Shoosmiths is a leading national law firm with a network of 13 locations working together as one national team, including Southampton, Belfast, Reading, London, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

We are committed to giving our people the responsibility, confidence, recognition and support that they need to develop and succeed in their careers. This was recognised when we were awarded the best recruiter for a National/Large Regional Firm at the LawCareers.Net Training and Recruitment Awards 2019, and The Law Society confirmed our ‘gold’ status in the Diversity and Inclusion Charter for another year.

Being awarded ‘Best Social Media’ at the All About Law awards 2018 demonstrates that we are an innovative, ambitious firm with a lack of hierarchy and zero tolerance for arrogance and believe that this makes Shoosmiths a fantastic place to work. 

Over a two year training contract at Shoosmiths, you will complete four six-month placements, usually based in one or two office locations. From time to time we also offer the opportunity for trainees to be seconded to the in-house legal team of one of our clients, which provides an invaluable insight into the client's perspective.

There's nothing like diving straight in and having a go and, while we would not ask you to do something that you were not comfortable in tackling, we expect you to relish the opportunity to get experience of real cases and deals from the start. In our opinion, it's the best way to learn. Your experience will be built around a practical workload learning from expert lawyers, complemented by technical and business skills training.

As a trainee at Shoosmiths you will be encouraged to get involved in activities away from your desk, such as business development, creating innovative initiatives to drive efficiency, networking with other young professionals and charity-related activities. We see these events as a great way for you to develop valuable skills for the future.

To find out more about our training contracts, read trainee profiles or watch our #ShoosmithsLIVE video series please go to our website www.shoosmiths.co.uk/graduates.

Online applications are open from early December to 31st May each year.    

We offer a one-week paid placement during the summer to second-year law undergraduates and final year non-law and law undergraduates, and graduates. We also welcome applications from people who are further on in their legal studies, right through to post-LPC.

You'll get ‘buddied up’ with a current trainee who will provide an invaluable source of information on what it's really like to work at Shoosmiths as they guide you through the work and anything else that you would like to find out about.

We want to challenge you, but not overwhelm you, and work is pitched at a level that you feel comfortable with and which takes account of which stage of your legal studies you have reached. You will be given real responsibility and real case files. You will be set a non-law business development project to complete which will help you to get to know people in your office and the clients who we work with across the firm.

To find out more about the placements, read trainee blogs or watch our #ShoosmithsLIVE video series, please go to our website.

Online applications are open from early December to 28th February each year.

Please see Shoosmiths website for details on any current apprenticeship vacancies.

Shoosmiths will offer financial support towards your future postgraduate studies (GDL/LPC or equivalent) and in some circumstances will also offer a living allowance whilst you study.  Full details are provided with your offer of a Training Contract.

Minimum of ‘CCC’ at ‘A’ level and a degree in any subject.

Applicants must be able to commence a Training Contact in the September of the year that they apply for and have completed their post graduate qualifications by that date.

AllAboutLaw Awards 2019

Shoosmiths won best overall vacation scheme; best vacation scheme – national firm; best social media; best company culture; best for growing confidence – vacation scheme; and best for level of support – vacation scheme.

Find out more here: https://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/insights/news/shoosmiths-wins-six-at-allaboutlaw-awards

Applications for our Training Contracts and Summer Placements open in December and should be made online via our website www.shoosmiths.co.uk/graduates.

Any queries pertaining to graduate recruitment can be addressed by email to join.us@shoosmiths.co.uk.