A training contract is your post-academic transition into the legal profession and the next step to qualifying as a solicitor in the United Kingdom. However, the recruitment process for training contracts can be highly competitive.
For example, law firm Shearman & Sterling receives around 2,000 applications with only 15 places available on the firm’s training programme. This leaves less than 1% of applicants who actually successfully navigate through the recruitment process. Whether you are a student, graduate or career changer, we have compiled 10 tips to help improve your chances of securing a training contract.
Research law firms
The first step is to improve your understanding of the type of law firms that offer training contracts. There are various types of law firms and you will need to identify which one mostly appeals to you.
| City, US and other international law firms | Regional or national firms |
| – International secondments/travel – Fast-paced environment – Large teams – Large modern office environment – Emphasis on corporate and finance work – Clients include banks, multinationals, governments, regulatory bodies and high-net-worth individuals. | – Career flexibility – More client contact and early responsibility – Work/life balance – Smaller office environment – Close-knitted teams – Variety of work, including private client (family, immigration, employment, personal injury, medical negligence etc) |
Once you have identified the type of firm that is the right fit for you, you should make a list of firms you intend to apply to and carry out a thorough research on each of them. Your research should include basic details about the firm (i.e., locations, offices, practise areas, sectors, recent case/deals, clients, competitors, people, awards/achievements, business strategy etc) as well as factors that might influence your decision to work for them (i.e., practice areas, culture, diversity, social responsibility, work/life balance etc). Below are some of the best sources you can use for researching law firms:
- Chambers Student
- Chambers and Partners
- The Lex 100
- Legal 500
- LawCaerrers.Net
- The Lawyer Portal
- TheLawyer.com
- TARGET Jobs
- All About Law
- Legal Cheek
- The Student Lawyer
- Legal Week
- Legal Business
Attend events
Engaging with law firms through events is a great way to gain a unique insight into their culture, learn more about their opportunities, interact with their current trainees and lawyers, and ask questions to their graduate recruitment team. Many firms run insight days, open days and networking events which are free to attend. Some may require you to complete a short application question before offering you a place, so these events can also be competitive. Attending events demonstrates that you have a keen interest in law and that you have taken the initiative to further your understanding of the legal profession. These events can also be included as work experience on your CV or on your application form.
Following an event, it is helpful to connect with the firm on social media and LinkedIn in order to keep up to date with their programmes, and the deadlines for those opportunities. During your search for a training contract, you should make the most of LinkedIn by making sure your profile is up to date and making useful connections with the firms you are interested in.
Work experience
Obtaining legal work experience can help to build your understanding of the role of a trainee solicitor from a practical perspective. Paralegal roles, legal internships, virtual internships, vacation schemes, pro bono work and legal volunteering are some examples of useful legal work experience. Particularly, vacation schemes are important as they are one or two-week placements conducted by law firms with the view of a training contract offer on completion.
Other relevant work experience such as part-time roles in customer services or a commercial environment also help to develop the requisite skills for succeeding during your training contract e.g., communication, teamwork, problem-solving, commercial awareness etc.
Commercial awareness
Developing your commercial awareness is essential as this is an important skill which law firms expect their trainee solicitors to possess. You need to have a good level of understanding of how a law firm works as a business and how the wider market and economy will impact them and their clients. For beginners, it might initially seem difficult or overwhelming. You need to find an approach that works for you, get yourself into a routine and stick to it. Some examples of good places to start learning are:
- Relawding
- ComAware
- Financial Times
- BBC News website
- Wall Street Journal
- The Economist
- Finimize
- Quartz
- Bloomberg
- Podcasts (BBC’s Wake Up To Money, Business Daily, World at One)
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