Strength Across Practice Areas

Your Training Contract

Your Training Contract

Your first weeks will be spent in a comprehensive induction programme to get you up and running and will include the “core elements” of the Practical Skills Course (PSC) which is run in-house. You will meet partners and associates, as well as colleagues in the HR, marketing, finance, office services, and legal and business research teams. If that sounds like a daunting array, remember that ours is not a huge, faceless office. The intake is small and selective. By the end of the first week you will know all your fellow trainees. Pretty soon, you will know everyone here.

As well as meeting new colleagues, you will learn more about life as a trainee and be shown how to use the firm’s IT, communications, research and billing systems to best effect. Then you are ready to go.

We want you to see as much of the business as possible and actively encourage you to do so. You will spend your training contract in four six-month seats, at least two of which will be in our major departments; corporate and litigation.

As for the other two seats, there are plenty of options. You could try a more specialised area, such as banking, insurance regulatory, employment, competition, IP/IT, real estate, environmental or tax. Or you could be seconded to one of our clients, where you will help foster a deeper relationship by learning their business from the inside out. Alternatively, if you relish the opportunity to work and live abroad, you could do a seat in one of our other offices. We have had trainees on secondments to Dubai, Moscow and Paris.

There is a structured training programme, with workshops and seminars and regular trainees’ meetings where you can discuss projects, raise new developments and add to your knowledge.

You will soon learn that our firm draws together an interesting and sociable mix of people. There are regular drinks, as well as sporting events, and firmwide parties. Trainees also get together for lunches and evening drinks – after all, another benefit of a small intake is that it is easy for everyone to network socially. That is why there is no need for a trainee social committee: you are all on it.

In recognition of the contribution we expect our trainees to make to the firm we offer a competitive salary of £40,000 in the first year and £45,000 in the second year, plus a discretionary performance-related bonus and an attractive benefits package. Our salary on qualification is £75,000.