Guide to training contracts 2023

Training contracts are offered by all of the top law firms and provide huge opportunities. This article covers all the key information you need to know about training contracts, from choosing which training contracts to apply for to what they will involve and what happens after you’ve completed it. 

Looking for a training contract? Explore training contract opportunities.

• What is a training contract?
• Who can apply for a training contract?
• How hard is it to get a training contract?
• When to apply for a training contract
• When are training contract application deadlines?
• How to get a training contract
• How to make your training contract application stand out
• Getting a training contract with a 2:2
• Can you become a solicitor without a training contract?
• What does a trainee solicitor do?
• How much are trainee solicitors paid?
• What happens at the end of a training contract?

What is a training contract?

All of the top legal firms offer training contracts to law graduates and to graduates from a non-law background. Completed over a two-year period, training contracts are well structured and offer huge opportunities. During your training contract, you gain many benefits including professional skills development, exposure to a range of legal activities and interesting clients, and a very high probability of continued employment once completed, the retention rate is over 80% in some firms). If you are looking for opportunities to fit around your other commitments, some firms offer part-time training contracts, but these usually take up to double the time as you will be spending less time per week working on your training contract. Training contracts are regulated by the Solicitor’s Regulatory Authority (SRA).

Who can apply for a Training Contract?

To apply for a Training Contract, you must be studying law (UK LLB) or be doing another bachelor's degree followed by a law conversion (GDL). If you are a law (UK LLB) student, you are able to apply in the final year of your undergraduate degree or once you graduate. If you are not a law student, you can apply in the final year of your undergraduate degree, once you have a confirmed place on a law conversion or after you graduate and are completing a law conversion. Around 50% of training solicitors studied a non-law degree programme. 

If you have been working in other sectors and have recently decided on a career in law, don’t worry! Not everyone that ends up making it as an excellent lawyer is absolutely certain this is the path for them from the age of 18. Many firms welcome applications for training contracts from graduates who have studied and then worked in other areas first, for example, banking, publishing or the arts, but subsequently decide that a career in law is for them. Equally, graduates who decide to travel and work on language skills following graduation are also welcome.

It’s not necessary to finish an LPC before starting a training contract. See Legal Cheek for securing a training contract without an LPC. 

How hard is it to get a Training Contract?

Training contracts are highly competitive. Each year there are usually around 30,000 students applying for 5,500 training contracts. Firms are also increasingly hiring for their training contracts through vacation scheme intake. Securing a vacation scheme, therefore, increases your chances of later on getting a training contract. 

Law students must complete a Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) to apply as a trainee solicitor. Non-law students must complete a law conversion course (GDL), many universities offer this course. 

The most important factors to give you the best chance at securing a training contract are:

• Good academic grades
• Excellent writing skills
• Performing well on verbal reasoning tests
• Great commercial awareness

When to apply for a Training Contract

If you’re studying law, you should aim to apply for training contracts in the penultimate year of your studies. If you’re a non-law student, you should plan to apply in the final year of your studies. In general, law firms look to fill their training contract placements two years in advance. 

If it’s too soon for you to apply for a law training contract, you should start researching vacation schemes. Most law firms use vacation schemes as the main recruitment source for training contracts and they recruit up to 90% of trainee solicitors from their vacation schemes.

Most commercial firms tend to interview law students in the September of their final year, though an increasing number of interviews take place earlier. Many candidates are already known to the firm if they took on a vacation scheme with them in their second year.

If a training contract offer is made, it will normally be for two years ahead, for example, an offer made in September 2022 is for a training contract that begins in September 2024. It’s vital to apply in good time and make sure your applications are received by the firms of your choice well in advance of the closing date. Make sure to check the individual firm's application opening and closing dates.

When are Training Contract application deadlines?

The application deadline for most training contracts is the 31st of July, although they may change at the last minute and some firms have earlier deadlines such as May or June. In general, we recommend you apply sooner rather than later. This is because some firms may recruit on a rolling basis while others may interview you before the deadline window has passed. Submitting an early application ensures you won’t miss out. 

Check the key dates for law training contracts. 

How to get a Training Contract

This section will discuss the many things you can do to increase the likelihood of securing a training contract. 

The first factor for you to consider is which training contracts suit your personality and interests best. There are many available, so it’s worth thinking about different factors that might influence which one suits your personality and interests. 

As an undergraduate law student, considering the wide range of training contract opportunities available can seem daunting. If you have decided to become a solicitor, you need to secure a training contract or legal work experience to complete your two-year compulsory period of training work for the SQE.

