London training contract

Two years, four seats and as much responsibility as you can shoulder; that’s what we’ll offer you as one of our chosen 25 trainees.

25 life-changing opportunities

Two years, four seats and as much responsibility as you can shoulder; that’s what we’ll offer you as one of our chosen 25 trainees.

Develop an incredible career with us

There’s a lot to look forward to as a trainee at Stephenson Harwood.

At Stephenson Harwood you'll be exposed to top quality international work across a range of sectors, an environment that balances cutting-edge work with a respectful, friendly culture, the chance to prove yourself on a secondment and the opportunity to make a name for yourself from day one. We work in small teams, so every person is critical – that's why we'll expect you to give it your all every day.

What's your background?

What you'll be doing

Whatever practice you join, you can expect extensive exposure to our clients and stimulating, cutting-edge projects.

You could find yourself working on anything from a high-profile, £multi-million financial litigation case to a ground-breaking M&A deal. You could even spend time on secondment at a client's office, absorbing a totally different business culture first-hand.

Although every seat is a different journey, each is designed to give you a broad balance of commercial awareness and practical legal experience, plus the flexibility to move between projects and pick up new skills. There will be plenty of challenges along the way, but also lots of support. At every stage you'll be coached and mentored by a partner or senior solicitor who'll give you regular feedback, advice and guidance on everything from your day-to-day responsibilities to your long-term career decisions.

Ours is not a one-size-fits-all approach. We'll recognise your individual needs and help you to tailor-make an ongoing training programme that's right for you. Regular development reviews, both formal and informal, will identify your strengths, pinpoint areas for improvement and give you the chance to discuss your post-qualification career objectives. At every stage, a dedicated partner will manage and guide your development. Ultimately, our people are our firm, so investing in your professional development is a priority. The better you perform, the better we will too.

Rewards and Benefits

In return for your hard work and dedication, you'll enjoy a wide range of rewards.

Expect a competitive salary from day one, a flexible package of benefits that you can tailor to your specific needs, and much more.

We'll offer you a salary of £50,000 in year one and £55,000 in year two. Our current NQ salary is £100,000.

If you haven't started your legal studies we'll pick up the fees for your PGDL (for non law graduates), SQE preparation at BPP University and SQE assessments. Our GDL maintenance grant is £12,000, and our SQE maintenance grant is £18,000. We are not able to cover course fees retrospectively.

As part of your SQE studies, you will have the opportunity to complete an 'essentials for practice module', designed specifically for Stephenson Harwood providing you with specialist legal knowledge areas and professional skills beyond the basic SQE curriculum. Topics will include: private acquisitions; debt finance; equity finance; commercial contracts; data protection; shipping; international trade; aviation; commercial dispute resolution & arbitration; and employment. At the end of your studies, you will be awarded an LLM Legal Practice (solicitor).

One you start your training contract, here's a snapshot of the flexible benefits you can choose from:

Cycle to work scheme
Dental insurance
Electric car scheme
Eye care vouchers
Give as you earn
GP appointments
Group critical illness cover
Group income protection
Group life assurance
Group personal pension
Gym membership subsidy
Health screening
HelloSelf
Holiday trading
Mobile phones discount
My Family Care
Private medical insurance
Retail vouchers
Season ticket loan
Subsidised staff café
Tastecard
Technology scheme
WeCare
Wellbeing programme

Who we're looking for

We expect the 25 trainees we take on each year to be dedicated, driven and ambitious.

If we choose you, it’s because we see qualities that make you a potential high-performing associate – possibly even a future partner.

We look for four key characteristics in our future trainees:

The ability to quickly assimilate a wealth of information and identify the main issues is critical. You’ll have an excellent academic record (ideally at least a 2:1), be able to make well-reasoned decisions and have meticulous attention to detail.

Strong, productive relationships with colleagues as well as clients are vital to every area of our work and therefore interpersonal skills are paramount too. You need to be good at expressing yourself clearly and succinctly – both face-to-face and in writing – and you’ll know how to tailor your message to your audience, build rapport and be persuasive.

Ambitious, driven and inquisitive, you’ll love a challenge and have the resilience needed to respond well to feedback and adapt to working in a changing environment. As someone who always keeps the end result firmly in mind and is enthusiastic even under pressure, you’ll be able to show us you know how to get a job not just done, but done brilliantly – to the very best of your ability.

Lastly, you won’t be afraid to question and challenge, or to put forward practical solutions and ideas that are well thought through. We’re known for sound commercial judgement and our international outlook so you’ll need the potential to develop the same skills.

International secondments

We offer international secondment opportunities for our trainees in our offices in Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul – it's an incredible chance to expand your horizons, experience new cultures and explore our global network.

My international secondment: Singapore

by James Hammond, trainee solicitor

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My international secondment: Seoul

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My international secondment: Hong Kong

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