Latham & Watkins has more than 2,700 fee earners in offices across Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia. Its non-hierarchical, consensus based management style and ‘one firm’ culture makes Latham & Watkins a unique place to work. Over 70% of the firm’s transactions involve five or more Latham offices and the collaborative atmosphere is strengthened by the firm’s diversity.

Described as a ‘Game Changer’ by the Financial Times’ 2015 report of the most innovative European law firms, Latham’s award-winning London office is home to almost 300 lawyers and recognised for its work advising some of the world’s leading corporates, financial institutions and private equity firms on their most significant transactions and disputes.

Clients describe the firm’s lawyers as smart, commercial and pragmatic. Latham’s teams use their considerable experience, creativity and drive to get deals across the line and find resolutions to clients' most complex legal issues.

Latham offers  a very different training experience, each trainee receives bespoke supervision and outstanding support while being afforded meaningful responsibility from the outset and significant legal experience on qualification. In addition to training organised by each department, trainees also benefit from a core 3 week ‘trainee foundation’ curriculum designed to bridge the gap between law school and practice.

After induction you will complete four, six-month seats. Two of these will be in our Corporate and Finance groups both of which sit at the heart of our London practice. You will also have the opportunity to apply for a secondment in either your third or fourth seat. This will either be to one of our international offices or to one of our clients.

The firm recruits trainees with a view to retaining them and in 2020 had a retention rate of 96%.

To find out more and apply, click here!

Accepting a training contract is an important decision. Our vacation schemes are an exciting opportunity not only for us to get to know you, but also for you to get to know us. You will be exposed to real work, with real clients, experiencing the real life of our lawyers.

During the course of two weeks (one for Winter), you will sit in two practice areas. You will share an office with your supervisor each week, and you will also have the support of a trainee mentor and the graduate recruitment team. You can expect to be involved in client calls, court visits, Q&As and training, as well as group work and social events.

Towards the end of the two weeks, once you have had a chance to experience the work and culture at Latham, you will have the opportunity to interview for our Training Contract.

Eligibility

Our vacation schemes are open to penultimate year law students, all final year students, and graduates.

Winter: 13 - 17 December 2021

Summer: Monday 27 June – Friday 8 July 2022

Applications for our vacation scheme open at the end of September, and the application form is available online.

We pay £450 per week vacation scheme remuneration, and our Trainees start on £50,000. If you train at Latham & Watkins, we offer you the following benefits:

- Payment of GDL and LPC fees, including full repayment if you have completed your studies.

- A maintenance grant of £10,500 for each law school year.

- A bonus of £500 if you achieve a distinction for your LPC.

- A competitive qualification salary.

- A benefits package that includes life assurance, medical and dental insurance, a stakeholder pension scheme and 20 days’ paid holiday a year.

We are looking for candidates with a strong academic background, which means we expect a minimum 2:1 degree and grades of at least AAB at A-level or equivalent.

Whilst our trainees demonstrate a diverse set of skills, they all show initiative, proactivity, and enthusiasm, in addition to a consistent record of high academic achievement.

We are interested in finding out about you as a person rather than using psychometric testing or ‘trick’ questions. We also review all applications after the closing date, rather than on a rolling basis so there is still ample time for you to submit your application.

The first stage of our application process is an online form, asking for work experience, grades and answers to a few longer questions. We do not use any online testing.

The next stage of our process is a video interview, and then finally an assessment day.

Our video interviews can be completed on your computer or smart phone, and take around 15 minutes and our assessment days consist of an interview, a presentation and a written task.  

Apply here

Vacation Schemes: 27 September 2021 - 31 October 2021 (Winter) and 2 January 2022 (Summer)

Training Contract: Deadline 10 July 2022