We are Bristows, the world’s leading specialist law firm for clients that innovate. 

We are a European headquartered hub for litigation, transactions and advice throughout the world. We help clients grow in life sciences, technology and other dynamic sectors. We provide advice on all their legal matters and are proud to be different.

We focus on dynamic, IP-rich sectors and have the expertise to solve a broad range of litigation, transactional, and advisory challenges. We have a true cross-disciplinary practice encompassing our renowned IP, competition,  regulatory, corporate and commercial, dispute resolution, IT and data protection teams.  The strength of each individual practice complements the others to provide a fully integrated and comprehensive service.

The firm recruits up to 10 trainees per year.  The training contract includes rotations around the firm’s core practice areas, including a compulsory 6-month seat in Patent Litigation.  Other practice areas include commercial IP/IT and data protection; brands, designs and copyright; real estate; corporate, tax and employment; competition; commercial and technology disputes; and regulatory.

All seats are supervised by a partner and senior associate.  Trainees work in lean teams on each of their matters, so there is lots of responsibility to take on as soon as you are ready.

We also offer the opportunity to go on a three-month client secondment with the in-house legal team of a key client.  This offers the opportunity to see the client relationship from an in-house perspective.

The firm runs a number of workshops which offer attendees the chance to find out more about Bristows.  These are a great opportunity to assess whether both a legal career, and the firm itself, are the right fit for the individual.  Throughout the one-day workshop attendees will take part in a case study and hear about the firm’s core departments, in addition to meeting a range people from across the firm.

Bristows do not offer a legal apprenticeship.

The firm pays course fees for the GDL and LPC and provides a maintenance allowance of £8,000 for each year of study.

Trainee salaries start at £42,000 and the firm offers a benefits package including: season ticket loans; 25 days of annual leave; pension scheme; private health insurance; dental plan; and cycle to work scheme. 

The minimum requirement for training contact applications is for a 2:1 degree in any discipline, but given the rigours of an IP practice, outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements are the norm, rather than an exception.

We place great importance on having a diverse and inclusive workforce and the firm welcomes applications from all disciplines, with the current trainees having degrees ranging from History and Politics, to Physics and Biochemistry.  However due to the sectors our clients work in, a significant percentage of employees come from backgrounds where they’ve earned degrees in science, technology and other technical disciplines.

Whatever a candidate's background, the firm assess each application on individual merit and intellectual and commercial acumen, excellent communication skills, attention to detail and enthusiasm for hard work, and analytical and creative thinking; team spirit and a passion for challenges and success are prized qualities.

Application forms for training contracts and vacation schemes are accessible at apply4law/bristows; the deadline for training contracts (commencing in 2024) is 2 January 2022.  We will review applications on a rolling basis, so encourage applying early.

Applications for the IP workshops will close on the dates below:

·         STEM Fast-track Workshop (for STEM graduates who have started or completed the PGDL and/or LPC) – 17 October 2021

·         IP Workshops – 31 October 2021

·         STEM Workshop – 14 November 2021

         1st Year IP Workshop – 31 May 2022