Slaughter and May | Great Minds Think Differently

At Slaughter and May, we don't pigeonhole our lawyers - all are trained to advise on the full range of work within their practice area, gaining experience across different types of work while developing the deep expertise needed to advise on complex, high-profile and ground-breaking matters. This is in sharp contrast to the experience that you might have at other City firms where, as a trainee or solicitor apprentice in, say, a finance group, you may well work in a very narrow area, repeating the same type of transaction many times over.

As a trainee or solicitor apprentice in one of our groups, this means that you will work on the full range of transactions on which the group advises. In a corporate group, for example, one month you could help guide a client through the defence of a hostile takeover and the next you could be advising that same client on an equity issue. In dispute resolution, you could attend a hearing on a civil litigation matter in the morning, then meet a client to prepare for a mediation that afternoon.

We believe this makes for a far more fulfilling career. It provides challenge and interest, exactly what great minds need. It means that you develop technical excellence, commercial awareness and professional judgement from an early stage, which will support your career long term.

It also allows you to develop deeper relationships with clients, because you get to know their businesses better, and means you can provide advice on their most complex, strategic work as well as their day-to-day legal issues

That said, it is hard work. You have to cover more ground and we set exacting standards for our work and performance. But with our collegiate approach, the support is always there. Although we record time, our lawyers have no billing or time targets - creating a collaborative environment where expertise, time and knowledge are willingly shared.

Much of our work has an international element and we provide seamless legal advice to our clients wherever they operate through longstanding relationships with leading law firms worldwide.

As a trusted adviser to some of the largest global companies, we support our clients wherever they operate, bringing together the right expertise across jurisdictions, sectors and markets when needed. To do this, we have established longstanding relationships with leading law firms around the world, and we work with these, handpicked to meet the needs of each matter, to deliver seamless and integrated legal advice.

For trainees, this means exposure to international work from an early stage. You will work with clients operating on a global stage and develop an understanding of the trends and issues shaping businesses around the world, helping you build commercial awareness and a broader perspective. On average, we work with more than 200 law firms across 100 countries each year, so you will see first-hand how we collaborate with leading law firms across jurisdictions to help clients navigate opportunities and challenges wherever they arise. You’ll also gain insight into different markets, cultures and legal systems, while developing the judgement and adaptability our clients value.

Many of our trainees and associates also have the opportunity to work abroad, either in our offices or in one of our global relationship firms. We believe that our secondments are especially beneficial because they give our lawyers the chance to experience a working culture very different from our own. We also host an intake of secondees from our overseas relationship firms twice yearly in our London office, giving our own lawyers a chance to meet and work alongside peers from around the world on a day-to-day basis.

Our culture is built on collaboration, trust and diversity of experience and thought, creating an inclusive environment in which our people achieve excellence through collective effort and shared expertise. For trainees and apprentices, this means that from the start, you are part of a firm where colleagues willingly share their time and expertise. Without billing or time targets, our lawyers are encouraged to focus on delivering the best outcomes for clients and supporting each other's development, fostering a strong sense of belonging and teamwork.

You will also build your career somewhere people stay and grow. Of the partners in London, a large proportion joined as trainees, others worked as associates here before being elected to our partnership. There have been just two lateral partner hires in London – generally we do not elect anyone from outside the firm directly into partnership. This in itself fosters unity. It is a lockstep partnership: we have never merged with another firm, and we grow together by working for our mutual benefit.

We also support each other by respecting autonomy through trust. For us, the quality of the work takes precedence over how long it takes - we place our emphasis less on how work is done and more on the fact that it is done - on time and to the highest standard. For trainees and apprentices, this means that you will be encouraged to take responsibility, think independently and focus on delivering work to the highest standard, with the support and guidance needed to develop your confidence and judgement.

We encourage all of our people to take personal responsibility to help us achieve our responsible business objectives and commitments, and many of our lawyers are involved in our pro bono opportunities to use their legal skills to make a positive social impact.

We have eleven employee networks, which are open to everyone. Collectively, they form a Network of Networks that work collaboratively with each other and the firm to create a more open-minded and inclusive working environment.