Landed a training contract? What happens next?

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Apr 01, 2025

Written By Emma Finamore

Landing a coveted training contract at a top law firm is an accomplishment, but it’s just the beginning of an exciting journey. From welcome events and socials, to exams and liaising with clients, Trainee Solicitors at Taylor Wessing, told us what to expect.

How do Taylor Wessing welcome trainees?

Taylor Wessing's Early Talent team take an extremely proactive approach to ensure trainees feel supported. From the day we were told we were successful, leading up to our first day, we had regular check-ins with them to discuss what was next for us. There were interesting events and webinars, and general catch-ups to see how we were doing, asking if we required any support from the team, and advice on what we could do to prepare for the start of our training contract.

We also had lots of guidance during the seat allocation process, providing us with an insight into each seat, ensuring we were well prepared to hit the ground running, and allowing us to gain experience in sectors we were genuinely interested in.

There were also social events in the lead-up to our training contracts, like the annual trainee Christmas party, and the firm-wide Winter / Summer Party. These were a fantastic opportunity to not only meet current members of the firm but all future trainee cohorts, so we could all meet and network.

How did you keep up-to-date with what the firm was doing in the period between securing the training contract and starting?

Taylor Wessing is active on social media so I found it very easy to keep up with what the firm was doing. It operates in many cutting-edge industries and is always working with innovative clients to meet their business objectives, such as assisting Pfizer on its vaccine rollout.

With such important work the firm keeps a high profile in the legal press, so I was always aware of the top transactions and other creative projects the firm has been involved with. As a future trainee, I also found it important to take an active approach to keep up to date with any developments or landmark transactions: it’s essential for a future employee as you will be assisting with this work when you start.

I followed the firm's Instagram, LinkedIn and Tik Tok accounts, which are a great resource for finding out news of their work in the legal sphere but also their incredible community partnerships, such as the partnership with The National Portrait Gallery. The Early Talent team also share insights into life as a trainee, engage with aspiring solicitors and share tips and tricks for the application season.

I would highly recommend anybody applying for a training contract, or a future trainee, to follow the firm’s graduate recruitment and main social accounts to keep up-to-date with what the firm is doing and engage with the firm’s they are interested in.

What’s the first day of a training contract like with Taylor Wessing?

The first day of any training contract is a day filled with a mixture of emotions. Nerves, excitement, and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude knowing that the day has finally arrived!

At the office on our first day, we were warmly greeted by the Early Talent team, who congratulated us on our start and hosted a fantastic breakfast, giving us the chance to mingle and alleviate some of those built-up nerves. Having the induction in-person also really helped us form better relationships within our cohort: we were all experiencing the same emotions, in the same boat, so naturally gravitated to one another and shared our excitement.

The first day of the induction consists of welcome talks from Partners, Talent Development, the Trainee Solicitor Council, our Supervisors. This made for a great first day, and introduced us to the wider Taylor Wessing team and how the firm operates, while networking and getting to know each other.

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How is the induction period at Taylor Wessing? Is there anything unique that trainees get to take part in during that time?

Taylor Wessing's induction period lasts for one week, and I found that gave us a great chance to find our feet and get to know our roles and the firm better before having to start our allocated seats. We did training sessions on the firm’s IT, tech, house styles and writing – which was all very useful for preparing us for our seats.

One of the most memorable parts of the induction was travelling to the Roundhouse, for a tour of the building, and an interactive session with a local poet. Here we had an in-depth introduction to Responsible Business and the firm's commitment to giving back to our community, as well as a session on how to write and speak with passion, something I found really engaging.

To top off a very busy week, we were treated to end-of-induction food and drinks at Cloud with a great opportunity to prepare for the first day in each of our allocated seats.

How does the firm balance inducting trainees to the firm and also getting started doing work in their first seat?

As the bulk of the induction is separate from our first official day in our seat, the firm strikes a good balance between letting us learn the important basic foundations to operate in a working environment, while not overwhelming us with work from our very first day.

By separating the two, there’s the chance to get to know one another, form relationships, and find our feet: and that was exactly what we did.

Once we had started our first day in our seats, we had sector-specific training allocated throughout the next two weeks. I found this a really useful way of developing our training further and provided a greater insight into training, which would help us perform more successfully in our particular sector. This approach means we can learn as we go, receive training on matters that will assist us in completing specific tasks and align our training with our development path.

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