Bristows

Next deadline

Bristows' Apprenticeship Open Evening 2026 · 9 Oct 2026

(2 days)

Apply now

In their own words

Where curiosity breeds success

Snapshot

Firm type

Specialist / boutique

UK offices

London

International offices

Dublin (Ireland) and Brussels (Belgium)

Training contract places

Vacation scheme places

Not disclosed

First-year salary

£49,000

Second-year salary

£52,000

Newly qualified salary

£95,000

Trainee retention

90%

SQE support

Full SQE1 and SQE2 support and maintenance grant

Visa sponsorship

Yes

International secondment

Client secondment

Yes

Guaranteed secondment

Yes

Recruitment route

Training contract only

Rolling recruitment?

Seat structure

5-6 seats, a mix of 3 and 6 months long

Can trainees repeat a seat?

Sometimes, depending on circumstances

Can trainees express seat preferences?

Yes, they are taken into account

Trainee salaries review

Annually

Non-law applicants

Actively encouraged

Career-changer applicants

Actively encouraged

Remote working

Standard hybrid only

Minimum academic requirements

2:1 at University (mitigating circumstances considered)

Typical start time

9:15am

Typical finish time

18:30pm to 19:00pm

Wellbeing support

Financial wellbeing (pension scheme, pension 1-2-1s), MHFA's, wellbeing champions, counselling service, EAP, meditation/pilates, gym discounts, travel insurance, travel loans, inclusion networks, PMI, health screening

Minimum holiday

25 days

Additional leave

2 wellbeing days

% female trainees

58%

% female partners

30%

% BAME trainees

30%

% BAME partners

% LGBTQ+ trainees

11%

% LGBTQ+ partners

% state school trainees

53%

% first-gen trainees

40%

SQE1 and SQE2 funding

Yes, full funding

SQE1 and SQE2 maintenance grant

Yes

PGDL funding

Yes, full funding

Retrospective funding

Yes

Formal pro bono programme

Yes

Named affinity networks

Disability and neurodivergence network, Lydia network (promoting issues surrounding ethnicity, race and culture), family and carers network

Before you apply

Before you apply, ask yourself:

Are you interested in working in IP law, as it is a specialism of the firm?

Are you looking to work on litigious matters?

Are you keen to try out more than the standard four practice areas during your training contract?

Do you enjoy working in close-knit, smaller environments?

Next deadline

Bristows' Apprenticeship Open Evening 2026

9 Oct 2026

(2 days)

View job

Deep dive

Explore this firm in detail

What makes it different

"We're not the biggest, and we don't try to cover everything"

What this could mean for you

Bristows is a specialist firm, with all their Tier 1 Legal500 practices being in IP, tech, data, or life sciences. Similarly, most of their seats are contentious. For applicants, this means understanding these sectors is vital, and trainees will work on market-leading work in these areas.

"Where curiosity breeds success"

What this could mean for you

The firm recruits its trainees from across law, humanities, arts, science and engineering degrees, and trainees confirm that despite the firm's specialisms, a STEM degree is not essential. However, trainees will need a genuine curiosity and desire to understand these areas.

All practice areas

Patent litigationTrademarks, design and copyrightCommercialICTDigital infrastructureIntellectual propertyRegulatory and complianceTaxReal estateEmploymentCorporateFinanceCompetitionEU law

Who it may suit

Before you apply, ask yourself:

Are you interested in working in IP law, as it is a specialism of the firm?
Are you looking to work on litigious matters?
Are you keen to try out more than the standard four practice areas during your training contract?
Do you enjoy working in close-knit, smaller environments?

This firm may suit candidates who…

Have a genuine curiosity in how technology, science, or brands work, regardless of their undergraduate degree.
Want to work in a smaller office, where they can get to know most of their colleagues.

Things to consider

Patent litigation is a compulsory seat, and most seats are contentious in nature.

What trainees do

Patent litigation

What it involves:

This is the firm's largest department and the only compulsory seat. Trainees will generally spend six months in this practice, due to the nature of proceedings. This practice covers UK Patent Court work across most scientific and engineering disciplines for pharmaceutical, biotech, and high-tech clients.

Who trainees work with:

Trainees generally work with partners, senior associates and expert witnesses. Client contact is largely observational as trainees sit-in on calls.

Early responsibility:

There is a moderate amount of early responsibility, but trainees report less early responsibility in comparison with other seats.

A first month might involve:

The first month will likely involve research tasks, document review and updating bundles on a live matter, with early exposure to hearings.

Competition

What it involves:

Trainees largely work on competition litigation and damages claims for life sciences and technology clients. Trainees often find themselves working on matters at the intersection of IP and competition law. Some of the work revolves around court proceedings.

Example trainee tasks:

Research tasks, bundle updating, logistical support on trials, team presentations, drafting marketing and business development materials, and drafting documents.

Who trainees work with:

The wider team through trial preparation; with some client-facing work.

Early responsibility:

Trainees are generally given more responsibility as they become more adept in the practice.

A first month might involve:

The first month will likely involve research and document work on live matters, with some trial preparation if their seat falls at the right time.

Commercial IP, tech, AI and data

What it involves:

This seat involves advisory and transactional work across technology contracts, data protection compliance and AI governance for international tech and life sciences companies.

Example trainee tasks:

Trainees can find themselves drafting and reviewing contracts, research, attending client calls and taking notes.

Who trainees work with:

Trainees can work with clients directly, alongside associates and partners.

A first month might involve:

The first month will likely involve contract drafting and research, and client calls.

Work-life reality

Work-life balance varies by team, seat and transaction cycle. This section is designed to help you understand the pattern, not reduce the experience to a score.

Predictability

Trainees report finding some seats more predictable than others, as some seats offer clear deadlines, whilst others may have more fluctuating workloads.

Busy periods

Busy periods are infrequent, but mostly tied to trials or hearings. Trainees often find the expected busy spells to be more common and manageable, with unexpected busy periods being rarer.

Weekend work

Weekend work is rare for Bristows' trainees.

Seat variation

Trainees have a greater amount of choice than at most firms, with trainees sitting five or six seats, with some being three months long, whilst other are six. Patent litigation is a compulsory seat and runs for six months, and client contact varies sharply between seats.

Support

Trainees report feeling well supported across the board. Partners are described as openly appreciative after busy periods especially.

Flexibility

The firm is genuinely flexible with its hybrid working. The firm has no set days, but some teams run informal anchor days where most will be in the office.

Holiday allowance

25 days minimum holiday, plus 2 wellbeing days.

Office attendance

Trainees are expected to be in-office for 3 days a week.

Culture & support

Supervision style

Trainees report a split between sitting directly with their supervisor and having open-door access to senior lawyers. Trainees are also assigned a partner supervisor for the full two years alongside seat-specific supervisors.

Relationship with partners

Trainees consistently report having strong relationships with partners, feeling comfortable asking partners questions, and reporting partners as especially approachable.

Upward feedback

Trainees find that upward feedback is handled and received well by the firm.

Open plan or traditional offices

Bristows' office is mostly open plan.

What surprised trainees positively

Trainees are generally surprised to find that the reports they are given surrounding the firm's culture during recruitment match the reality, with one trainee describing the culture as "phenomenal".