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Training Contracts in England

As a trainee, you can join us in London, Manchester or Newcastle. Wherever you join us, as well as exceptional training across your of seats, we’ll support your development in a number of ways. We want to help you thrive so you can enjoy a long and successful career with us.

Before you start your training

We look for diverse people with a broad mix of skills and experience so about half of our trainees come from a law degree background, and about half have studied something different.
If you studied a non-law degree:

You’ll need to begin your journey by completing your Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), which will give you the basic legal foundation to begin your career in law before you start your Legal Practice Course (LPC).
You’ll then need to undertake the Legal Practice Course (LPC).

If you studied a law or a non-law degree:

You’ll need to undertake the Legal Practice Course (LPC), which supplements the core legal training.
Our trainees start the LPC in September, completing a 9-month LPC MSc in Law, Business and Management. All of our LPC students will complete a compulsory Insurance elective, while the other two electives are chosen by you – with our guidance so that you can convert what you have studied into a seat during your training contract.

If you have completed the GDL/LPC prior to securing a Training Contract offer with the firm, you will not be required to have taken any compulsory electives as chosen by the firm. If you have secured a place on the GDL/LPC and are yet to commence, we will provide sponsorship of your fees. If you are part way through the GDL/LPC, we are able to reimburse you on a pro-rata basis from your offer date. Unfortunately, we are unable to reimburse your fees in retrospect.

During Your Training

We’ll make sure you have plenty of support before your training begins – you can look forward to one-to-one sessions with our early careers team covering things like your career preferences; workshops, presentations and training sessions at our offices; an LPC mentoring programme and social events.

 

The Professional Skills Course (PSC) will form the foundation of your professional development as you move forward with your career. It’s supported by various legal, technical and business-focused sessions. In addition to this, you’ll have access to MyDevelopment – an online training resource to support you with your personal and professional development. We also have an extensive training library which will help you to succeed within your role, fulfil your potential and progress your career

 

When the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is introduced, you’ll follow a new path to qualification. We're currently undergoing a thorough review as part of our early careers programme to plan for the transitional arrangements. We’ll make sure you have first-class training, regardless of the route you take. For more information about the SQE please visit the SRA website.

 

These one-to-one meetings with the early careers team are an opportunity for you to engage with us to shape your training programme and future career path. You’ll be able to discuss your goals and future expectations, tell us about your achievements, tap into our expertise and decide upon your future objectives and development needs.

 

You’ll be allocated a mentor from one of our newly qualified lawyers, enabling you to get peer-to-peer support and guidance from someone who’s completed the training contract before you.

 

We know that from time to time our trainees may have things going on outside of work. Our early careers team is always on hand to confidentially help you deal any issues that might adversely impact your work performance, health and well-being.

 

Trainees complete mid-seat appraisals and end of seat appraisals every three months. The purpose of these reviews is to assess the trainee’s overall performance, the development of their skills, identify areas of strength and weakness and agree future objectives and training needs for the next three months. 

Fresh Unity is an online system used by trainees to complete their training contract record and keep track of their skills and experiences in each seat. Supervisors have access to this and sign off their trainees' entries on a regular basis.

Trainee salaries and grants

London and Guildford

  • Year 1: £40,000
  • Year 2: £42,000
  • Newly Qualified: £70,000
  • Maintenance grant for GDL and LPC (if you study in London): £8,000

Manchester

  • Year 1: £26,500
  • Year 2: £28,500
  • Newly Qualified: Competitive
  • Maintenance grant for LPC and GDL: £7,000

Newcastle

  • Year 1 £22,500
  • Year 2: £24,500
  • Newly Qualified: Competitive
  • Maintenance grant for LPC and GDL: £7,000

REWARDS AND BENEFITS

We want you to feel recognised and rewarded for your contribution, so we offer a range of rewards and benefits:

Private medical and dental insurance, including health checks

Pension scheme

Life assurance

Group income protection

Maternity and paternity pay

Childcare vouchers

Holiday purchase

Season ticket loan

Cycle to work scheme

Gym subsidy

APPLY TODAY

If you’ve liked what you’re read and seen about us so far, it’s time to take the next step and make your application.
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