Training Contract
Our bespoke training contract has been designed to provide you with the opportunities and skills needed to become a confident and competent legal professional. You will rotate around four different seats, each lasting 6 months, gaining invaluable experience in multiple areas of commercial law. You will spend one seat in our Global Loans or Global Markets practice, and one seat in one of our transactional practices. The additional two seats will be spent gaining experience across our broad-range of practice areas, or on a client or international secondment.
On day one of your training contract you will be introduced to your trainee buddy who will be on hand to support you while you settle into the firm and beyond. You will spend the first 2 weeks taking part in a tailor-made induction, learning more about our firm, our practices and our expectations of you as a trainee. As you move into each seat you will be taken through comprehensive training to prepare you for the 6 months ahead, along with a handover with your trainee predecessor. You will be paired with an experienced and dedicated supervisor who will support you as you grow in experience.
Our experienced Early Careers team will work with you throughout your training contract to ensure you are on the right trajectory for qualification. You will have direct access to our Learning and Development team who are dedicated to ensuring you receive full and thorough training throughout your training contract.
Insights from Tiegan and Tom
Explore our latest video featuring insights from Tiegan Cormie and Tom Segev, who are currently honing their skills as trainees in our London office.
Our Training Contract is designed to provide comprehensive and structured training that prepares you for a successful career in law.
In this video, they share their initial attraction to the legal industry, reasons for choosing Ashurst, and what they find rewarding about working with us.
They also give viewers a sneak peek into their daily routine, the types of projects they are involved in, the skills they are developing, and the work culture at our firm.
Post-graduate sponsorship
All our future trainees attend the University of Law to complete post graduate study. If you haven't yet completed a law degree you will undertake the Post Graduate Diploma in Law (PGDL), which is a replacement of the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), before moving on to complete an LLM Legal Practice Course (SQE 1&2) which is unique to Ashurst and is a replacement of the previously known Legal Practice Course (LPC). We offer the following benefits to future joiners who have not yet completed post graduate study:
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Non-law students completing PGDL will receive a bursary to study at the University of Law along with a £10,000 maintenance grant (£9,000 if you study the PGDL at a University of Law campus outside London).
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All students yet to complete LLM Legal Practice Course (SQE 1&2) will receive a bursary to study at University of Law, Moorgate branch, along with a £17,000 maintenance grant.
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Interest-free loans of £2,000, repayable in instalments once you start your training contract.
What we can offer you
Keeping in touch
Once you receive an offer you will join our network of Future Trainees and will be included in our Keeping in Touch Programme, run by our Early Careers team and a committee of current trainees. You will be invited to attend bi-annual events and will be kept up-to-date with firm developments.
Quality training
You'll work alongside, and learn from, some of the most talented professionals in the industry. From our dedicated Learning & Development team to our knowledgeable and experienced expertise lawyers, you will have access to quality and meaningful training throughout your training contract.
Inclusive culture
You’ll be part of a close-knit, diverse and ambitious cohort of trainee solicitors, and work first-hand with our energised and collaborative people who are experts in their field. You'll have your voice heard and have the opportunity to champion change through our numerous diversity networks.
Secondment opportunities
Our global reach brings you the opportunity to spend 6 months of your training contract working in one of our international offices, with access to language lessons to support your experience. You will also have the opportunity to gain the unique and invaluable experience of spending 6 months working in-house for one of our long-standing clients.
Trainee salary
First Year Salary: £52,000 Second Year Salary £57,000
The recruitment process
Applications are open to finalists and graduates of all degree disciplines, as well as penultimate year law students. To qualify, you should be on track to achieve a 2.1 in your undergraduate degree.
If you haven't met this criteria and there are mitigating circumstances, there will be an opportunity for you to provide us with this information on your application.
Our online application form allows you to showcase your talent, your passion for the industry and your knowledge of our firm. You will have the opportunity to share your insights into the legal industry and more details about yourself.
We do not recruit on a rolling basis and will review all applications after our closing date. Candidates can expect to hear an update in relation to their application in mid to late May 2024.
Note:
You cannot apply for both a vacation schemes and a training contract in the same recruitment window. We would ask that you only apply for one opportunity during the recruitment window. If you complete a vacation scheme with us, you will be interviewed for a training contract at the end of the scheme.
Once applications close, you will receive an invitation to complete an online Psychometric Assessment.
If your initial application is successful, you will complete a written case study online which will be facilitated by a member of our Early Careers team, designed to test your analytical and problem solving skills.
You will then join us in our London office to take part in a competency based interview with a HR representative and associate/senior associate from one of our practice areas.
You will have the opportunity to meet with our current trainees and take part in an office tour to give you an insight into life at the firm.
