AllAboutLaw

Sponsored by

BPP
AllAboutLaw

Sponsored by

BPP
AllAboutLaw
Wedlake Bell

Wedlake Bell

Next deadline

Training Contract Open Day · 16 Nov 2026

(20 days)

Apply now
In their own words

The finest legal advice should feel effortless.

Snapshot

Firm type

City

UK offices

London

International offices

N/A

Training contract places

8

Vacation scheme places

8

First-year salary

£44,000

Second-year salary

£47,000

Newly qualified salary

£85,000

Trainee retention

63%

SQE support

Full SQE 1, SQE2 and PGDL funding

Visa sponsorship

Yes

International secondment

No

Client secondment

No

Guaranteed secondment

No

Recruitment route

Trainees: Vacation scheme and direct training contract; Solicitor Apprenticeships

Seat structure

4 six-month seats

Can trainees repeat a seat?

Sometimes, depending on the circumstances

Can trainees express seat preferences?

Yes, this is taken into consideration

Trainee salary basis

Review annually

Non-law applicants

Actively welcomed

Career-changer applicants

Actively welcomed

Remote working

5 days per week in the office, trainees are provided with a work from home set up and are able to request to work from home on an ad hoc basis.

Holiday allowance

25 days, birthday leave, moving day leave and leave for significant life events

Minimum academic requirements

2:1 at university (solicitor apprentices require ABB and 5GCSEs at C or above, including Maths and English)

Typical start time

9:00am

Typical finish time

6:30pm

Wellbeing support

Includes mental health first aiders, subsidised gym, private health and dental insurance, access to EAP, and HR organise a range of monthly wellbeing sessions with a different theme e.g. financial wellbeing, nutrition and sleep

SQE1 and SQE2 maintenance grant

£10,000

PGDL funding

Fully funded if trainee has not already started the course at the point of offer.

Retrospective SQE and PGDL funding

Yes – SQE course and exams only

Diversity networks and partnerships

Include Rare Technology, The Law Society Diversity Access Scheme, City University Micro-placements, 10,000 Interns Foundation, The Sutton Trust, Causeway Education, Future Frontiers, internal networks and Diversity & Inclusion Committee

% female partners

36%

% BAME partners

8%

% female trainees

69%

% BAME trainees

31%

% state school educated trainees

63%
Before you apply

Before you apply, ask yourself:

Is a supportive, inclusive culture where you can build strong relationships and feel part of the wider firm important to you?

Do you want to do a seat in either Private Client or Commercial Real Estate? As the firm’s biggest practices, trainees are likely to need to complete a seat in at least one of these areas.

Would you enjoy taking on meaningful responsibility from an early stage of your training contract?

Would you enjoy completing your training in a predominantly office-based environment, working closely with your team five days a week?

Are you comfortable working occasional late nights?

Next deadline

Training Contract Open Day

16 Nov 2026

(20 days)

View job

Deep dive

Explore this firm in detail

What makes it different

The firm is recognised for its Real Estate and Private Client practices

What this could mean for you
The Real Estate and Private Client practices are especially important for Wedlake Bell, and most trainees will find themselves getting involved in this work. You will most likely sit a seat in at least one of these practices.

A culture that matters

What this could mean for you
Wedlake Bell has a close-knit, friendly and social culture. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to build relationships with colleagues, both through working together in the office and at regular team and firmwide socials. It’s an environment where people know each other, support one another and are encouraged to get involved.

Small, close-knit intakes benefit from bespoke training, early responsibility and meaningful client contact from the outset

What this could mean for you
Trainees can gain significant client contact and meaningful responsibility from their first seat, providing early opportunities to build confidence, develop practical skills and contribute directly to matters.

Practice area strengths

Private client

Wedlake Bell’s Private Client team is one of the firm’s largest and busiest departments, offering trainees exposure to a wide range of work. The team includes specialist onshore, offshore and trust and estate disputes groups, providing insight into different areas of private client practice. Trainees are involved in matters such as wills, powers of attorney, trusts, estate administration and inheritance tax planning, and are given meaningful responsibility from an early stage. This can include preparing legal documents, carrying out research on complex legal and tax issues, and liaising with clients and third parties, including overseas counsel, financial institutions and HMRC. Managing a varied caseload gives trainees experience of balancing competing deadlines across multiple matters, providing an opportunity to develop strong organisational and problem-solving skills.

