Trainee Solicitor

During the two-year Training Contract, you will experience the challenging high-performance world of commercial law and gain the breadth of experience you need to emerge as a confident solicitor in England and Wales. You will have four six-month rotations, giving you the opportunity to explore the firms Global Product Groups. You will complete at least one of your seats in one of the following five Global Product Groups: Capital Markets, Debt Finance, Project Development & Finance, Restructuring & Insolvency, or Structured Finance. You may have the opportunity to undertake an international secondment, a client secondment or a split seat secondment with our Disputes team and our Pro Bono clients. Trainees receive a salary of £56,000 in their first year, £61,000 in their second year, and £150,000 as a newly qualified lawyer.

How to apply

- Complete the online application form.

- Take the Clifford Chance Immersive Online Assessment and Watson Glaser critical reasoning test.

- If you pass the Watson Glaser test, your application form will be reviewed by the recruitment team.

- Successful candidates at application review will be invited to a recorded video interview.

 

- If you are successful at the video interview stage, you will be invited for an in-person assessment day which is typically no more than 3-4 hours in duration. It will consist of a case study exercise (inclusive of a written exercise), a combined case study and competency-based interview with a Partner and Senior Associate, and a group exercise.

Clifford Chance are committed to best-in-class learning and development opportunities for our Future Trainees, and this includes both PGDL and SQE prep sessions that enable our Future Trainees to maximise their career development, build their networks, and leave feeling equipped with the skills and confidence necessary for PGDL and SQE success.

During the SQE, we host a number of Global Product Group presentations that help Future Trainees to make informed seat choices. To set you up for success, each Global Product Group also delivers a skills session to explain key trainee tasks and ensure trainees are best placed to add value from day one. And in week one at the firm, you will partake in our Trainee Induction programme.

Our Training Contract is open to penultimate year law students, final year law and non-law students and graduates. You must be eligible to start your Training Contract in August 2029 and/or February 2030. Your intake may be decided by the recruitment team. For further information on eligibility, please refer to our FAQs on our website. You must have achieved or be on track to achieve a 2:1 or above in your undergraduate degree.

If you are applying for our London Training Contract and you have not studied an England and Wales qualifying law degree, then you will need to complete the PGDL prior to joining us as a Trainee. Please note that if you are a Scots or Irish law student or graduate you may be required to do elements of the PGDL. All Future Trainees will also need to complete the SQE prior to joining us as a Trainee, this is irrespective of whether you have already completed the LPC. All Future Trainees who have already completed the SQE will still need to complete the Clifford Chance Plus Programme, which is a bespoke course designed by our lawyers in collaboration with the University of Law. Both the PGDL and SQE are funded by Clifford Chance and we will provide a maintenance grant to use during your studies. More details can be found on our website here. If you have already completed the PGDL, you need to have achieved a commendation (60% or more) overall and achieved a completion (a pass or better) on all modules at first attempt. If you have already completed the SQE, you need to have passed all modules on first attempt.