Slaughter and May

Next deadline

Training contract – September 2029/March 2030 · 13 Nov 2026

(42 days)

In their own words

Slaughter and May is a leading international law firm, recognised for our exceptional legal service, commercial awareness and commitment to clients.

Snapshot

Firm type

Magic Circle

UK offices

London

International offices

Brussels, Beijing, Hong Kong

Training contract places

Vacation scheme places

Not disclosed

First-year salary

£56,000

Second-year salary

£61,000

Newly qualified salary

£150,000

Trainee retention

Not disclosed

SQE support

Full SQE 1, SQE2 and PGDL funding

Visa sponsorship

Yes

International secondment

Yes

Client secondment

Yes

Guaranteed secondment

Not disclosed

Typical secondment locations

Best friend firms; recent destinations have included: Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the USA

Recruitment route

Vacation scheme and direct training contract

Rolling recruitment?

Yes

Seat structure

4 six-month seats

Non-law applicants

Actively welcomed

Career changers

Actively welcomed

Remote working

Formal hybrid working policy

Holiday allowance

30 days

Minimum academic requirements

AAB at A-level, Strong 2:1 (ideally 65+ in majority of modules for each academic year) with mitigating circumstances considered.

Wellbeing support

Includes private medical insurance, onsite GP services, health screenings, confidential Employee Assistance Programme, digital health and wellbeing support, fertility and menopause support, subsidised health club and fitness classes, enhanced family leave, emergency child and adult back-up care, income protection insurance, life assurance, Cycle to Work scheme, onsite prayer and contemplation rooms, therapy rooms, and sports teams and clubs

PGDL funding

Full funding

Maintenance grant

£20,000 for the SQE; £12,000 for the PGDL

Diversity networks and partnerships

Includes Christian network, DIVERSE (Ethnicity + racial diversity), Family network, Muslim network, Jewish network, PRISM (LGBTQ+), Thrive (mental health), GEN (gender equality), Empowered (disability and health), SoMo (social mobility), One Earth; external networks include Bright Network, MyPlus, Rare, 93% club, upReach and WCan

Before you apply

Before you apply, ask yourself:

Do you enjoy academically challenging work and have a consistently strong academic record across your degree?

Would you value working within Slaughter and May’s distinctive lockstep partnership model, which emphasises collaboration and collective success?

Do you want to work in a multispecialist firm, where you can proactively shape your skillset and choose your career path with more autonomy?

Next deadline

Training contract – September 2029/March 2030

13 Nov 2026

(42 days)

View job

Deep dive

Explore this firm in detail

What makes it different

You will develop the deep expertise, commercial judgement and independence of thought needed to deliver the landmark work for which we are known.

What this could mean for you

Slaughter and May’s multi-specialist approach could help you build broad commercial understanding alongside deep legal expertise. You could develop the adaptability and independence of thought needed to work across complex matters while learning alongside colleagues with expertise across the firm.

Through longstanding relationships with leading law firms around the world and our overseas offices, we provide seamless legal advice to our clients wherever they operate.

What this could mean for you

Slaughter and May’s international model combines its overseas offices with longstanding relationships with leading independent firms around the world. You could gain exposure to complex cross-border matters from the outset and work with lawyers and clients across multiple jurisdictions.

Subject to gaining some contentious experience, your remaining time can be divided into two or three specialist areas, for example, Disputes and Investigations, Competition, Real Estates and Projects.

What this could mean for you

Trainees have the opportunity to do more than just four seats, as they can split some seats into 3-month seats in certain specialist practice areas, or choose to do a full 6 months in them. Depending on seat choices, you will have the opportunity to experience more practice areas than you would get to in other firms, developing your multi-specialist skills and giving you more exposure to different areas of the firm.

Practice area strengths

Mergers and acquisitions

Boasting a client list that includes a significant portion of the FTSE 100 and 250 companies, Slaughter and May’s band 1 M&A practice rivals that of any firm in the City. The team advises on major transactions including public and private M&A, shareholder activism, joint ventures and equity markets matters, with a history of working on deals including shareholder activism, public and private M&A, joint ventures and equity markets work.

Competition

Competition at Slaughter and May is an important practice area, where the firm is able to use its international offices to assist clients on all manner of competition queries. Trainees in this seat have the opportunity to split their time between Brussels and the UK, doing a 3 month secondment in Europe alongside 3 months in London to get a more holistic picture of the practice. The firm's Hong Kong and Beijing offices also play an important role in its international competition practice.

Tax

Slaughter and May’s band 1 tax practice is world renowned, allowing its lawyers to work on some of the most complex, cross-border tax work. The practice works on the full range of tax related matters, providing guidance and advisory work, whilst also working in conjunction with their other practice areas to structure tax during M&A deals.

All practice areas

Capital marketsCommercialCompetitionConstruction and projectsCorporate / M&AData, privacy and cybersecurityDispute resolutionEmploymentESGFinancial institutionsFinancial services and regulationGlobal investigationsIncentivesInsuranceIntellectual propertyPensionsPrivate equityReal estate and projectsRestructuring and insolvencyRisk advisorySports lawTaxTech and digital

Who it may suit

Before you apply, ask yourself:

Do you enjoy academically challenging work and have a consistently strong academic record across your degree?
Would you value working within Slaughter and May’s distinctive lockstep partnership model, which emphasises collaboration and collective success?
Do you want to work in a multispecialist firm, where you can proactively shape your skillset and choose your career path with more autonomy?

This firm may suit candidates who…

Want to develop their commercial understanding across multiple practices, rather than needing to choose one strict practice area.
Are keen to work on complex, cross-border matters and enjoy developing their technical and commercial understanding.
Want to work on international and cross-border work, but live and work in London.
Want the flexibility to complete either four or more seats in their training contract.

Things to consider

International and cross-border matters can involve working across different jurisdictions and time zones.

Application process

CV and cover letter

What happens

This cover letter should be no more than one side of A4 and outline why candidates are interested in a career in law, why Slaughter & May and any other relevant information.

Interview

In their own words

Snapshot

Before you apply

Deep dive

What makes it different

Who it may suit

Application process

Opportunities

Training contract – September 2029/March 2030

Summer work experience schemes 2027

Work Experience Schemes 2027

Spring Forward programme 2027

Spring Open Days 2027

Explore Law Virtual Insight Programme

Commercial Law Virtual Insight Programme

Insights

Bethan Yates