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Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Next deadline

Spring and Summer Vacation Schemes 2027 · 7 Dec 2026

(41 days)

Apply now
In their own words

An international firm advising market-leading clients on complex, high-profile transactions and disputes across the UK and beyond.

Snapshot

Firm type

US firm in London

UK offices

London

International offices

Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Houston, Los Angeles, Milan, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Washington.

Training contract places

8

Vacation scheme places

20

First-year salary

£60,000

Second-year salary

£65,000

Newly qualified salary

£180,000

Trainee retention

100%

SQE support

Full SQE 1, SQE2 and PGDL funding

Visa sponsorship

Not disclosed

International secondment

No

Client secondment

No

Guaranteed secondment

No

Recruitment route

Vacation scheme only

Rolling recruitment?

No – all applications will be reviewed after the deadline

Seat structure

4 six-month seats

Non-law applicants

Actively welcomed

Career changers

Actively welcomed

Holiday allowance

25 days

Minimum academic requirements

2:1 at undergraduate level and commendation at postgraduate level

Wellbeing support

Includes private medical care, private dental care, health & wellbeing allowance, Employee Assistance Programme for employees and their families, eye tests and Cycle to Work scheme.

PGDL funding

Full funding

SQE1 and SQE2 maintenance grant

£20,000 per annum

Diversity networks and partnerships

Includes London Inclusion Working Group, LGBTQI+ affinity group, Parents affinity group, Jewish community affinity group and Minority ethnic heritage affinity group.
Before you apply

Before you apply, ask yourself:

Would you enjoy taking on meaningful responsibility early, working in lean teams and contributing directly to complex matters?

Would you value a training contract that requires you to experience both contentious and transactional work before using your remaining two seats to explore other practice areas?

Are you particularly interested in sophisticated transactional or disputes work, with Willkie's strongest externally supported London practices including corporate insurance, private equity and competition litigation?

Would you enjoy working closely with senior lawyers, including sharing an office with your supervisor and receiving continuous feedback throughout each seat?

Would international and multijurisdictional work from London appeal to you, even without an international or client secondment as part of the training contract?

Next deadline

Spring and Summer Vacation Schemes 2027

7 Dec 2026

(41 days)

View job

Deep dive

Explore this firm in detail

What makes it different

Early responsibility on sophisticated matters

What this could mean for you
Willkie operates lean teams and says trainees take on genuine responsibility on complex, multijurisdictional matters from the outset. Trainees work directly with partners and associates rather than being limited to observational work. You could contribute directly to sophisticated transactions or disputes relatively early, with Willkie's emphasis on lean teams giving proactive trainees opportunities to take ownership of their work.

Balanced exposure to contentious and transactional work

What this could mean for you
The four-seat training contract guarantees exposure to both sides of the firm's London practice: trainees complete a contentious seat in Litigation, Competition Litigation or International Arbitration and a transactional seat in Private Equity or Corporate Insurance, before choosing their remaining two seats. You would qualify with experience of both contentious and transactional work, while still having two seats to explore other interests before deciding where you may want to specialise.

Close supervision and personalised development

What this could mean for you
Trainees share an office with their supervisor throughout each seat, which Willkie says supports day-to-day involvement, coaching and continuous feedback. This is supplemented by dedicated Trainee Development and Learning & Development support. You could have particularly close day-to-day access to your supervisor, with regular opportunities to ask questions, receive feedback and learn directly from the lawyers you work alongside.

Practice area strengths

Corporate Insurance

Willkie's corporate insurance practice advises insurers, brokers, insurance-sector funds and private equity investors on complex domestic and cross-border matters. Its work spans M&A, private equity investment, listings, joint ventures, outsourcing and regulatory issues, combining corporate and regulatory expertise within the insurance sector.

Private equity

Willkie's private equity practice handles high-value sponsor-led transactions, including acquisitions, disposals and portfolio company matters. The practice works closely with finance, capital markets, tax and restructuring teams, giving it particular strength on complex transactions that require advice across different parts of the capital structure.

Competition litigation

Willkie's competition litigation practice acts for both claimants and defendants in major competition disputes, including collective proceedings and follow-on damages claims. The practice sits alongside the firm's wider competition capability, which includes merger control, foreign investment review and antitrust advice.

All practice areas

Asset managementCapital marketsCompetitionAntitrustLitigationComplianceInvestigationsInsuranceFinanceFinancial services and regulationInternational arbitrationMergers and acquisitions (M&A)Private equityRestructuringTax
Who it may suit

Before you apply, ask yourself:

  • Would you enjoy taking on meaningful responsibility early, working in lean teams and contributing directly to complex matters?
  • Would you value a training contract that requires you to experience both contentious and transactional work before using your remaining two seats to explore other practice areas?
  • Are you particularly interested in sophisticated transactional or disputes work, with Willkie's strongest externally supported London practices including corporate insurance, private equity and competition litigation?
  • Would you enjoy working closely with senior lawyers, including sharing an office with your supervisor and receiving continuous feedback throughout each seat?
  • Would international and multijurisdictional work from London appeal to you, even without an international or client secondment as part of the training contract?

This firm may suit candidates who…

  • Want meaningful responsibility early and are comfortable contributing directly to complex matters in lean teams.
  • Want experience across both transactional and contentious work before deciding where to specialise.
  • Are particularly interested in sophisticated transactions and disputes, including areas such as corporate insurance, private equity and competition litigation.
  • Value close day-to-day supervision and direct exposure to senior lawyers.
  • Want international and multijurisdictional work while remaining based in London.

Things to consider

  • Willkie gives trainees meaningful responsibility from the outset, offering opportunities to be proactive and take ownership of their work within lean teams.
  • Every trainee completes both a contentious and transactional seat, giving trainees experience of both sides of the firm’s practice before using their remaining two seats to explore their individual interests.
  • Willkie has a broader range of London practices beyond these areas, and your four seats will determine which parts of the firm's practice you experience during your training.
  • Trainees share an office with their supervisor and work in lean teams alongside partners and associates, creating a training environment with regular senior-lawyer involvement and feedback.
  • International exposure comes through cross-border and multijurisdictional matters from London, rather than through international or client secondments at trainee level.
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.

Seat variation

Trainees complete four six-month seats, including a required contentious seat and transactional seat, followed by two further seats chosen from the firm's other practice groups.

Holiday allowance

25 days
Culture & support

Supervision style

Trainees share an office with their supervisor throughout each seat, which Willkie says provides day-to-day involvement, coaching and continuous feedback. They also receive one-to-one support from dedicated Trainee Development and Learning & Development teams.

Relationship with partners

Willkie's lean team structure means trainees work directly with partners and associates on live matters. The firm says trainees gain first-hand experience working with senior lawyers and take on genuine responsibility from an early stage.

Office plan

Shared offices; trainees share an office with their supervisor
Application process

Online application form

Video interview

Written analytical exercise

What happens

This is marked by at least two different associates from Willkie's London office. Markers do not see candidates' applications or video interviews, and the exercise is marked on a name-blind basis.

Partner interview

What happens

This is a CV-blind interview, which includes suitability questions and a commercial case study.
Opportunities
Spring and Summer Vacation Schemes 2027

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

41 days leftCloses 11:59pm, 7 Dec 2026

View job