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At Burges Salmon we firmly believe our people are our greatest asset and this is reflected in the time and care we invest in you.
Our trainees are exposed to an extensive range of work from the very beginning of their career with seat opportunities ranging from banking and real estate to dispute resolution and private client. Here are a few more reasons why trainees like our approach:
Six seat training programme
On joining us, most trainees have yet to decide on where they want to qualify; the opportunity to experience additional departments can make all the difference. While traditional training contracts offer four seat rotations, our six seat approach is designed to provide you with a greater range of experience allowing you to become an expert in many fields. This approach builds confidence, commercial awareness and adaptability from the outset.
Throughout your training contract you should expect to spend some time in real estate and dispute resolution. Aside from this there is a great deal of flexibility in where your training contract takes you. Within each seat you will be encouraged to take work from right across the department, ensuring you gain a breadth of experience in each area. Your final seat will normally be spent in your qualification department, meaning you have four months to settle in before starting your career as a newly qualified solicitor.
Secondment opportunities to major clients
We believe in nurturing talent which is one of the reasons we offer secondments. We also believe that commercial awareness, adaptability and people skills are what set a good lawyer apart from a great one.
As well as giving trainees and lawyers a three dimensional view of the profession at large, secondments are an invaluable opportunity to learn more about our clients. Recent secondments have included working with The Crown Estate, HSBC, John Lewis Partnership, Lloyds Banking Group, National Express and Virgin Enterprises.
Secondments have also extended to working with our preferred firm network, a non-exclusive group of like-minded leading independent firms around the world, involving a mix of cultural and legal education which benefits your overall career as a lawyer.
What we're looking for...
What all of our people have in common is an enthusiasm for the law and a drive to deliver top quality work for our clients. You’ll also need:
- Academics: a 2:1 degree in any discipline.
- Ability to work within a team: we have a collaborative culture so an ability to work well with colleagues and clients is essential.
- Drive and resilience: becoming a solicitor is hard work. We want to see people who are proven self-starters and are able to overcome setbacks.
- Analysis and judgement: our work can be complex and demanding. We need people with analytical minds who aren't afraid to share their own opinions.
- Communication: we are looking for people who can convey complicated messages easily and efficiently.
- Common sense: we are looking for people with an ability to apply their legal knowledge in a practical way that is useful for our clients.
Career progression
You won't find a restrictive hierarchy at Burges Salmon. Throughout your training contract you will be an integral part of the team, working alongside lawyers who are experts in their field and sharing a room with a supervisor who will support your growth and development. Working with a range of associates, senior associates and partners means you hit the ground running and experience a real variety of work from a range of personalities.
We invest greatly in recruiting and developing our trainee solicitors and we aim to retain them all on qualification. We set realistic recruitment targets based on future business needs and aim to take on the number of trainee solicitors that we will require in the future. Over the last five years our average retention rate on qualification is 97%, which is well above the industry average.
Your personal and professional development does not end on completion of your training contract; training and support continues at every stage of your career within and outside the law, which may be why 37% of our partners trained at the firm.
GDL, LPC or SQE sponsorship
The Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) is the new route to qualification which will be introduced from September 2021. Our 2024 trainee intake will be our first intake to qualify through the new SQE route. We will support any future trainees who are due to join us in 2024 and beyond in the completion of the Post Graduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) and the SQE Plus preparation course with the University of Law. For more information please go to our application FAQs page.
