Hogan Lovells Cadwalader

Next deadline

Lift Off 2027 · 23 Oct 2026

(18 days)

In their own words

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader is a global leader at the intersection of business, finance, and government, helping clients succeed in their most high-stakes matters.

Snapshot

Firm type

International

UK offices

London, Birmingham

International offices

Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Houston, Louisville, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C., Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Dubai, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Johannesburg, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Riyadh, Rome

Training contract places

Vacation scheme places

First-year salary

£56,000

Second-year salary

£61,000

Newly qualified salary

£145,000

Trainee retention

67%

SQE support

Full funding and maintenance grant

Visa sponsorship

Yes

International secondment

Yes

Client secondment

Yes

Guaranteed secondment

Recruitment route

Both vacation scheme and direct training contract

Rolling recruitment?

Yes

Seat structure

4 six-month seats

Can trainees repeat a seat?

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

2 hybrid days a week, 3 days minimum in office

Minimum academic requirements

A-levels AAB, 2:1 at University

Wellbeing support

Gym membership, Cycle to Work, travel insurance, dental insurance, holiday trading, workplace ISA, tastecard, pension, private medical insurance, life assurance, group income protection, interest-free season ticket loan, virtual GP service, EAP, Peppy (specialist healthcare support), discounts portal, flu vaccinations, mortgage advice, emergency back-up care for childcare/adult/elder care

PGDL funding

Full funding

Retrospective funding

Yes

Formal pro bono programme

Yes

Named affinity networks

Breaking Barriers (gender equality), Level Up, Working Families, Pride+, Race and Ethnicity Inclusion Network (REIN), Multicultural network, Social Mobility Network — plus third-party partnerships with Aspiring Solicitors, RARE Recruitment (Contextual Recruitment System), MyPlus, The Sutton Trust and The Social Mobility Partnership

Before you apply

Before you apply, ask yourself:

Would you be open to exploring seats beyond your initial preferences, given that seat allocation also reflects business needs?

Would you enjoy experiencing different team cultures and ways of working as you rotate through the firm?

Would you value a training contract that combines hands-on experience with regular structured training and development?

Would you enjoy taking an active role in your development by seeking feedback and opportunities to take on responsibility?

Next deadline

Lift Off 2027

23 Oct 2026

(18 days)

View job

Deep dive

Explore this firm in detail

What makes it different

With 3,100 lawyers worldwide, we are both truly global and locally exceptional

What this could mean for you

You could work on complex cross-border matters with colleagues and clients across HLC’s international network, while building experience within its London and Birmingham teams.

Structured development and early responsibility

What this could mean for you

You could take on meaningful responsibility from an early stage while developing through seat-specific training, a supervisor, trainee buddy, partner mentor and the firm’s wider development programme.

Innovation with real-world impact

What this could mean for you

You could build your career at a firm that places innovation, responsible business and pro bono work alongside complex commercial legal work.

All practice areas

AntitrustBanking and financeBrandsCapital marketsCommercial litigationCommoditiesConstruction and projectsCorporate / M&AData, privacy and cybersecurityData protectionDebt capital marketsDerivativesEducationEmploymentEnergyFinancial services and regulationFinTech and digital assetsGlobal regulatoryFraud, financial crime and investigationsGovernment affairsHealthcareInfrastructureInsuranceIntellectual propertyInternational arbitrationInvestment fundsLeveraged finance and high yieldLife sciencesMergers and acquisitions (M&A)Patent litigationPensionsPrivate equityProcurementProduct liabilityProjectsPublic and regulatoryPublic lawReal estateRestructuringSpecial situationsStructured financeTaxTechnology

Who it may suit

Before you apply, ask yourself

Would you be open to exploring seats beyond your initial preferences, given that seat allocation also reflects business needs?
Would you enjoy experiencing different team cultures and ways of working as you rotate through the firm?
Would you value a training contract that combines hands-on experience with regular structured training and development?
Would you enjoy taking an active role in your development by seeking feedback and opportunities to take on responsibility?

This firm may suit candidates who…

Are open-minded about their seat rotations and willing to explore practice areas beyond their initial preferences.
Value a supportive working culture and opportunities to build close relationships with colleagues and senior lawyers.
Want exposure to international matters across a broad range of clients, sectors and practice areas.
Enjoy taking initiative and building responsibility as their experience develops.

