Training Contract 2027

With approximately 1,200 lawyers in offices around the world, Weil operates according to the “one firm” principle, allowing it to bring the right mix of firm-wide skill and local-market presence to deliver the coordinated legal advice necessary to help its clients achieve their sophisticated goals and objectives.

Established in 1996, Weil’s London office is the largest of its European offices and the hub of its European practice. The office is a leading player in the UK legal market and is consistently regarded as one of the most successful London offices of a US-based law firm. The firm supports a varied client base of European, US and global private equity houses, corporates and financial institutions on domestic and cross-border matters.

Weil’s strategy is focused on long-term investment in recruiting and retaining exceptional talent at all levels. The firm’s people celebrate diversity and inclusion, and its award-winning pro bono programme is deeply ingrained in the firm’s culture.

Main areas of work

Weil provides clients with legal expertise at the highest level across its key practices of Private Equity and M&A, Funds, Finance, Structured Finance, Restructuring and Disputes & Investigations, and has been involved in some of the most significant, high-profile and prestigious mandates across all its legal specialisms. The majority of the firm’s work involves multidisciplinary teams across the specialist fields of Competition, Corporate Governance and Compliance, Employment, Intellectual Property, Management Incentives, Pensions, Real Estate, Tax and Technology, leveraging the expertise of its full service capabilities for its clients.

Inclusion

Equality for all has been at our core since the firm was founded. We honour this commitment through action, to create a culture where our differences are respected, celebrated and valued. We are a workplace of equal opportunity; a workplace in which every member of our firm can bring their whole self to work.

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Virtual experience programme

Gain hands-on experience of the typical tasks a trainee would get involved in while working in our Private Equity, Finance and Restructuring teams. The virtual experience programme is self-paced and open to everyone. No application is required. Click here to take part.

Virtual & in person events

At our events, in addition to developing your commercial awareness, you will have the chance to meet our people, build your network and discover our culture, as well as ask any questions you have about the application process. Click here for a list of upcoming events.

Training contract

We recruit only through our vacation scheme for our training contract.

Reach your potential with access to the industry’s highest calibre of work with one of our training contracts. This is your opportunity to get the best start to your legal career and accelerate your progress. Our training contracts are a continuation of our vacation schemes – we recruit only through our vacation scheme – and we’re confident in your ability to excel here; you just need to be ready and willing to work hard, and take your seat.

Our training contract is the longest running of any US law firm in London and you will find successful alumni in senior positions across Weil and throughout the UK legal industry. To excel in your training contract, you’ll need to be hungry for success and determined to take on challenges no matter how big and complex.

Over the two-year course you will complete four six-month seats, developing expertise and building skills in each area. You will have mid-seat and end-of-seat performance reviews to understand where your strengths lie, and where you need to develop further. Being prepared to take on feedback is a must and part of how you will become an exceptional lawyer.

While you need to tackle one Corporate and one Finance seat as key practice areas, the remaining seats depend on your own preferences and development needs. This is your career, don’t be afraid to seize the opportunities you want.

A career at Weil is challenging, technical and requires trainees to work under pressure. We are looking for bright candidates who can use their initiative and who thrive when challenged and when out of their comfort zone. Successful candidates will need to be commercially-minded with plenty of entrepreneurial flair, as well as the ability to work effectively in a team. We are looking to recruit candidates from all universities and degree disciplines. Our academic requirements are a minimum AAB at A-level or equivalent and a 2:1 degree (obtained or predicted). We take into account mitigating circumstances and use Rare’s contextualised recruitment system to measure a candidate’s performance against the average grades of their school. We review all application forms holistically, which means if you fall slightly short of our academic requirements but demonstrate great potential, you will still be considered.

Trainees start on a salary of £60,000, which increases to £65,000 in their second year, and on qualification will increase to £170,000. In addition to a £500 annual wellbeing allowance, the firm offers a flexible benefits package which you can tailor to your individual needs.

We offer full sponsorship of the PGDL and SQE 1 and 2 in addition to an annual maintenance grant of £20,000 per year of study.

How to apply

We recruit only through our vacation scheme for our training contract. Applications for our Spring Vacation Scheme close on 1 December 2026. For more information and to apply please visit https://ukrecruiting.weil.com/.

If you require any additional support throughout the recruitment process, please contact the Early Careers team to have a confidential conversation on 020 7903 1000 or at [email protected].