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Training contract

Posted 26 Mar 2024
Work experience
0 to 2 years
Full-time / part-time
Full-time
Job function
Degree level
Required language
English (Fluent)
Start date
1 January 2020

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Slaughter and May is one of the most prestigious law firms in the world. We advise on high-profile and often landmark international transactions. Our excellent and varied client list ranges from governments to entrepreneurs, from retailers to entertainment companies and from conglomerates to Premier League football clubs. We are a full service law firm to corporate clients and have leading practitioners across a wide range of practice areas including Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate and Commercial, Financing, Tax, Competition, Dispute Resolution, Real Estate, Pensions and Employment, Financial Regulation, Information Technology and Intellectual Property.

A world of difference

There are clear differences between us and other global law firms.

At Slaughter and May we train each of our lawyers to be a multi- specialist equipped to advise on a broad range of legal matters, which at other firms would be handled by a number of different lawyers. We think that by broadening your training and experience, you will be a better lawyer. We have built a reputation for delivering innovative solutions to difficult problems. This reputation has been earned because each of our lawyers advises on broad legal areas, combining experience gained on one type of transaction to solve problems in another. In this way, our lawyers have a varied and interesting workload and ample opportunities to develop close relationships with clients.

Much of our work has an international element and we have offices in London, Brussels, Hong Kong and Beijing. In other jurisdictions we prefer to remain agile by leading unified, hand-picked teams of lawyers from market-leading law firms. All the firms we work with across the world have a reputation for excellence and independence that mirrors our own.

At Slaughter and May we also take a different approach to time; there are no set billing or time targets. Some ideas take a matter of seconds but can save companies millions of pounds a year. The type of work we do is not always measurable in minutes. In this way, our lawyers are free to work collaboratively, sharing expertise and knowledge, so that they can concentrate on what matters most – the quality of the work and client service.

The Training Contract

During the two-year training contract, trainees turn their hand to a broad range of work, taking an active role in four, five or six legal groups while sharing an office with a partner or experienced associate. All trainees spend at least two six-month seats in our market leading corporate, commercial and financing groups. Subject to gaining some contentious experience, they choose how to spend the remaining time.

Our overseas offices and close working relationships with market-leading law firms in other jurisdictions mean there are opportunities for trainees to apply for a secondment in their second year. Recent secondments have included Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Dubai, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Madrid, Milan, Munich, New York, Oslo, Paris, Singapore, Stockholm, Tokyo and Toronto.

We have approximately 80 vacancies for trainee solicitors each year. Starting salaries begin at £44,000 for the first year of training, and rise to £49,000 in the second year. We look for candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds with a high 2:1 at undergraduate level from any university, and take an equal mix of law and non-law graduates.

What do we look for?

Our trainees come from a range of universities – it is the quality of the candidate, not the university that is important to us. We like people with:

  • a sharp intellect
  • independent thought and curiosity
  • commercial awareness
  • energy, spark and commitment
  • he ability to relate to others
  • common sense and judgement
  • integrity
  • a range of interests outside of the law
  • an interesting take on things
  • resolve and the ability to show grit under pressure
  • a good sense of humour
  • a willingness to take on responsibility

How to apply:

Applications can be made via our online system, which can be accessed from our website http://www.slaughterandmay.com/careers.aspx. Candidates are required to complete a short application form, to which they must attach a covering letter and CV including a full breakdown of their examination results.

Applications for our Law 2020 intake are now open and will close on 31 July 2018, at 23:59 (BST).

All penultimate year Law students (of a qualifying England and Wales Law degree), finalists and graduates are eligible to apply. If you are a penultimate year student, you should apply once you have your latest assessment/exam results.

We encourage applications as early as possible within our application windows. Interviews will be scheduled and training contract offers will be made on a rolling basis. We are therefore unable to guarantee the availability of places as we progress with these interviews. From time to time, we may have places available to start in an earlier intake than advertised. If you are eligible to start in an earlier intake, this can be discussed during your training contract interview and at point of offer.

Non Law (finalists and graduates)

Applications for our Non Law 2020 intake have now closed. Applications for our 2021 intake will open in October 2018.

Slaughter and May is one of the most prestigious law firms in the world. We advise on high-profile and often landmark international transactions. Our excellent and varied client list ranges from governments to entrepreneurs, from retailers to entertainment companies and from conglomerates to Premier League football clubs.
We are a full service law firm to corporate clients and have leading…


Slaughter and May is one of the most prestigious law firms in the world. We advise on high-profile and often landmark international transactions. Our excellent and varied client list ranges from governments to entrepreneurs, from retailers to entertainment companies and from conglomerates to Premier League football clubs.

We are a full service law firm to corporate clients and have leading practitioners across a wide range of practice areas including Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate and Commercial, Financing, Tax, Competition, Dispute Resolution, Real Estate, Pensions and Employment, Financial Regulation, Information Technology and Intellectual Property.

Clients need us to ensure that the service we offer is cutting edge, both in terms of harnessing latest market developments, such as legal tech, as well as the quality of our advice. We are committed to a forward thinking, innovative approach to legal service delivery to complement the best in class, business focused advice on which our reputation is built.

We take great store in drawing strength from diversity. With 103 different degree courses from 65 different universities and 44 nationalities represented among our lawyers, our culture is extremely broad.

Legal
London
1,210 employees

What employees are saying

Abigail Westby

Trainee

Abigail Westby

How did you get your job?
I started off as a nursing cadet working for the NHS. As I slowly became more interested in the legislative structure behind our country’s healthcare system as opposed to nursing itself, I couldn’t help but think how interesting it would be to…

Loye Oyedotun

Trainee

Loye Oyedotun

A day in the life of a trainee:
9:00am: I start the day by grabbing breakfast from the staff restaurant and head to my desk in one of the firm’s three financing groups. I skim the Financial Times, check the to-do list which I made the evening before…