Graduates - London

Trainee Solicitor Profile

To become an Ashurst trainee, you will need to show common sense and good judgement. We need to know that you can handle responsibility, because you will be involved in some of the highest quality work on offer anywhere. As we have 13 international offices worldwide and high profile multinational clients, you will need to demonstrate you can bring an international perspective to your work. The transactions and cases you will be involved in will be intellectually demanding, so we are looking for high academic achievers who are able to think laterally. But it's not just academic results that matter. We want people who have a range of interests outside of their studies. And we want outgoing people with a sense of humour who know how to laugh at themselves.

Training Opportunities

Your training contract will consist of four six-month seats. For each, you will sit with a partner or senior solicitor who will be the main source of your work and your principal supervisor during that seat. You will, however, be encouraged to work with a variety of solicitors during the course of your training. Seats are generally for six months. Anything less than that will not give you sufficient depth of experience for the responsibility we expect you to take on. We ask trainees to spend one seat in our corporate department and one seat in our international finance department. Trainees spend their two remaining seats in our other practice areas.

The work you undertake will obviously vary from department to department but, in all cases, our philosophy is to give trainees as much responsibility as they can manage. That means you will meet clients, write letters and draft agreements. As the training contract progresses, you will increasingly conduct matters without constant supervision.

Placement Schemes

We run a two-week Easter placement scheme each year, primarily aimed at final year non-law undergraduates and all graduates, and can accommodate up to 30 students. We also run two three-week summer placement schemes each year, primarily aimed at penultimate year law undergraduates (but this is not exclusive), and can accommodate up to 70 students. The schemes are designed to introduce Ashurst to would-be trainees from both legal and non-legal disciplines. During each intake, students will sit with a solicitor in his or her office and will become fully involved in their daily activities.

Each week, students will sit in one of the firm's principal departments. There may also be the possibility of sitting within a specialist group for those students who have specific interests. The aim is for students to gain as broad and comprehensive a view as possible, over a short period, of life as a City solicitor. Visiting students are expected to perform various pieces of work, such as researching legal points and drafting simple letters, and there may be opportunities to attend meetings with clients or conferences with counsel. In addition, a number of talks are given by members of the firm relating to the City of London, the firm and its various areas of practice. A variety of trips are also arranged and, in the summer, there may be the opportunity to visit one of the firm's international offices. Most importantly, there are many informal social events at which students have an opportunity to meet a variety of solicitors from different departments and at different levels and to ask questions about life as a trainee and beyond.
There are other social events too, such as softball matches, touch rugby and nights out with the trainees, and visiting students are regularly encouraged to participate in the firm's many sporting and social activities.


Application Process

Applications for our Training Contracts to commence in September 2010 / March 2011 are currently being accepted online via our website. The closing date for applications is 31 July 2008. Applications for our Training Contracts to commence in September 2011 / March 2012 will be accepted from 1 December 2008 onwards. The closing date for applications is 31 July 2009.

Applications for our 2009 Placement Schemes will be accepted from 1 December 2008 onwards. The closing date for applications is 31 January 2009.

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