Trowers' trainees come from many different backgrounds and experiences - what they all share is a desire to be part of a strong team, to learn from talented colleagues and to embrace early responsibility for quality results.
Each year, we recruit around 25 trainees, split between March and September intakes, and based at our offices in Birmingham, Exeter, London and Manchester. All trainees work across a range of commercial seats and have the opportunity to spend time in one of our offices in the Middle East.
Additionally, we offer around 50 paid summer vacation scheme places in our UK offices each year.
Applications for our summer vacation schemes and training contracts open on 1 October 2026 and close at 11:59pm on 4 January 2027.
Interested in becoming a trainee solicitor?
We recruit the majority of our trainees through our summer vacation scheme but recognise that not everyone is able to complete a scheme so do also recruit a small number via our direct process.
We do not review applications on a rolling basis, therefore, if successful you will be invited to an assessment centre in February 2027. Applications for our training contracts will open on 1 October 2026 and close at 11.59pm on 4 January 2027.
Training is divided into four six-month seats, and you can expect to experience a broad range of departments and practice areas over the course of the two-year period.
All trainees are teamed with a supervisor. It's their role to guide you through each of your six-month seats and ensure that you are given plenty of challenges and all the support you need to succeed.
Our close-knit team and collaborative approach drives our high calibre work, and it’s what gives us our sterling reputation in the industry. This will be reflected in your experience from day one. As soon as you join the team, you will be given real responsibility and the opportunity to learn with hands-on experience in a supportive working environment.
Seats
Our service to clients is delivered through a number of core areas: real estate, banking and finance, corporate, commercial, dispute resolution and litigation, employment and pensions, energy and sustainability, planning and environmental, projects and construction, Tax and Private Wealth.
We offer trainees the opportunity to spend six months in one of our offices in the Middle East: Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Dubai. You'll be given a high level of responsibility and opportunities to get involved in some fascinating international work with teams all over the globe.
“We get to work across the public sector and the private sector, across big clients and smaller clients, for both individuals and companies. There’s a perfect blend of people at Trowers that helps us create really high-quality work, every day.”
Our training
Trainees are critical to the success and growth of our firm. Our clients need you to be pragmatic, commercial and know their business. Not only will you need strong legal skills, you'll need a wide range of business skills to achieve excellence.
We have designed a structured training programme that will help equip you with the skills you'll need to perform your role to the highest standards, with plenty of support from your colleagues. The programme draws from a range of expertise from across the business as well as external experts, helping you produce exceptional work.
"Being a lawyer is about more than just knowing the law- that is why we've created a comprehensive training programme to provide you with the skills and know-how you need, to give you the best possible start to your career"
Lucy James, Training Principal
Our appraisal process
We believe that continuous assessment and feedback is key to the successful development of everyone, and this is particularly true for our trainees. During each seat, you will have a mid-seat and end-of-seat appraisal with your supervisor to assess and discuss your performance so far. Your supervisor will help you to identify any gaps in your knowledge and experience and, most importantly, help you to plug those gaps.
Our Trainee Solicitors' Committee
We believe in providing our trainees with a strong network of support that they can turn to in times of need. Lucy James (our Training Principal) and our Early Talent team are always on hand to offer advice and understanding.
The Trainee Solicitors' Committee is chaired by Lucy and includes a cross-section of Partners as well as the Early Talent team. The committee meets regularly to discuss trainee-related issues and initiatives and focuses us on ensuring that we continue to offer the best training possible.
One trainee represents each intake on the committee. The trainee representatives are encouraged to raise any issues to be discussed at the meeting for considerate feedback.
Qualification
We are proud to consistently retain above 75% of our trainees upon qualification.
As a trainee, you will have the opportunity to apply for any newly qualified vacancies available across the firm during your qualification process. The process is comprehensive, open and transparent — we inform our qualifying trainees of how many positions there are in each department / office and run a formal application and interview process for those vacancies.
Because we want to get the best out of our people and provide our clients with the best solutions possible, the training never stops at Trowers. We operate a structured newly qualified programme to help make the transition as smooth as possible.
Our summer vacation scheme placements are the perfect way to explore life as a trainee and a team member at our firm.
We offer around 50 places across our Birmingham, Exeter, London and Manchester offices each year. During your time with us, you will sit in a couple of departments and be involved in real, immersive work — drafting, undertaking research, attending meetings and collaborating with a range of people across the firm.
You will be teamed with a trainee buddy who will introduce you to each department and be on hand to offer you all the guidance you need. You will also be allocated a supervisor to offer you advice on the work that you will undertake.
Our trainees are valuable to us, so we pay every candidate attending our summer vacation schemes.
This is currently £520 per week in London and £475 per week in Birmingham, Exeter and Manchester.
The dates of our upcoming schemes are:
Scheme 1: Monday 7 June to Friday 18 June 2027
Scheme 2: Monday 21 June to Friday 2 July 2027
We will sponsor you to undertake a robust and comprehensive SQE preparation programme prior to joining the firm, to allow you to develop the skills, behaviours and abilities of a well-rounded lawyer. We will also pay for your SQE exams and provide you with a maintenance grant to support you during the programme.
