Pinsent Masons are proud to offer a 2-year programme for trainee lawyers, providing you with the opportunity to gain experience in a variety of practice areas and develop the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the legal profession. Our training contract is designed to provide you with a solid foundation for your future career, and includes mentoring, training, and support to help you reach your full potential.
The firm has a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, and work with organisations such as the 10,000 Interns Foundation, Aspiring Solicitors, Bright Network and The Lawscot Foundation to encourage and support applications from individuals of all backgrounds.
Candidates typically make applications 2 years in advance of the programme.
You must also meet one of the following:
If you don’t meet the above minimum academic criteria but you have mitigating circumstances, there’s an opportunity for you to include this information in your registration form.
Our trainee salaries are subject to review on an annual basis. The salary rates as of August 2024 are as follows:
Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds:
London:
Financial sponsorships
We're committed to hiring the most talented people, regardless of your background. That's why we'll cover your postgraduate legal education tuition fees and offer you a fair maintenance grant. Currently, we have an exclusive partnership with the University of Law and all of our sponsored future trainees take the PGDL and/or LLM SQE course at one of their locations.
Visa sponsorships
Those applying for training contracts in England should note that, due to the current general salary threshold requirement for sponsorship under the skilled worker visa, Pinsent Masons are only able to sponsor trainee solicitors employed in our London office.
The below shows the typical recruitment process for our Early Talent programmes in our UK, Dublin, Johannesburg and Dubai offices.
Tell us about yourself, your academic history and your employment history where applicable. We also gather information about you to support our contextualized recruitment approach.
The next stage of the recruitment process will involve completing our online blended assessment. This blended assessment incorporates situational judgment questions, a written case study and a short recorded video interview allowing us to see how well you would perform in different scenarios.
If you pass the online blended assessment, we’ll ask you to book a place at one of our in-person assessment centres. You will complete three exercises over the day – This will include a one-to-one interview, a business simulation exercise and a case study.
Whatever the outcome, we’ll let you know as soon as we can after the assessment centre. If you display the key attributes we are looking for and perform well throughout the assessment, we’ll send you an offer and talk you through the onboarding process.
The NQ hiring process is centrally coordinated and involves interviews and technical skills tests. Our Graduate Development team collaborate with the business to determine which roles are available and distribute a list. You’ll be able to submit an application for a small number of vacancies across the firm’s office network. The result will depend on your performance at assessment and throughout your training contract. This gives you every opportunity to advance your career in your preferred area of law.
To start your application, please click on apply now. Once you have registered an account, you will need to complete the following before the application closing date:
Once you have submitted all of the above, our recruitment team will review your application alongside your online blended assessment and will be in touch in due course regarding your outcome.
Legal work experience is not mandatory. Our application form allows you to provide up to 5 of your most relevant experiences. This can be anything you’ve done, such as employment, work experience, placements, volunteering, sports activities, positions of responsibility etc.
Yes, if you have already graduated from an LLB or a non-law degree then you are eligible to apply.
We welcome applications from international students however a condition of accepting our offer is having the legal right to work in the U.K. We will work with candidates on a case-by-case basis, subject to current immigration legislation.
Yes, we welcome applications from individuals who have had previous careers. We often find career changers bring significant transferable skills and a unique perspective.
For the first two years of my LLB I didn’t think I would be a solicitor. Pursuing a career as a Barrister was my initial passion. For various reasons, my mind changed in third year, so I attended my university law fair for the first time. At the law fair, I was keen to talk to as many people as I could to demonstrate my confidence and competence, but when I got there, confidence and competence turned into awkwardness. I didn’t know what to talk to people about, what questions to ask, or how to make a positive, lasting impression.
My name is Charlotte and I am currently undertaking my second seat in Projects. I am usually based in the Manchester office but currently working from home during the pandemic.
At Pinsent Masons (PM) there is so much to get involved in beyond the day to day legal work. I have been involved in lots of ‘non-chargeable’ activities both in my current role as a trainee and previously as a paralegal. I would like to share with you some of my favourite experiences and the benefits of getting involved.
Want to find out more about our work experience, apprenticeships, vacation placements or training contracts? You’ll find everything you need here.
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