Corporate

Working in Wedlake Bell's Corporate team as a trainee gives you exposure to a particularly broad range of work and a high level of responsibility from an early stage. While M&A is a significant part of the practice, trainees also get involved in group restructurings, corporate governance matters, shareholder arrangements, equity fundraisings, IPOs and AIM admissions, as well as day-to-day corporate secretarial work. The team acts for clients across a wide range of sectors, including technology, financial services, real estate, healthcare and hospitality, which keeps the work varied and interesting. A large part of the practice is built on long-standing client relationships, meaning trainees are involved in supporting clients on an ongoing basis across a range of matters. At the same time, trainees regularly work on one-off transactions and often see matters from start to finish, giving them a strong understanding of the full lifecycle of a deal. From an early stage, trainees are trusted with real responsibility, including drafting ancillary documents, running document lists, carrying out the corporate due diligence exercise, coordinating with specialist teams, assisting with the disclosure letter, preparing Companies House filings and helping to manage and organise the signing and completion process. The team itself is also one of its biggest strengths: it is highly collaborative and genuinely social, and by the end of a seat a trainee will typically have worked with almost everyone in the team, each with their own working style and approach, which makes for a particularly well-rounded and enjoyable training experience.

Commercial property

A trainee in the Commercial Property Core team at Wedlake Bell works with a broad spectrum of clients, including household-name businesses, investors, developers and international real estate groups. Over the course of a seat, trainees are likely to be involved in acquisitions and disposals, real estate finance transactions, leasing matters and the day-to-day management of investment assets and property portfolios. Responsibilities typically include drafting and reviewing leases, licences and reports on title, undertaking due diligence as part of asset purchase transactions, liaising with clients and counterparties, and supporting fee earners on complex real estate matters. The variety of work and level of responsibility given to trainees provide excellent exposure to both the technical legal issues and commercial objectives that drive modern real estate transactions. Trainees are expected to take ownership of their workload and manage multiple matters simultaneously, but the team is highly supportive and provides regular training, helping trainees to develop both their technical legal knowledge and the commercial skills needed to advise clients effectively.

All practice areas

Full serviceCapital marketsCorporate governanceTaxJoint ventureLLPs and partnershipsMergers and acquisitions (M&A)Venture capitalEmploymentDispute resolutionLitigationImmigrationOutsourcingStrategic sourcing and commercial transactionsFinanceRestructuring and insolvencyIntellectual propertyCommercialPensionsCorporateProjectsReal estate and projectsTechnology, media and telecommunicationsTrusts, estates and inheritanceFamilyPrivate clientFinTech and digital assetsContentious probateProbate and estate administrationWills, trusts and inheritanceResidential propertyConstructionCharity law and governancePlanningReal estateReal estate financeReal estate fundsFraudImmigration and labour lawData protection
Who it may suit

Before you apply, ask yourself:

  • Is a supportive, inclusive culture where you can build strong relationships and feel part of the wider firm important to you?
  • Do you want to do a seat in either Private Client or Commercial Real Estate? As the firm’s biggest practices, trainees are likely to need to complete a seat in at least one of these areas.
  • Would you enjoy taking on meaningful responsibility from an early stage of your training contract?
  • Would you enjoy completing your training in a predominantly office-based environment, working closely with your team five days a week?
  • Are you comfortable working occasional late nights?

This firm may suit candidates who…

  • Want to work in a highly social office, where partners are looking to help trainees succeed.
  • Are looking to take on high levels of responsibility and shape their training proactively.
  • Want to work on a mix of smaller national work and larger cross-jurisdictional matters.
  • Value work-life balance.

Things to consider

  • You will be expected to work in-office 5 days a week.
  • You won’t have the opportunity to go on secondment as a trainee.
  • Training in a smaller cohort can provide greater visibility across the firm and more opportunities to build relationships with senior lawyers.
What trainees do

Private client

What it involves:

Trainees in the Private Client practice will get involved in a broad range of matters, including wills, trusts, private and HMRC-related matters.

Example trainee tasks:

Drafting documents, attending client meetings, research, calling relevant stakeholders

Who trainees work with:

Directly with clients and with all relevant people in the team.

