Work Placements
A good way to find out more about the firm is via a Work Placement Week. These are held around Easter time and in June and July. You can see how we operate, and we can see what you’re made of. We strongly encourage applicants for training contracts to apply at the same time for a Work Placement – two thirds of people who we make offers to have been on one.
Applications for Work Placements, made on line, should be submitted by 31 January for both our Easter and Summer placements. There are ten places available of each of the week long placements and candidates of all ages and disciplines are welcome to apply, provided you are at least in the penultimate year of a law degree, the final year of a non law degree or have already graduated.
Shortlisted applicants for work placement complete online aptitude tests and the highest scoring candidates are asked to an interview with the graduate recruitment team during February and March. Successful applicants get the opportunity to choose which two departments they wish to spend time in during the work placement week.
Training Contracts
You will spend four, six month seats in different teams in the firm. Three of those seats will be in our Company & Commercial, Property and Litigation Departments. The fourth may be in the Wealth Management Department or in a different team in one of the other three departments.
To provide you with the best opportunity for self-development, we will try to match your training to your strengths and interests, as well as our own business requirements. You’ll state your first seat preference before joining us and later seat rotations will reflect aims and objectives highlighted during your appraisals.
We are looking for trainees to join across our offices in Newcastle, Tees Valley and York. Two trainees will also have the opportunity to work for up to three months in our Brussels office. There are also opportunities to work on secondments with some of our clients both here and abroad.
Fond of the photocopier and binder? Sorry, you won’t be spending too much time with them. From day one we’ll expect and encourage you to contribute to our business as part of our team. Your opinions will be sought and listened to.
Throughout your training you’ll enjoy close supervision from senior, dedicated lawyers. As your expertise grows, you’ll have more responsibility so that you are constantly challenged within your capabilities. Throughout, of course, you’ll be supported by our professional, approachable graduate recruitment team.
We provide a bespoke Professional Skills Course developed jointly with the College of Law. This is delivered in our Newcastle offices by their specialist trainers. Spread over the two years of the training contract, it is designed to be as much practical use as possible by delivering the right training at the relevant time. You’ll also benefit from departmental inductions; quarterly appraisals and a checklist system to monitor the standard and variation of work you’re involved with.
After qualification all trainees are invited to apply for the newly qualified positions available. Frequently we can accommodate everyone into their department of first choice.
The closing date for training contract applications is 31 July for places in Newcastle, Tees Valley and York. Shortlisted applicants will complete online aptitude tests, an online personality questionnaire and a problem solving exercise. Interviews for training contracts are conducted by our graduate recruitment team and candidates are asked to make a short presentation as part of this. We make offers as soon as possible after the interview process is completed (subject to Law Society requirements).
We don’t choose people from particular universities, backgrounds, parts of the country, or even particular subjects. One third of our trainees are non-law graduates; several are fresh from different careers. Our selection process will tell us if you have the intellectual, communication and problem-solving skills we and our clients need.
Whilst online applications are preferred, hard copy versions of application forms are available on request. The application form (which covers both Work Placement and Training Contract applications) is available here.