Bright Futures programme

Clyde & Co is a global law firm providing a complete service to clients in core sectors of insurance, transport, energy, infrastructure and trade & commodities. With over 5,500 people operating from over 70 offices, across six continents, Clyde & Co is committed to creating successful outcomes for their clients.

For more information about us and the complete service we offer our clients please visit our website here.

Clyde & Co seeks out early talent with ambition, independent thinking, curiosity and commitment, and will help trainees harness their skills to build a successful career. Our early talent programmes are designed to challenge, inspire, and prepare you for a future in a dynamic legal landscape.

Future lawyers at Clyde & Co are defined by their curiosity, teamwork, and willingness to think beyond the expected. Whether through structured programmes or hands-on experience, we equip our people with the tools to shape meaningful careers.

By joining Clyde & Co, you can find and redefine success in every aspect of your career.

Culture and values

Our values are the cornerstones of our culture; they are what guide us to achieve success time and time again. They are the centre of the decisions we make, and they unite us in everything we do.

Work as one - We are a globally connected team of talented people who act with a firm-first mentality to achieve success.

Excel with clients - We aim high and challenge ourselves to deliver unique excellence for our clients, keeping them at the centre of everything we do.

Celebrate difference - We help each other to be at our best and believe our differences result in greater achievement.

Act boldly - We seek new opportunities, take action and learn as we go, recognising that curiosity drives our development and contributes to growth.

Clyde & Co Bright Futures programme

At Clyde & Co, we strongly believe the legal sector should be accessible for all and should have as few barriers as possible. That’s why we’re delighted to announce that this year we’ll once again be running our Bright Futures programme.

Our 3-day  Bright Futures programme is aimed at people from lower socioeconomic status groups who have not yet had an opportunity to gain commercial work experience. The purpose of this programme is to develop soft skills and prepare students for the world of work. They also have the opportunity to secure an offer on one of our vacation schemes the following year. During the 3 day programme, you’ll learn about the firm from our partners, participate in various development and upskilling sessions and learn about your own strengths with an L&D professional to understand how to maximise your potential. You will also spend half a day shadowing a trainee allowing you to experience one of our teams and network with various fee earners.

Apply now

The Bright Futures Programme is aimed at first year law and penultimate year non-law social mobility students (students on a 4-year course need to apply during their 2nd year of studies) and will run from 3rd August to 5th August 2027.

Applications open on 7th September 2026 and close on 19th November 2026. For more information and apply please visit our website.

We do recommend for you to complete our Firm Essentials virtual programme on Forage before applying. Once this has been completed, please submit your application form where you'll need to complete your basic personal information. No lengthy written tasks for you to complete here.

We do not recruit on a rolling basis; however, we reserve the right to close applications early if we receive extremely high volumes

Eligibility

- Candidates must have attended a state / non-fee-paying school (unless on a full scholarship) AND meet at least one of the following criteria:

- You were eligible for free school meals (you do not have to have received them).

- You spent time in local authority care.

- You are or have been a carer.

- You had refugee or asylum seeker status as a child.

- You have experienced homelessness.

Please note we will be using Rare’s contextual recruitment system, built with fairness and equality. We also take into account any mitigating circumstances.

Recruitment Process

- We do recommend for you to complete our Firm Essentials virtual programme on Forage before applying. 

- Complete an online application. This is where you'll need to complete your basic personal information. No lengthy written tasks for you to complete here.

- Online assessment – consisting of a critical reasoning test as well as our Clyde & Co strengths-based assessment, which contains a mix of question types including written and order ranking.

- Video Interview - If you perform well in our initial online assessment, you will then be invited to complete a pre-recorded video interview.

- Virtual assessment centre consisting of a Strength Based Interview, with fee earners or early careers

- Offers and feedback

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Clyde & Co, one of our core values is to 'Celebrate Difference'. Our DEI strategy is guided by the principle “For everyone. By everyone.”, recognising that every colleague has a role in creating an inclusive culture and delivering value for our people, clients and communities. Our 2030 aspirations include reducing the gaps to gender and ethnicity representation, enhancing our diversity data self-identification rates and ensuring positive engagement scores across our DEI measures.

Our key initiatives translate this strategy into practical action. For example, targeted sponsorship and leadership accelerator programmes that support career development and progression for underrepresented groups. We recognise the importance of broadening access to the profession, and through our Legal Insight for Future Talent (LIFT) programme, we provide hands-on experience, skills training and mentorship opportunities to individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Our market leading Family Leave policy, offered to prospective parents regardless of gender, parental role or route to parenthood, continues to drive gender equality and our Workplace Adjustments policy enables all colleagues to participate in, and contribute to, the firm’s success. All our work around diversity, equity and inclusion is done in partnership with our colleagues through our global Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which provide community, awareness, and education for all. Our global ERGs cover Gender, Parents and Carers, Pride, Disability, Neurodiversity and Accessibility, Mental Wellbeing, Faith, and Culture and Heritage.