Things to consider

Seat preferences are considered but not guaranteed, and some of the firm’s most popular teams can be particularly competitive.
Trainees can take on meaningful responsibility from an early stage, with the level and type of responsibility varying between seats.
Recently qualified lawyers described a noticeable step up in responsibility on qualification, alongside greater scope to drive matters themselves.

What trainees do

Debt Capital Markets: (Derivatives and Structured Products)

What it involves:

This is working with derivative products, where trainees will coordinate signings, review documents and comments, and occasionally do research tasks and prepare training materials. Typically trainees will be working on 3-4 matters in a week.

Example trainee tasks:

Drafting documents, coordinating signings, incorporating client and counterparty comments, completing CP lists, preparing missing information articles and occasionally writing articles.

Support and supervision:

Trainees in these seats will often have their work reviewed by the supervisor they sit with.

A first month might involve:

A trainee is likely to work on multiple live matters, with the volume depending on the upcoming deadlines and client demands.

Banking

What it involves:

Generally, there will be a few meetings, some pro-bono work and the bulk of the work is spent drafting documents, reaching out to clients and opposing counsel for updates or comments.

Example trainee tasks:

Drafting documents from model docs, emailing clients, processing comments.

Who trainees work with:

Opposing counsel, some client contact.

Tax

What it involves:

Extended research tasks are very common, with some other smaller corporate transaction tasks being another staple of the seat, along with regular internal know-how and training sessions.

Example trainee tasks:

Research, tax due diligence, drafting HMRC forms, internal knowhow, reviewing HMRC rules and checking for daily tax news.

A first month might involve:

Largely research focused work with some other form-filing and news related tasks.

Infrastructure, Energy, Resources and Projects Banking

What it involves:

Typically following the life-cycle of the deal, this will involve marking up documents, updating CP (conditions precedent) checklists and emailing local counsel and occasionally clients.

Example trainee tasks:

Project management, emailing local counsel/clients, first drafts of documents.

Who trainees work with:

Rarely with clients, more regular contact with local counsel.

Early responsibility:

Managing projects.

A first month might involve:

This will vary depending on the ongoing deals.

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

Work is “generally predictable”, but this varies from team to team, with transactional seats being the least predictable, and “very deal dependent”.

Busy periods

Busy periods tend to occur periodically across seats, although their timing and predictability vary between teams and transaction cycles.

Late finishes

Generally, late finishes after 8pm are common, with most trainees reporting they “sometimes” finish late.

Weekend work

Weekend work is rare, but some teams will have more work, requiring the occasional weekend log-on.

Seat variation

Trainees are expected to complete a seat in Finance, Corporate/Global Regulatory and Litigation, and have the opportunity to complete a client or international secondment. Trainees point out that seat preference is not always accounted for.

Support

During busy periods, teams are often “supportive” and remain "conscious of outside plans”.

Flexibility

Some teams will have anchor days, but the two hybrid days are genuinely flexible.

Holiday allowance

25 days

Office attendance

Trainees are expected to be in the office 3 days a week. Usually, they will mirror the attendance pattern of their supervisor.

Culture & support

Supervision style

Trainees sit with their supervisors and partners in a traditional office setup. Feedback is provided at mid and end of seat reviews.

Relationship with partners

Partners are generally very approachable across the board, but the structure of teams varies greatly, with some being flat, with partners and trainees in regular contact, whilst others are hierarchical, with partners being approachable but rarely in contact with trainees.

Upward feedback

Upward feedback has a mixed reception, with some trainees finding it to be taken on whilst others believe their concerns, especially regarding seat allocation, were ignored.

Open plan or traditional offices

Traditional offices

What surprised trainees positively

Trainees were positively surprised by the level of responsibility available early in their first seat and by the friendliness of colleagues across the firm.

Application process

Online application form

(1-2 hours)

Online immersive assessment (Cappfinity)

(90 mins)

Job simulation assessment

(45 mins)

Assessment Centre

(Half day)

What happens

1. Group exercise 2. Case Study & Motivational Interview 3. Scenario-based Interview

Reviews

"“In my experience, people have been genuinely supportive and willing to invest time into trainees' development. I feel comfortable admitting I don't know something in front of senior lawyers and they will, where possible, be happy to explain and help me learn and develop my knowledge and skills.”" - Anonymous

"“The culture is priceless for me and I wouldn't want to do this job anywhere else. Also the people I work with are the best in the industry and we have incredibly interesting clients because of that.”" - Anonymous