Trainee Solicitor / Graduate Solicitor Apprentice

Gateley is a professional services group offering early-career opportunities across its legal and wider professional services businesses. Its trainee programme is designed to give future solicitors a strong foundation in legal knowledge while developing the practical, commercial and interpersonal skills required for a long-term legal career.

Gateley recruits future trainees directly from its summer vacation placements. The placement gives candidates an opportunity to experience the organisation's culture, meet its people and work alongside its teams before receiving a potential training contract or graduate solicitor apprenticeship offer.

Two Routes to Qualification

Gateley offers two sponsored routes for future solicitors:

Trainee Solicitor: A conventional training contract route involving four six-month seats across different areas of legal practice, followed by qualification as a solicitor.

Graduate Solicitor Apprentice: A graduate apprenticeship route that combines employment, practical legal experience and the academic and professional requirements needed to qualify as a solicitor.

Both routes are structured around four six-month seats and provide trainees and graduate solicitor apprentices with substantial responsibility from the beginning of their programme.

Life as a Trainee

The programme begins with a week-long induction, during which the new graduate cohort meets one another and starts developing a network across Gateley. The induction includes presentations, training sessions and social activities.

New trainees and graduate solicitor apprentices also participate in the Gateley Graduate Getaway at Patterdale Hall in the Lake District, which incorporates team-building activities and development focused on a growth mindset.

During the training programme, each participant completes four six-month seats. From the beginning, trainees are given as much responsibility as possible and play an important role within their teams.

The role involves direct interaction with clients, allowing trainees to develop client-care and communication skills. Experienced solicitors provide supervision and mentoring, while the learning and development team provides soft-skills training and regular coaching. Professional support lawyers also provide technical legal training.

Performance is reviewed throughout the programme, including informal reviews and formal mid-seat and end-of-seat evaluations.

Seat Structure

Gateley's training contracts and graduate solicitor apprenticeships consist of four six-month seats. The firm aims to ensure that at least one seat reflects the trainee's preference, subject to SRA requirements and business needs.

Trainees are required to gain experience across three core areas:

Corporate

Potential seats include Corporate, Banking & Finance, Restructuring Advisory, Tax and Pensions.

Real Estate

Potential seats include Real Estate, Residential Development and Construction.

Contentious

Potential seats include Dispute Resolution, Employment, Restructuring Litigation, Property Litigation and Regulatory.

This structure gives future solicitors exposure to both transactional and contentious legal work while allowing them to develop experience in different areas of practice.

Client Secondments

Gateley also offers client secondment opportunities at some of its offices. These opportunities are not guaranteed, but trainees who are interested can express their preference to their training representative.

What Gateley Looks For

Gateley places particular emphasis on what it describes as its team spirit.

The firm looks for candidates who demonstrate ambition and who are motivated to achieve their personal and professional objectives while understanding the wider purpose of the business.

Collaboration is an important part of the firm's expectations. Candidates should be comfortable working with others, contributing to a team and building positive professional relationships.

Gateley also looks for forward-thinking and commercially minded individuals who are prepared to challenge established approaches where doing so can produce better results for clients and the business.

Who Can Apply?

Applications are open to:

Students in the penultimate or final year of a law degree.

Graduates who have completed a law degree.

Students in the final year of a non-law degree.

Graduates who have completed a non-law degree.

Gateley states that applicants who do not achieve a 2:1 should not necessarily assume that they will be excluded. Academic performance is considered alongside the overall application and summer vacation placement experience, and applicants can provide information about mitigating circumstances.

SQE and Legal Education

Gateley sponsors future trainees to complete the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).

Candidates who have not already completed the LPC and who accept a training contract are sponsored to study the LLM in Legal Practice (SQE 1 and 2) at the University of Law.

Where a candidate needs to complete a law conversion course, Gateley sponsors the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) at the University of Law.

Gateley also provides financial support for law-school studies following acceptance of a training contract and offers a maintenance grant for candidates studying the full-time LLM in Legal Practice (SQE 1 and 2).

Application Process

Gateley's recruitment process consists of several stages.

1. Online Application

Applications for the training contract and graduate solicitor apprenticeship open annually. Candidates complete an online application form before the January closing date.

2. Interactive Assessment

After applications close, applicants are invited to complete an interactive online assessment. The assessment is designed to explore how candidates think and approach challenges.

There is a threshold score that candidates must achieve to progress to the next stage.

3. Video Assessment

Candidates who meet the required threshold proceed to a video assessment. Applicants are given pre-set questions and record their responses within an allocated period.

4. Assessment Centre

Shortlisted candidates are invited to an assessment centre. The assessment centre includes interactive assessments and provides candidates with an opportunity to meet senior stakeholders, current trainees and members of the early careers team.

5. Summer Vacation Placement

Successful candidates then undertake a one-week summer vacation placement, normally during June or July.

Placements take place in Gateley's Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Guildford or Reading offices. The placement gives candidates an opportunity to experience Gateley's culture, work alongside its teams and complete further assessments.

6. Training Contract or Apprenticeship Offer

Successful candidates receive their training contract or graduate solicitor apprenticeship offer following the summer placement. Gateley states that offers are generally made within two to four weeks of completing the placement.

Recruitment Timeline

Gateley generally recruits two years in advance of the point at which candidates start their training contract or graduate solicitor apprenticeship.

The typical recruitment cycle is:

October–January: Applications open and close.

January: Interactive assessment followed by video assessment for candidates who meet the required threshold.

March: In-person assessment centres.

June–July: Summer vacation placements.

July: Training contract or graduate solicitor apprenticeship offers.

Following an offer, candidates remain in contact with Gateley during the two years before starting. They may attend graduate events and can be assigned a current trainee or graduate solicitor apprentice as a buddy.

Locations

Summer vacation placements are currently held in:

Birmingham | Leeds | Manchester | Nottingham | Guildford | Reading

Gateley advises candidates to apply for a training contract or graduate solicitor apprenticeship at the location where they would ultimately like to train, as the summer placement provides an opportunity to experience that particular office.

Gateley also lists London and Belfast in its trainee salary information, although the summer-placement locations specified for this recruitment process are Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Guildford and Reading.

Salary

Gateley's published September 2025 salary information states:

Location First year Second year

Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham – First Year: £31,000; Second Year:£33,000

Reading and Guildford – First Year: £33,000; Second Year: £35,000

London – First Year: £39,000; Second Year: £41,000

Belfast – First Year: £25,000; Second Year: £26,000

Gateley states that trainee salaries are reviewed annually, so candidates should check the firm's current information for the applicable salary when applying.

A Route into a Long-Term Legal Career

The Gateley trainee solicitor and graduate solicitor apprenticeship programmes are designed to combine structured legal education with practical experience. Four six-month seats, client contact, technical training, supervision, mentoring and coaching provide a broad foundation for future solicitors.

The programme also gives candidates the opportunity to develop professional relationships across Gateley from the beginning of their careers. During the period between receiving an offer and starting the programme, future trainees and graduate solicitor apprentices remain connected with the firm through events, networking and contact with current trainees.

How to Apply

Candidates interested in the Gateley Trainee Solicitor or Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship should apply through Gateley's careers platform during the annual application window.