Penningtons Manches Cooper is a leading UK and international law firm which provides high quality legal advice tailored to both businesses and individuals. Today, we have 130 partners and over 880 people in total across our UK and international offices. 

We are a full service firm with high ranking lawyers in a multitude of practice areas. Through a strong team ethic and an emphasis on collaboration, we are able to use our extensive technical knowledge and unparalleled market insight to solve complex legal and strategic issues.

Among our clients we count multi-national corporations, public companies, professional partnerships, banks and financial institutions as well as private individuals, owner managed businesses and start-ups. 

The firm has enjoyed substantial growth in recent years, including the merger with shipping, international trade and finance specialist Thomas Cooper in July 2019.  We have a continuing commitment to excellence and a drive for innovation alongside our expanding international footprint. 

We believe that a varied workforce generates vitality for our firm. We focus on representing the diversity of our people and creating an inclusive culture that enables everyone to reach their career potential by being their true selves.

Our training contracts are designed to offer trainees a breath of experience and consist of four seats that are rotated every six months, with the aim of providing trainees with as much exposure as possible to our business and clients. During your training contract, we will work with you to ensure that your career aspirations and interests are met, all while learning from recognised experts, taking on real responsibility and interacting with great colleagues.

Here is what you can expect when undertaking a training contract at Penningtons Manches Cooper:

Responsibility and client contact 

• Our small trainee intake means you are given real responsibility, often working on cases from start to finish as opposed to just one part of the issue. Trainees regularly interact with clients directly, allowing them to develop their client care skills whilst being supported by senior supervisors.

Variety

• You will receive a thorough grounding in the law, spending time in the various practice groups within the firm's main business divisions: business services, private individuals and real estate. We ensure trainees gain a range of experience during their training contracts, and aim to give you a balanced exposure to different areas of work and the skills needed to become a well-rounded lawyer. 

• Within your seats, you could experience work from multi-national corporations, public companies, professional partnerships, banks and financial institutions as well as private individuals.  Irrespective of the type of client, international cases with cross jurisdictional and multidisciplinary facets are commonplace.

Support

• Along with a seat supervisor in each division, you will be allocated a trainee buddy and mentor. 

• Your mentor will be a partner or senior associate who will be someone you can go to for impartial advice and help during your training contract.

• Your buddy will be a trainee who is a year ahead of you, and will be able to answer those day-to-day questions that you may not want to ask someone more senior. 

• The trainee appraisal process, which involves a mid-seat and end-of-seat review, will also ensure that you are given regular formal feedback and support with your development.

Training and career development 

• As a new starter, you will complete an initial week-long induction. Quarterly training sessions tailored for trainees focus on skills ranging from drafting to developing your personal brand and building relationships professionally. Team know-how and training sessions are also run throughout the year, in addition to the Professional Skills Course you will need to complete.

• We hope that the trainee solicitors we recruit will continue to develop with us and go on to become the firm's future partners. A training contract with Penningtons Manches Cooper will offer you the opportunity to develop into a knowledgeable and confident lawyer whose career will thrive, helping us to maintain our standards of excellence and making an individual contribution that will drive us further as a firm.

Work-life balance

• We recruit between 15 and 18 trainees a year and value each and every one of them as individuals. You will get to know everyone in your year and the year above, and meet up with them regularly at training sessions. We don't deny that at times you may be asked to work longer hours - nevertheless, our relaxed work-life culture enables trainees to continue with their hobbies, interests and social commitments.

• Each office has a sports and social committee made up of solicitors, trainees and support staff. The committees organise regular outings such as theatre trips, summer barbecues, drinks evenings and ten pin bowling. In addition, firm-wide social events, such as Feel Good Fridays, are arranged - giving partners and staff across the offices an opportunity to get together in an informal atmosphere. 

• There is also a plethora of corporate social responsibility and pro bono initiatives that you can get involved with at the firm. Whether it be joining one of our Pennclusion groups, to drive the inclusivity agenda forward, being an environmental or mental health champion, or participating in one of our wellbeing initiatives like the walking challenge or financial wellbeing sessions, there is something for everyone that will enable them to give back and enrich their own lives outside of their legal work.

We offer training contracts in London, Basingstoke/Reading, Cambridge, Guildford and Oxford. You can find out more about the seats available in each location on our website. Please note that available seats may vary at each rotation.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for dedicated, diverse candidates with a strong academic record and commercial awareness. You should be passionate about law, a great team player and have exceptional communication skills.

We welcome applications from all degree disciplines and from applicants at all stages of their careers – we see the value people can bring when they have gained relevant experience in other roles.  You’ll have, or be on track to have, a 2:1 degree or higher and a minimum of AAB at A-Level (or the equivalent if educated outside the UK). Please note that undergraduate applicants must be in their penultimate or final year of a law degree or their final year of a non-law degree.

How to apply

Apply online through apply4law on the individual postings.

Deadline: 31st January 2021 (Please note we do recruit on a rolling basis)

We offer vacation scheme placements in our Basingstoke, Cambridge. Guildford, London, Oxford and Reading offices. Interns spend time in one of the firm’s practice areas in either business services, private wealth or real estate. You will be involved in real assignments, working alongside a trainee in the team to get a realistic view of what life is really like at Penningtons Manches Cooper. Activities regularly include drafting documents, attending client and team meetings, conducting research or sometimes even attending court. The majority of our offices are open plan so getting to know the wider teams will not be an issue. You will be given a senior mentor, and networking with others is strongly encouraged. Some sessions will be put on to facilitate this, but the more you put into the vacation scheme, the more you will get out of it.

A large proportion of our training contract positions are recruited through our vacation scheme, so if this is your end goal, applying for the scheme is a good route to take. There is an informal interview that takes place as part of the scheme, but it is only once you have completed the vacation scheme that we ask you to apply for the training contract.

The dates of our 2021 vacation schemes are expected to be as follows:

Easter scheme 12 - 16 April 2021

Summer scheme one 21 June – 25 June 2021

Summer scheme two 28 – 2 July 2021

Summer scheme three 5 - 9 July 2021

The vacation scheme is open to those candidates who are planning to take up a training contract in two years’ time. 

What are we looking for?

We are looking for dedicated, diverse candidates with a strong academic record and commercial awareness. You should be passionate about law, a great team player and have exceptional communication skills.

We welcome applications from all degree disciplines and from applicants at all stages of their careers.  You’ll have, or be on track to have, a 2:1 degree or higher and a minimum of AAB at A-Level (or the equivalent if educated outside the UK). Please note that undergraduate applicants must be in their penultimate or final year of a law degree or their final year of a non-law degree.

How to apply

Apply online through apply4law on the individual postings.

Deadline: 31st January 2021 (Please note we do recruit on a rolling basis)

Penningtons Manches occasionally have apprenticeship vacancies. Please check the firm’s website for current vacancies.

The firm pays full fees for the LPC course and provides a grant of £6,000. Trainee solicitors receive a competitive salary starting at £38,000 in London and £30,000 outside London. 

Other benefits include a pension, life assurance, critical illness cover, a minimum of 24 days of holidays, an interest-free season ticket loan, private health insurance and multiple organised sports and social activities.

AAB A-Level grades and preferably a 2:1 or better at degree level. 

Apply online through apply4law on each individual posting.

Deadlines are 31 July for training contracts and 31 January for vacation scheme placements.  (All recruitment is conducted on a rolling basis). For more information please visit our website.

Additional information on recruitment and selection can be directed to Helen Lewis by sending an email to traineepost@penningtonslaw.com  

Penningtons Manches Cooper is an equal opportunities employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.