The University of Law
The University of Law (ULaw) is the largest provider of legal education in the UK*, with connections with over 90 of the top 100 law firms.
We offer a range of postgraduate training and Master’s degrees designed by qualified experts to help students advance at any stage of their career.
We believe in training students for the real world from the moment they accept a place with us. That’s why our courses are employment-focused, honing key skills in a teaching environment based on real legal practice. Our experienced careers service also offers students the chance to get real-life experience from the start.
Full-time, part-time and online study options are available on many of our courses to help students work and study at the same time.
*HESA 2020/21.
Brabners LLP
Brabners LLP provide a full service legal offering to large and mid-sized businesses, SMEs, public sector bodies, charities, business owners, entrepreneurs and high-net worth individuals.
Our mission to make the difference guides everything we do, pushing us to go the extra mile for our clients and empowering our people to do what they do best.
We specialise in enabling public and third sector organisations and private individuals to achieve their goals. We provide a full service legal offering to large and mid-sized businesses, SMEs, public sector bodies, charities, business owners, entrepreneurs and high-net worth individuals.
We are proud of our heritage. Practicing law since 1815, we have developed a unique culture that has made us commercially successful and has helped us adapt to change and move with the times.
We work with clients across a wide range of sectors including charity and social enterprise, healthcare, housing and regeneration, manufacturing and supply chain, media and tech, real estate, recruitment, retail and sport.
Our practice areas cover banking and finance, commercial, corporate, deal advisory, employment, family, insolvency and restructuring, international, investigations, litigation, pensions, private client and property and construction.
Ward Hadaway
Ward Hadaway is a northern-based, client-focused legal firm that believes in the strength of its people and business. With offices in Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester, the firm has a substantial client base of regional, national and international clients from both the private and public sectors.
We have a vast depth of expertise and experience to meet the diverse needs of all the clients we work for, whether they are businesses, built environment sector specialists, healthcare providers, public sector organisations or private individuals. We recognise that an exceptional service can only be provided by exceptional people, which is why we strive to recruit, recognise and reward the very best in legal talent.
Our approach is firmly commercial, with a clear focus applied to delivering the outcomes our clients require in the most appropriate and cost-effective way. We value our client and workforce diversity, and our trainees have the opportunity to interact and work with some of the best lawyers and specialists in the country, who support and inspire them every day.
As a trainee, you’ll be offered varied and challenging work from our portfolio, within a friendly and open culture. Ward Hadaway is invested in supporting the development of its people, as well as recruiting and maintaining talent across all areas of the business.
Trainees can apply for NQ roles three months prior to the end of their training and, in 2023, we have retained 100% of our qualifiers.
Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP
One of the world’s strongest integrated law firms, providing insight at the point where law, business and government meet. We give our clients a voice, support their ambitions and are committed to working alongside them to achieve successful outcomes.
A multidisciplinary team of more than 1,500 lawyers in 45 offices across 20 countries provides unrivalled access to expertise, guidance and invaluable connections on the ground. It is a seamlessly connected service that operates on any scale – locally or globally – and encompasses virtually every matter, jurisdiction and market.
Hill Dickinson LLP
At Hill Dickinson we understand that our people, our clients and our communities are at the heart of everything we do. We are an internationally recognised law firm that delivers advice and strategic guidance spanning the full legal spectrum across the UK, Europe and Asia with more than 850 people, including 185 partners and legal directors. We offer the full range of commercial legal services, from employment, property and construction to corporate, commercial and dispute resolution. We have strength, experience and presence in a number of market sectors, including marine, transportation and logistics, retail, public and private health (including life sciences), international trade, education, banking and financial services.
Our training contracts offer tailored, focused routes, allowing you to train in the area of law you want to progress in so that you can become a specialised lawyer from the outset. We believe that aligning your career to a sector of law you are truly passionate about will benefit your development and knowledge, allowing you to become the best future lawyer at Hill Dickinson that you can be.
We are adopting the SQE route via a graduate apprenticeship, meaning we cover the cost of your fees and you will receive an apprentice salary while you study. The programme is focused on equipping our trainees with the skills they need to be successful lawyers of the future, with modules including project management and innovation.
At Hill Dickinson we understand that our power as a firm comes from empowering our people. And that by encouraging and enabling individuals to be themselves at work can we benefit from their rich and varied strengths. We have developed a diversity framework, which covers six pillars, to help us break down any assumed barriers to recruitment, progression and retention, and offer equal opportunities to all. This framework guides our activity and each pillar has its own networking group – colleagues meet regularly to ensure we’re acknowledging, celebrating and supporting all of our people.
Addleshaw Goddard LLP
At Addleshaw Goddard, we are more than just exceptional lawyers: we are leaders in client investment and understanding. With over 1,200 lawyers based across the globe, we have a deep understanding of our markets and sectors. We act for our clients whatever the scale of their requirements, and have been instructed by over 40 FTSE 100 companies in the last 12 months. Our business is about strong client relationships built on successful delivery across national and international markets. We have 13 offices worldwide, which we link together with a network of likeminded global partners. Where we don’t have offices, we work with firms well known to us, to deliver an international capability.
Equally important is strong loyalty which is proven through 75% of our clients who have been with us for more than 10 years.
Join us, and wherever you are based, you will work side-by-side with blue chip clients in a supportive-yet-challenging environment. This is a structured training programme, and it is designed with your future success in mind.
Gateley Legal
Gateley stands apart from the crowd because of what we do and who we are. The first commercial law firm to float on the London Stock Exchange, our strategy is to differentiate what we do by diversifying the professional services that we offer our clients and to incentivise our people. It is this strategy that has seen our turnover nearly double since we listed and our team grow to around 1000 people. We are a business that has a great story to tell and an even more exciting one planned.
We recognise the importance of creating a rewarding place to work. As a Plc we are uniquely positioned to offer equity participation for all individuals. You can become a Gateley shareholder and share in the success of the business. Over 57% of our colleagues have done just that through one of the three share schemes which are available to all employees across the group.
Shoosmiths
Shoosmiths is a progressive, forward-thinking law firm with a real spirit of enterprise. Since 1845 it has been delivering legal services to businesses and individuals, and in the last 10 years it opened new offices in Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh, and expanded the range and size of its service teams. It is one of the United Kingdom’s fastest-growing national law firms, with over 800 lawyers and 13 locations. The firm offers strength and depth in each core discipline, together with specialist teams of lawyers in areas including competition and EU procurement, pensions and tax. In addition to legal expertise, Shoosmiths lawyers provide cost transparency, business sense, clear reporting and accessibility.
DWF Group PLC
DWF is a leading global provider of integrated legal and business services, operating across eight key sectors in over 30 global locations with over 4,000 people. Our purpose is to deliver positive outcomes with our colleagues, clients and communities.
The legal market has changed profoundly in the last decade and the speed of change continues to increase. There is a clear and growing desire for legal services to be delivered in an easier and more efficient way. So we’ve listened to our clients and designed a range of services to meet these needs.
Our vision is to deliver integrated legal and business services on a global scale through our three offerings; Legal Advisory, Mindcrest and Connected Services. Our ability to seamlessly combine any number of these services to deliver bespoke solutions for our clients is our key differentiator. This Integrated Legal Management approach delivers greater operational efficiency, price certainty and transparency for our clients. Without compromising on quality or service.