Your training contract

Your training will be based on three or six month rotations (known as 'seats') through a number of departments or practice areas, where you will sit with a partner or an associate.

Soon after you start your training contract (where you will have had the chance to choose your first seat) you'll meet with Laura Cowan, our HR Manager for Trainees, to create a seat plan tailored to your interests and aspirations.  In addition by choosing your seats you'll discuss the length of individual seats, and explore the possibilities of international or client secondments.  You'll also nominate a "priority seat" which means you'll be guaranteed experience in a chosen department (subject to business need).  Seats are available in all our practice areas, allowing trainees to experience the full range of work we do, with the priority seat system enabling you to spend time in an area that is of particular interest.

Our core areas of expertise are Banking, Corporate and International Capital Markets and as a trainee you will spend at least twelve months of your training contract gaining experience in at least two of these areas.  Our trainees also need to gain contentious experience during their training contract which they do in our Litigation department.  We now offer our trainees the option of completing a Litigation course to gain their contentious experience if they are sure their interests lie elsewhere.  The course is run by Nottingham Law School and consists of five days' tuition and regular visits to a legal advice centre throughout your training contract to gain practical contentious experience (and provide valuable pro bono help).

We currently offer 37 international seats in 21 of our offices and trainees usually apply for secondments for the final six months of their training contract. International secondments are useful as they provide trainees with an awareness of cultural and regional differences, which is especially important as most of the work we do is cross-border and international.

We also offer a number of client secondments, which enable our trainees to better understand our clients' businesses, by working alongside them.  These secondments normally take place in the second year of training.

Alongside their day-to-day work, we encourage our trainees to get involved with pro bono and community projects.  As a trainee you could become involved in a number of pro bono initiatives such as giving free legal advice at the Battersea Legal Advice Centre evening surgery or working for organisations such as Interights.  Last year, approximately three-quarters of our trainees got involved with one of our pro bono initiatives.  Click here to find out more about our pro bono work.