Training Contract 2029 (direct)

Building the foundations of your legal career

At Forsters, we welcome twelve trainees each year onto our two-year training contract. Our six-seat structure gives you exposure to a broad range of practice areas and helps you make an informed decision about where you would like to qualify.

In your final seat, you return to the department you will qualify into. This means you will have eight months’ trainee experience in that area overall, giving you a strong foundation as you move into qualification.

From day one, trainees are involved in real work. You will draft documents, carry out legal research and work with lawyers across the firm on client matters. As you progress through each seat, you will take on more responsibility, supported by supervisors, mentors and the wider team.

Most of our trainees join us through our vacation schemes. You can also meet us at open days, online events and careers fairs to learn more about the firm, our work and the application process.

How it works

As a trainee at Forsters, you will complete six four-month seats across a range of practice areas. This structure is designed to give you broad experience of the firm’s work and help you make an informed decision about where to qualify.

We want your training contract to give you the best exposure to our work and our clients. The four-month rotations usually include seats in both of our largest practice areas: Commercial Real Estate (Core CRE) and Trusts, Tax and Estates (TTE). Trainees also gain contentious experience by generally having at least one seat in a contentious practice area (Dispute Resolution, Real Estate Disputes, Family, Employment and Partnership, or Construction Disputes). While we can’t guarantee placements in particular legal groups, we work with you to ensure you have a broad and balanced training experience.

To support your transition to a newly qualified role and give you greater experience in your chosen area of expertise, for your sixth seat, you will return to the department where you qualify in, giving you eight months’ experience in that area before qualification.

Key dates:

3 September 2026: Applications open

October – December 2026: Open days and events

4 January 2027: Applications close

February 2027: Assessment days

April / June 2027: Final interviews

Benefits

Our benefits package is designed to support trainees professionally and personally. It includes:

- 27 days’ holiday

- Life insurance

- Permanent health insurance

- Private healthcare

- Contributory pension

- Season ticket loan

- Subsidised gym membership

- Cycle to work scheme

- Employee assistance programme

- Staff discounts platform

We also offer a Wellbeing Fund, which gives employees flexibility around personal benefits. For some people, this may support activities such as National Trust membership. For others, it may contribute towards nutritional food delivery services or other wellbeing-related benefits.

Entry requirements:

A level

We look for applicants who have achieved a minimum of ABB at A level.

If you completed your education outside the UK and do not have A levels, you can include details of your equivalent qualifications and grades in the application form.

We consider all applications individually. If you have not achieved ABB, you are still welcome to apply, as we take mitigating circumstances into account. The application form includes space for you to provide these details.

Degree

Candidates should have gained, or expect to gain, a 2:1 or higher degree classification.

We recruit from a broad range of degree backgrounds and welcome both graduate and undergraduate applications. Our trainees have attended a variety of universities and studied a range of subjects.

We consider all applications individually. If you have not achieved a 2:1, you are still welcome to apply, as we take mitigating circumstances into account. The application form includes space for you to provide these details.

When to apply:

Vacation schemes and training contract

- The earliest we can accept an application from non-law students is in their final year.

- The earliest we can accept an application from law students in their penultimate year.

Applicants from all universities are welcome. For graduates, we welcome applicants from all degree subjects and career changers, regardless of how long it’s been since you graduated. We typically bring our trainees on board through our vacation schemes to spend a week with us so we can get to know you better. However, if you’re unable to participate in a vacation scheme, you’re also welcome to apply directly for the training contract. We kindly ask that you choose between these options, as we can only accept one application.

Open days and trainee application Q&A with early careers

We encourage you to apply for an open day before submitting a vacation scheme application to come to the office and hear more about the work we do. All our open days offer the same content and opportunities, so please apply to just one per cycle. The eligibility requirements are the same as those for our vacation schemes and training contract.

First year insight day

This opportunity is designed for students who are still studying and not yet eligible to apply for vacation schemes and training contracts. If you are studying law, you must be in your first year of a 3-year degree, or second year of a 4-year degree. If you are studying a non-law degree, you must be in your second year of a 3-year degree, or third year of a 4-year degree. The day is designed to provide early insight to candidates who can apply for the vacation schemes and training contracts the following year.

What we look for:

We look for candidates with strong intellectual ability, sound judgement and a genuine interest in a career at Forsters.

We value individuals who are collaborative, personable and motivated, and who demonstrate an understanding of what distinguishes our firm and the work we do.

Every application is reviewed by a member of our Graduate Recruitment Panel. We do not use automated filtering systems as part of our application process.