We've pulled together five important considerations.

1. Practice areas

Practice areas are crucial to your decision in deciding which firm to apply for a training contract at. There’s a big difference between studying law and practising it, so consider which sectors are of interest to you and explore firms that specialise in this area.

Larger firms tend to cover a wide range of practice areas including corporate real estate, finance litigation, employment and tax. Spend some time doing research about the different departments within the firms you are applying to and learn more about it so you’re able to talk passionately about why a particular practice area interests you. 

2. Client base

Spend some time thinking about the type of clients you want to work for, and the relationships you can build with them. High-profile firms tend to have high-profile clients, especially Magic Circle firms.

On the other hand, you might be more interested in working for smaller clients, which, due to the smaller team, may give you more exposure to more senior members of the organisation. When working for a smaller firm, you are likely to gain a large amount of responsibility pretty quickly, so your input will be visible.

3. Culture and size

The culture and size of a firm are often impacted by the practice areas and client base they work with. Larger firms tend to advise global organisations and will employ thousands of staff meaning the social scene amongst trainees is particularly vibrant.

The work is complex, and contracts are high value meaning you work long hours in intense, high-energy environments. Instead, you might also want to consider a training contract with a boutique law firm famous for offering specialist advice in a particular area like IT or media. When considering culture, it’s worth contemplating the kind of work-life balance you want to achieve. Magic Circle law firms mean long hours, so although you will have some time for socialising, this tends to be with clients and colleagues. 

4. Location

Have a think about where you would like your training contract to be based. If you love city living, perhaps you are keen to pursue your career in a city and be remunerated with a generous salary. The largest firms are based in London, so there are plenty of opportunities there, as well as all the excitement that a capital city has to offer. However, London isn’t everyone’s first choice, so you might think about applying to a firm outside of London with more sociable working hours and a less pressurised environment.

5. Structure of Training Contracts

Training contracts are structured in different ways across different firms. Typically, you complete six-month placements in different departments across the two-year programme. Some firms choose to have shorter seats in more departments, whilst others place you in one seat for longer than six months. If you're unsure of which practice area you want to specialise in, consider applying to firms where you gain greater exposure to different departments. 

Deciding which firms to apply to is a big decision, so make sure you have done your research before submitting any applications. Read about the wide range of firms that we are partnered with at Bright Network, including CMS Cameron McKenna, Allen & Overy, Hogan Lovells, Taylor Wessing and many more. Make sure to use any programmes your university may offer to give you a step up to securing a training contract.

To be ready to apply, make sure you prepare your CV in advance and have it checked over. This helps you have an outstanding CV to put you in with the best chance of securing the training contract you are after. Take a look at how to write a CV and how to make your CV stand out. Bright Network's Law CV template gives you the building blocks to create your own stand-out CV.

To be in with the highest chance of getting a training contract, it’s beneficial to have other related experiences to talk about. This may be a vacation scheme, pro bono work or working as a paralegal.

Commercial awareness is crucial when being interviewed for training contracts. You can demonstrate your commercial awareness by being able to discuss legal, economic and geopolitical issues about the firm’s clients. Specific examples are really beneficial as well as being able to maintain an engaging discussion on the topics. It may be beneficial to look at news sources such as BBC business, City AM and the Financial Times. 

You can also get up to scratch with these key insights from industry experts:

• Understanding how to finance a deal
• Understanding how to purchase a business
• Understanding buyer protection
• Understanding contracts
• Understanding security
• Understanding insolvency

You can check out some great advice from Bright Network members who've already secured training contracts with big employers:

• Graduate insight into securing a training contract with White & Case
• Graduate insight into securing a training contract at Herbert Smith Freehills
• Advice on securing an internship at Clifford Chance
• Day in the life of a trainee solicitor

How to make your Training Contract application stand out 

After the initial application of a CV and cover letter along with potentially some application questions, you will be asked to attend an interview. Preparation is key to ensuring your interview stands out from all the others and to giving you the best chance at getting offered a training contract. 

1. Motivation

Those interviewing you want to know that you really want to be a lawyer and that you want to work with them in particular. This means you need to do your research on the specifics of that firm before.  Make sure you show knowledge of the work they do and have good reasons for wanting to work there. To display evidence of your motivation, this would be the time to dig deep and bring up any legal work experience you have done and any extra-curricular legal activity you did during your degree. If you’ve done a vacation scheme with the same firm, they are likely to bring that up, so make sure you can demonstrate how you profited from your time there. Think in advance about what you did well during that vacation scheme and areas on which you know you could improve. Self-awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses shows highly valued qualities.

