Applications for this job open on 1 Jun 2027
Every trainee’s journey is different but you can be confident you’ll be playing a meaningful role on some of the most exciting cases in the world as you learn from the top legal minds. After your training contract, you’ll have the technical skills, industry-recognised qualifications and the experience to become an exceptional lawyer.
During your two-year training contract, you’ll rotate through four seats across different practice groups. This means you’ll move around our business to experience different areas of law and work alongside new colleagues every six months as you find the area you want to pursue. Our training contract is structured so you can be immersed in our work almost immediately and develop your skills in the only way that really matters: on live projects for real clients taking real responsibility.
SQE
The City Consortium is a group of six leading, global law firms: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, Linklaters, Norton Rose Fulbright and Slaughter and May. The role of City lawyers has transformed, going beyond technical expertise to become trusted business advisers who have the ability and confidence to operate and build relationships in a commercial setting.
The introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) has given the City Consortium the opportunity to transform how we train our trainees to succeed in this fast-paced and rapidly evolving environment. We value education and believe that by investing in you, our future trainees, before you join us and by giving you the time and space to learn, you will be able to make a meaningful contribution to practice from day one.
The exams are designed to test your knowledge across a wide range of law and practice (SQE1) as well as your core legal skills (SQE2). Above and beyond the SQE, we have partnered with BPP to create a unique and market-leading Plus Programme designed to prepare you for practice as a City lawyer.
BaSE
Before you get started with your seats, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive one-week induction. You’ll learn skills that will underpin your personal growth and professional success for years to come. We’ll help you prepare for your first seat so you can dive straight in.
Later in your first seat, you’ll also complete our award-winning BaSE training, a mini-MBA style course for our trainees to develop their commercial skills and social impact.
Qualifying work experience
During your two-year training contract you’ll rotate through different seats. You’ll build on your skills as you go, learning how to deliver level-headed advice to clients and deepen your commercial instincts and sector expertise. Across your four seats you will be expected to complete one seat in each of the following areas; 1) Finance, 2) Corporate/Global Regulatory 3) Litigation. We also have a number of client and international secondment opportunities which you can put yourself forward for in your 2nd, 3rd or 4th seat, dependent on visa restrictions. Each of these will last six months and will help you scope out where your interests lie and which area best matches your developing skill set.
Secondments
In your 2nd, 3rd or 4th seat (dependent on visa restrictions) you’ll have the opportunity to apply for a secondment to an international office or work with a client and see law from an entirely new perspective. You’ll be exposed to a new environment and come out of it with experience and skills you’ll draw on for the rest of your career.
On an international secondment, you’ll join a new team, experience life in a new city and see what the term "global law" really means. We currently offer trainees a secondment in Washington DC, Frankfurt, Dubai, Hong Kong, New York, Paris and Singapore. The world of law is your oyster.
Client secondments are your opportunity to sharpen your commercial edge as you understand how leading businesses work from the inside. It’s an irreplaceable chance to see the world through our clients’ eyes which will make you invaluable to other clients throughout your career.
Am I eligible to apply?
To apply for a training contract, you must allow sufficient time to complete your Law Conversion course (*if relevant) and/or your SQE exams before the training contract starts. If you are still an undergraduate student you’ll need to be in at least the penultimate year of a law degree (of England & Wales) or in the final year of a non-law degree to apply.
*All future trainees who have not completed a degree in the law of England & Wales will need to complete the Law Conversion course.
You will need a 2:1 (predicted or obtained) or above in your bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent international grade. We also look for (at least) AAB at A Level or equivalent.
Our training contract application window for training contracts commencing in September 2029 or March 2030 opens on 1 June 2027 and closes on 17 July 2027.
Salary
Year 1 - £56,000
Year 2 – £61,000
London NQ salary - £145,000