If you are a non-law student, we will also sponsor you to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Law and, again, provide you with a maintenance grant to support you during the course.
Our current maintenance grants are:
SQE - £13,000 if studying in London and £11,000 if studying outside of London
PGDL - £10,500 if studying in London and £8,500 if studying outside of London
Academic requirements
We look for candidates with a minimum of 128 UCAS points (ABB) from their top three A-Levels or equivalent, and a consistently strong predicted or achieved 2:1 degree. We take into account mitigating circumstances and do not automatically reject candidates who do not reach these minimum criteria.
You are eligible to apply for our schemes if you are a:
Penultimate or final year law student
Final year non-law student
Graduate or career changer
Having a law degree is by no means essential — we recruit a healthy number of future trainees every year from non-law backgrounds. We’re more interested in who you are and how you work than just your CV.
Our open and inclusive culture is guided by our connectedness as a team, meaning we highly value fairness and transparency. We have a dedicated Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team and this informs our strong track record of hiring, retaining and promoting from a truly diverse range of backgrounds.
What are we looking for?
All kinds of individuals build careers, connections, and flourish at Trowers & Hamlins, but there are a few things that they all have in common. We're looking for people who can excel within our core values:
We collaborate
We savour success
We are driven by innovation
We're not afraid to be human
We believe certain skills are necessary to help you succeed and thrive at the firm:
A growth mindset – strong candidates are open to learning and feedback, always striving to develop
Adaptability – being able to adapt to new circumstances and environments
Analytical mindset – being able to analyse and interpret problems with sound judgement
Collaboration skills – being able to build relationships with colleagues and achieve results through teamwork
Commercial awareness – an awareness of the business world in which the firm operates and how this may impact us and our clients
Communication skills – being able to explain complex issues, whether written or verbal, to others in a clear and easy to understand manner
Innovation – curiosity about the market and the future of the industry
Judgement – developing informed opinions after careful consideration and utilising available resources
Personal responsibility – a willingness to take ownership of tasks
Resilience – having a determined and positive attitude in overcoming obstacles and change
Step 1 – Online application form
The application process begins with our online application form. You will be asked to provide details about your education, work experience/employment history and will be asked to answer a series of additional long-answer questions.
Step 2 – Online strengths-based assessment
Once you have submitted your application, you will automatically be invited to take our online strengths-based assessment which aims to consider your strengths alongside the role of a solicitor apprentice. We encourage you to complete the assessment as soon as you are able to and recommend that you do not leave completing the assessment to the final day, in case any technical issues arise.
Before completing the assessment, we would strongly recommend that you complete some practice assessments. You will also receive this link in the email containing your invitation to complete the assessment, after submitting your online application.
Although the assessment is not timed, we recommend that you allow up to 2 hours to complete it.
After you have completed the assessment, you will receive a feedback report. This is for your own personal development and does not represent a decision from us at this stage.
Step 3 – Consideration period
Following on from this, we will consider your online assessment in conjunction with your application form. You will hear whether you have been successful after this initial stage once the vacancy deadline has passed, as we do not recruit on a rolling basis.
Step 4 – Assessment Centre
If you are successful after the application and online assessment, the final stage is an assessment centre comprising three exercises. You will first complete a written exercise remotely in the week before the in-person assessment centre. You will then attend the office you have applied to, where you will complete a strengths-based interview and group exercise.
Please note for those attending a summer vacation scheme, we will assess you for a training contract by seeking feedback from the teams you work in.
Trainees at Trowers & Hamlins receive a competitive salary (salaries are reviewed annually) and benefits package, which includes five weeks' annual leave each year, pension scheme, interest-free season ticket loan and private medical insurance.
Trainee salaries are currently:
1st year trainee - £50,000 in London and £35,000 in Birmingham, Exeter and Manchester
2nd year trainee - £54,000 in London and £37,500 in Birmingham, Exeter and Manchester
Newly qualified - £90,000 in London and £66,000 in Birmingham, Exeter and Manchester
We hold insight days in each of our UK offices to give you an insight into life as a trainee and a career in law, our practice areas and clients, and how to develop your application skills for a better chance at joining us as a trainee.
Our in-person insight events are taking place on:
Birmingham – Thursday 26 November 2026. Deadline to apply 11.59pm Tuesday 17 November 2026.
Exeter – Thursday 3 December 2026. Deadline to apply 11.59pm Wednesday 25 November 2026.
London – Tuesday 17 November 2026. Deadline to apply 11.59pm Monday 9 November.
Manchester – Tuesday 1 December 2026. Deadline to apply 11.59pm Monday 23 November 2026.
At these events, you will attend presentations on topics ranging from application form tips to life as a trainee at the firm and how we work together. You’ll also have the chance to network with colleagues from these offices.
Applications for this year's insight events will be open from 1 October 2026, and you will need to complete an online application form via our jobs portal to apply.
We’re also running an online application masterclass on Wednesday 9 December 2026 (16:00 – 17:30) for those looking for further guidance and support with the application process. The session is a great opportunity to develop your application skills before submitting an application to us. Further details and registration information are available here.
We would highly recommend applying for and attending one of our events in advance of submitting a summer vacation scheme or training contract application.