Early responsibility:

Trainees can take on meaningful responsibility from an early stage, with opportunities to manage individual tasks and workstreams under supervision.

Commercial property

What it involves:

Trainees in this seat will work with both tenants and landlords on a variety of matters. Trainees will both run some of their own matters and support the team with admin, drafting and research work on larger and more complex matters.

Example trainee tasks:

Document and email drafting, client calls, administrative matters, marking up documents, completing research tasks.

Who trainees work with:

Trainees work with partners and clients.

Early responsibility:

There is a high level of early responsibility, with some trainees running their own smaller matters with supervision.

Support and supervision:

Trainees will often discuss their work with associates and partners, looking at the broader plans for matters and guiding them in how to approach client contact.

Corporate

What it involves:

Trainees sitting in a corporate seat will be involved in a broad range of work matters. Work in this seat will include M&A matters, where trainees assist on due diligence, disclosures, reporting and communicating internally with the specialist tax and IP teams, as well as other matters including corporate secretarial work, IPOs, restructuring and fundraising matters.

Example trainee tasks:

Drafting documents, most frequently board resolutions and related documentations and filings.

Who trainees work with:

Partners, associates and clients.

A first month might involve:

Every month will vary in corporate depending on deal cycles and the time of year, with certain periods being deal heavier whilst others will require more secretarial and reporting work.

Work-life reality

Work-life balance varies by team, seat and transaction cycle. This section is designed to help you understand the pattern, not reduce the experience to a score.

Predictability

Working patterns vary between teams, with predictability generally reflecting the nature and timing of work within each practice area.

Busy periods

Busy periods are very seat dependent, with transactional seats becoming busiest during closings and advisory seats being busier at the quarter ends.

Late finishes

Late finishes after 8pm are rare, but occasionally trainees will need to stay late with their team.

Weekend work

Weekend work is uncommon, although it may occasionally arise depending on the demands of a matter.

Seat variation

Trainees can choose from a broad range of seats, although allocations also reflect business needs, and trainees are likely to gain experience in at least one of the Real Estate or Private Client teams.

Support

Teams are generally supportive during busy periods with teams often staying late together, and offering trainees support and guidance during these periods.

Flexibility

Trainees can request work-from-home days on an ad hoc basis.

Holiday allowance

25 days, birthday leave, moving day leave, and leave for significant life events.

Office attendance

Trainees are expected to be in office 5 days a week.
Culture & support

Supervision style

Trainees sit with their supervisor or partner directly.

Relationship with partners

Partners are often engaged in the training process, engaging with trainees regularly to both offer guidance and to get to know trainees personally.

Upward feedback

The firm encourages open communication between trainees and senior colleagues, with opportunities for trainees to provide feedback on their experience.

Office plan

Fully open plan

What surprised trainees positively

The firm has an open and supportive culture, with trainees working closely with colleagues and senior lawyers across teams.
Application process

Online application form

(1 - 2 hours)

Direct training contract route: Virtual Interview

(30 mins)

What happens

This is a live interview.

Assessment centre

(Half day)

What happens

For the vacation scheme, you will be interviewed, undertake an individual correction exercise and have a networking coffee. For the direct training contract, you will be interviewed, and undertake an individual written exercise, group exercise and individual correction exercise.
Reviews
"“It surprised me how truly social the firm is – events are held almost weekly and partners will attend after-work drinks casually.”" - Anonymous
"“There is a strong emphasis on real estate and private client work.”" - Anonymous
"“The people are genuinely lovely across the firm. The culture is apparent from the moment you join: it is non-hierarchical, approachable and friendly, supported by the single London office and a strong work-life ethos.”" - Anonymous
Events
Get assessment centre ready
Get practical tips from Wedlake Bell on how to prepare for and stand out at assessment centres.
Tuesday 3 November
Secure your place
Opportunities
Training Contract Open Day

Wedlake Bell

Wedlake Bell

20 days leftCloses 11:59pm, 16 Nov 2026

View job
Insights
Commercial Awareness Compass Episode #46
Hiring under pressure: The reform that could rewrite recruitment
Hiring under pressure: The reform that could rewrite recruitment
Read on the compass