2. Commercial awareness

If you are applying to work at a commercial law firm, then you need an idea of what actually goes on in the business. However, commercial awareness can seem like a maddeningly vague thing to grasp.

In essence, you need to understand the role that commercial law plays in the world and what factors affect it. Find out what areas of business the firm operates in, then start getting better acquainted with the goings-on in those areas while making sure you don’t get caught out with the jargon. A start on this is being aware.

Brush up on your commercial awareness with the Thinking Commercially podcast - get the commercial awareness updates you need from commercial awareness guru, Chris Stoakes in hour-long episodes. Perfect for busy lawyers on the go!

3. Competence

Law firms want to see the skills you possess beyond academics. Required competencies may vary a little, but most lawyers rely on things like communication, resilience, teamwork, persuasiveness, people skills, lateral thinking and creative problem-solving. Learn more about transferable skills. 

Try to have examples to hand of occasions when you have shown these sorts of skills. For example, they may want to know about a time you’ve been in a leadership position or worked in a team. Part-time work at university or society activity can come in useful, giving you a good bank of experience to draw from.

Finally, while keeping all of that in your head, remember to relax, if you can. They also want to get a sense of what it would be like to work with you, so remember to be punctual, polite and have a personality.

Getting a training contract with a 2:2

Although securing a training contract with a 2:2 or lower qualifications may be more difficult, it’s not impossible. Be sure to explain your circumstances and motivations for applying for the training contract in a standout cover letter that really displays what you can offer to the company. However, law firms are increasingly moving away from viewing a first or 2:1 as essential and are focusing more on transferable skills and experiences. 

Be sure to apply for vacation schemes and any other relevant work experience as a backup.

Can you become a solicitor without a Training Contract?

It isn’t necessary to get a training contract to become a solicitor. The other route to becoming a lawyer instead of the LPC (completing a training contract) is passing the SQE and completing two years of qualifying experience. The SQE is a series of examinations split into two parts. 

What does a trainee solicitor do?

As a trainee solicitor, you do a variety of different jobs within the firm. This may include attending meetings with clients, going to court proceedings and running administrative tasks. You may also draft legal contracts and negotiations such as NDAs, contracts and submissions. However, as each firm is very different, the work performed may be entirely varied depending on which law firm you’re doing your training contract with.

Training contract seats 

Within your training contract, you work within different departments of the firm, called seats. Generally, you do either four six-month seats or six four-month seats throughout the course of your training contract, but this is dependent on the law firm. 

Training contract secondments

Training contract secondments are periods of around 6 months during a training contract where a trainee solicitor temporarily moves to another department or company. At some law firms, there is an option to do your secondment abroad. This provides an opportunity to develop your experience in the industry while also experiencing a new place. Secondments are different to seats as seats are the different departments you’ll work in throughout your training contract where as a secondment is a temporary time spent working for a different company or department. 

Professional skills courses

The professional skills course (PSC) is the final compulsory aspect of training to be a solicitor. It consists of three compulsory core modules which take 48 hours over 8 days. They cover key areas of practice. Then there are four days, 24 hours, of elective module training to suit areas of interest. In total, this is 12 days, 72 hours, of training. 

Your first PSC is paid for by your firm. However, it should be noted that if you fail the course, you must pay to retake it. 

How much are trainee solicitors paid?

The pay for a training contract will depend on the firm you are working for as well as where it’s located. You generally earn a minimum of £21,000 per year outside of London and a minimum of £24,000 inside London. However, the salary can be as high as £50,000. 

What happens at the end of a training contract?

The majority of training contracts finish with a job offer at the end and you as a qualified solicitor. Once you qualify, you take on more responsibility and increase your client contact. For lots of aspiring solicitors, the end goal is to become a partner. Many firms are owned and run by a group of partners who are responsible for bringing in new work, handling clients and managing the firm’s direction. Partnership is not for everyone though. Many solicitors stay as in-house lawyers for companies and charities or remain working as senior assistants.

If you don’t receive the offer at the end of the training contract, you can always apply the next year! 

Key takeaways

To conclude, both law and non-law students are eligible to apply for training contracts. Just be sure to choose the right firms to apply to and prepare your CV and cover letter in advance of application season to be in with the best chance of success. Partaking in vacation schemes is a great way to boost the likelihood of being offered a training contract. 

At the end of the training contract and the Professional Skills Course (PSC), you are a fully qualified solicitor! After this, you may want to consider what seats of your training contract you performed best in to inform the route of law you’d like your career to take.