If you're successful, you will take part in an hour long interview with two of our partners. Alongside behavioural interview questions you will also be asked a series of questions about a case study which will be provided to you to review 15 minutes prior to your interview time. This is to test your analytic and commercial skills, and your ability to think on your feet.
We are committed to making all stages of our recruitment process accessible to candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions. If you consider yourself to have a disability or a long-term health condition, please feel able to be open about this at any point during the recruitment process. If you are not sure what adjustments you require, we will work with you to establish the most suitable adjustments at each stage of the recruitment process. Please note that our online application form includes a section which allows you to advise us of any extenuating circumstances that are relevant for us to consider when reviewing your application form.
If you would like to talk to a member of the team in relation to any queries you may have on your disability or long-term health condition and the recruitment process, please get in touch. Any information disclosed on your disability will remain strictly confidential.
Key dates
Applications open
Monday 6th January 2025
Applications close
Friday 28th March 2025, 12 noon
Interviews conducted
First stage interviews conducted: May
Second stage interviews conducted: June/July
Events
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Come and meet us!
Read moreCome and meet us!
Register to meet us at the following event:
Legal Cheek: Solicitor Apprentices share insights into life in law (yrs 1-3)
21st January 2025 | 4:30pm – 6pm | How to Register
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Commercial Awareness and Legal Tech - Saba Nasrolahi
"Commercial Awareness needs to be grown organically so that you are able to use it practically and genuinely"
Read more
Trainee Insights by Kelsey Reid-Jones
Kelsey discusses her journey to Ashurst and life as a member of the Global Loans team.
Read moreTestimonials
"Ashurst is a place where high calibre work and high quality clients are a given. As a bonus I have had the opportunity to work in an innovative, collaborative environment with peers and seniors who have become not only my friends but my mentors."
Marisa, Trainee Solicitor 2023
"The work has been great and I've definitely had some interesting experiences on the programme such as attending a settlement meeting in the Cheesegrater building! The culture at Ashurst also really makes it stand out for me. One highlight is the annual Mardi Gras drag show event held here at the office which is always super fun and really shines a light on the firm's diverse and inclusive culture."
Alexandra, Trainee Solicitor 2023
Early Careers podcast mini-series
Tom Segev
In our debut episode, trainee Tom shares his journey to joining Ashurst's trainee program, from studying history at the University of Warwick to working at a music label, Tom details his decision-making process between pursuing music law and commercial law, and along the way highlights how he navigated these choices.
Divya Deivanayagam & Aoife Weir
Junior associates Aoife and Divya share their enriching experiences of international and client trainee secondments. They explain the secondment process from their respective secondments, with Aoife working at BP in the gas and low carbon energy team, and Divya experiencing life in Ashurst’s Tokyo office.
Saba Nasrolahi
In this third episode of the series, final seat trainee Saba Nasrolahi share her insights and personal experiences applying the crucial skill of commercial awareness in both her application and early career work experience at Ashurst.
Khadija Patel & Nick Hwong
In this episode of the series, trainees Khadija and Nick bring a host of insights and tips to help those considering a career in commercial law navigate their way through the competitive world of legal training applications.
Applicant Resource Hub
For answers to all your frequently asked questions and information on application & interview tips, the benefits we provide, life at Ashurst, our L&D programmes, and our IDB initiatives.
Visit hub
Inclusion, Diversity & Belonging
Our inclusive and diverse culture stands at the heart of everything we do. For more information on our initiatives and the support we provide please follow the link below.
More informationContact us
If you can’t find answers to your questions on this page or on the Applicant Resource Hub then please contact our Early Careers team.
Agencies
Agency submissions and candidate introductions will only be accepted with prior approval from a member of the Ashurst Talent Acquisition team. To submit or introduce a candidate, an agency must have valid agreed terms of business in place with Ashurst. Any agency submissions or candidate introductions made without prior approval or without the agreed terms of business in place will be considered invalid.
Diversity
We are committed to offering a safe and welcoming environment for our employees and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. With diversity and inclusion at the heart of what we do we place a strong emphasis on working with people from diverse communities and aim to make a positive impact through our Social Impact programmes.
Speak up!
Ashurst is committed to ensuring an accountable workplace culture. Candidates are encouraged to report any ethical or conduct concerns to our confidential email address: ethics.counsel@ashurst.com.
Please note that this email address should not be used for general enquiries about, or applications for, job positions available at Ashurst as they will not be passed onto the relevant team. Any recruitment enquires should be directed to globalresourcing@ashurst.com.
Privacy Policy UK
Ashurst is committed to protecting your privacy. For more information on how we collect and use your data during the recruitment process for Early Careers opportunities in the UK, please visit our Early Careers UK Privacy Policy.