Gowling WLG Jobs

Gowling WLG offer both a training contract and vacation scheme. Opportunities that are currently accepting applications will appear below.

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Birmingham and London Training Contracts

Gowling WLG recruits 25 trainees a year in total, with this number roughly split between the two offices. Trainees have four six month seats: real estate, contentious, non-contentious and another seat of your choice. There are a variety of different practice areas to get involved in, from environmental law to medical defence. You will also have opportunities to do a client secondment or work in an office abroad, as well as some pro bono work.

While doing your training contract, you will receive support from a partner mentor to provide you with support as well as feedback, and will complete a Professional Skills Course. Trainees also rave about the firm’s active social club with tickets for popular events and a bi-annual trainee social event.

Birmingham and London Vacation Schemes

Vacation schemes offer the chance for you to get involved in the work of a solicitor.

You will receive support and constructive feedback from a trainee and a qualified lawyer, as well as time to socialise and chat to trainees.

ESG Essay Competition

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues are a focus for many of our clients, whether they operate in the public, private, or third sectors.

Each of our clients puts a different lens on ESG issues, and their motivations for seeking to improve their ESG performance are often complex and constantly evolving. Whether driven by the climate and biodiversity crisis; global political events; or local social movements, each client has a different ESG ‘fingerprint’, unique to them.

This is the fifth year of the student ESG Essay Competition. Previous questions have explored global supply chains, the role of lawyers in tackling biodiversity loss and the balance between additional legislation and new technology in climate change mitigation and adaptation. This year, we turn to the growing complexity of the regulatory environment, asking you to consider how clients and their lawyers should navigate an increasingly fragmented ESG landscape.

What can you win?

The essay that captures our imagination the most will win a week’s paid internship (with accommodation if required) in our London office, working with our team of expert lawyers on a variety of ESG issues.

During your week’s internship, you’ll meet clients, undertake research, draft advice, and work closely with us to find out what it’s like advising clients on emerging legislation and ESG best practices. You’ll gain a great understanding of what life as a lawyer at Gowling WLG is like.

We will also host an Open Day for our top-placed entrants. We’ll invite you to our London office where you will get to meet some of our lawyers who advise on ESG matters; and you’ll meet some of our trainee solicitors and hear from our Early Talent team. We will also invite every applicant to a virtual open event to hear more about the firm and share some application tips.

Essays should be no more than 750 words (excluding references - please note that we have no preference for referencing style) and the deadline for entries is 6pm on Friday 18th September 2026.

Please submit your entries to: [email protected]

We would like to receive your essays in .pdf format and when submitting your entry, please include your name, where you’re studying (or studied) and details of the subject. Rest assured that our judges will not have access to that information when reading your essay.

If you have any questions about the competition, please contact:

[email protected]