Slaughter and May opportunities
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.
We offer a 2 year training contract as well as open days, workshops and work experience schemes to enable you to gain an insight into life as a commercial lawyer. Full details of these opportunities can be found on the ‘apply’ and ‘work experience opportunities’ pages of the Slaughter and May website.
Applications should be submitted using the online form. You will be asked to provide some personal details (including a full breakdown of all your examination results) and to attach your cover letter and CV. Your cover letter should tell us about you, why you are interested in a career in law and why you are applying to Slaughter and May. You should also include any other information which you think may be relevant to your application. Please ensure that your cover letter is no longer than one side of A4 and address it to Janine Arnold, Head of Recruitment.
We host and take part in a number of different events throughout the year, where you can meet our partners, associates, trainees and the Early Careers Recruitment team in-person and virtually to find out more about the firm and our opportunities.
Details of our upcoming events can be found on the meet us [external link] page of our website.
You can also sign up to our mailing list [external link] and follow us on Instagram [external link] to hear first about all of our events.
Virtual Insight Afternoon for University of Edinburgh Students
Slaughter and May will be hosting a virtual insight afternoon on Wednesday 12 February, from 2pm - 5pm. During the afternoon, you will hear about life as a lawyer at a London commercial law firm and the Slaughter and May Recruitment process.
Applications are open to both law and non-law students at the University of Edinburgh who are interested in qualifying as a solicitor in London. Sign up to secure your place!
We offer virtual insight afternoons, open days and work experience schemes at our London office. Full details including eligibility and application dates can be found on the work experience opportunities [external link] page of our website.
To train as a solicitor in England and Wales, students who have studied a non-law degree subject will need to complete the full law conversion course, the Post Graduate Diploma in Law (PGDL), over one academic year.
Students who have completed their undergraduate law degree at a Scottish university may be required by the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) to complete certain modules of the PGDL. This is likely to be necessary if you have not completed modules in these seven key areas of law: Contract, Tort, Criminal Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law, Property Law, Equity and Trusts, and the Law of the European Union.
As the content of Scottish law degrees varies, institutions offering the PGDL will review each case individually to decide which modules will need to be completed. It is possible that the SRA may grant a full exemption from the PGDL. They will consider this on a case-by-case basis.
Although students usually have to study for these extra modules over a full academic year, it is possible, and common, to opt for distance/online learning. Studying for these extra modules is equivalent to completing a part-time course so most students also work during this year.
We, like many large English law firms, will pay the PGDL course fees for our future trainees as well as a maintenance grant to help towards living costs during this year.
Further information is available on the ‘Route to qualification’ page of our website [external link]
If you are a law student studying in England and Wales, you should apply for a training contract in the summer of your penultimate year. If you are a law finalist or a law graduate, you can also apply during this summer application window.
If you are a non-law student, you can apply for a training contract in the autumn of your final year or as a graduate. If you are completing, or have completed, the law conversion course (Post Graduate Diploma in Law – PGDL), you will be considered to be a non-law student.
If you are completing, or have completed, your undergraduate law degree at a university outside of England and Wales, we may require you to complete some modules of the PGDL at BPP and you would be considered to be a non-law student for the purposes of our application process. This is likely to be necessary if you have not completed modules in these seven key areas of law: Contract, Tort, Criminal Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law, Property Law, Equity and Trusts, and the Law of the European Union.
We encourage applications as early as possible within our application windows. Training contract offers will be made on a rolling basis and we are therefore unable to guarantee the availability of places as we progress with these interviews.
We recruit two – three years in advance of your firm start date but, 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, you should mention this in your application - this can be discussed during your training contract interview and at point of offer.
Full details including eligibility and application dates can be found on the apply [external link] page of our website.
Our Virtual Insight Programme will give you an insight into some of the types of work our trainees and lawyers do every day. The programme encourages the development of important skills and commercial awareness which will give you a better understanding of what a lawyer does and what a career at Slaughter and May entails.
Our programme is open to all students, no legal knowledge or previous work experience is required and it can be completed at your own pace and at times which suit you. Once completed, this Virtual Insight Programme can be added to your CV as further evidence of your interest in, and understanding of, a career in commercial law.
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