university route is not for everyone, so our solicitor apprenticeship scheme enables you to earn while you learn.
As a solicitor apprentice you’ll join our inclusive culture that allows you to be yourself, with support to help you become who you want to be. We want to support talent from the outset, so we’ll also offer you support as you transition from school to joining the firm.
Our six-year programme has been designed to help you hit the ground running from day one. You'll work towards an LLB (Hons) Law degree and a Solicitor Level 7 Apprenticeship. Each week you'll spend four days working in a practice area on client cases, with one day studying with our training provider, University of Law (ULaw). We'll pay for your apprenticeship tuition fee and during your apprenticeship you'll be eligible for our benefits.
When you begin your apprenticeship, you’ll be matched with an apprentice champion – an associate – who’ll introduce you to colleagues and help you settle in.
Following successful completion of the six-year apprenticeship programme training and exams, you'll have earned an LLB (Hons) Law degree and be a qualified solicitor. Our aim is to offer successful lawyers a newly qualified role in a practice area of their choice.
Applications open on 1 January 2025 and close on 1 March 2025.