London Training Contract 2023
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Our lawyers are known for being practical, commercial and relationship driven. They’ve made us a true business partner to our clients while building our reputation as a bold, distinctive law firm. Our two-year training contract will help you develop the same set of skills.
Know this: your two-year training with us is packed with all kinds of exciting opportunities. Four six-month 'seats', rather than six, allow you to:
- experience different areas of law fully
- gain a broad legal perspective
- get a good idea of the field that inspires you most
Two seats will be in our corporate and finance group, and another in one of our litigation teams. For your third or fourth seat, you’ll also have the chance to do an international or client secondment.
International law evolves constantly. So will you. Your training here will push, stretch, test, support, guide and inspire you. You’ll amass world-class technical skills and build legal expertise in the areas you’re passionate about. And that’s just the start. It’s also about personal growth: gaining the confidence to do things differently. To do things like a global game-changer.
From autumn 2021, the route to solicitor qualification is changing. In the future, any graduate, matter what they studied, will need to sit and pass the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). Here’s everything you need to know.
First things first: the LPC will cease to exist in the new qualifying process. The SQE is not a course but a centralised assessment taken in two stages: SQE 1 and SQE 2. SQE 1 tests your legal knowledge and SQE 2 assesses practical legal skills. You'll also need to do two years of qualifying legal work experience (like a training contract) and pass a character and suitability test.
Induction
Your formal training at the firm starts with a two-week induction that equips you for your first seat. It includes preparation for one of the most critical parts of your role – legal research. You’ll learn how to analyse a case, then find, understand and apply the law that relates to it.
The induction also includes our Business and Social Enterprise programme, HL BaSE. This MBA-style training will:
• build your understanding of business and the ever-evolving commercial world
• highlight the effect of positive social impact
• start to embed social entrepreneurship into the way you think about business
Your seats
Over two years, you'll sink your teeth into matters that are complex, high-profile and wide-ranging. We’ll train you how to deliver level-headed advice, and as your understanding of our clients deepens, so will your commercial instincts and sector expertise.
You’ll do four seats across our practice groups – essentially a new area of law, new experiences and new colleagues every six months. We'll work with you to choose your first seat, giving you plenty of guidance, advice and information so you can make an informed decision. From there, we’ll put together a seat plan that takes your preferences into account, alongside the needs of the firm.
On-going development
We'll help you build your expertise with a wealth of resources – including virtual and face to face training courses to build your skill-set and expertise in a host of key areas. As a trainee solicitor, you will undertake foundation courses at the start of each seat, delivered by the Partners, Counsel and Associates in the Practice Area. This ensures you are set up for success from day one in the seat and are learning from experts in the particular area of practice.
The Trainee Development team will support each aspect of your career development and have designed a formal training programme which trainee solicitors complete during their two year training contract. The Trainee Development Programme is designed to develop the interpersonal and technical skills of our trainee solicitors, support their mental health, build their resilience to face professional challenges and fully prepare our trainees in the lead up to qualification as an Associate at Hogan Lovells.
We feel strongly that continued development is critical for our trainee solicitors to have the knowledge, tools and skill-set to operate as an Associate level by the end of their training contract.