Training Contract

Trowers & Hamlins is an international law firm with UK offices in Birmingham, Exeter, London and Manchester, together with offices in the Middle East. The firm advises clients across a broad range of commercial legal matters and has particular strengths in real estate, corporate, finance, litigation and private wealth.

The firm's trainee programme is designed to provide broad commercial experience, early responsibility and exposure to work involving clients and colleagues across different offices and jurisdictions.

Trowers recruits around 25 trainees each year, split between March and September intakes.

The Training Contract

The Trowers & Hamlins training contract lasts two years and is structured around a series of seats in different practice areas.

Trainees work across a range of commercial seats, gaining experience of different types of legal work and client relationships. The firm aims to give trainees meaningful responsibility while providing supervision and support from experienced lawyers.

The breadth of the programme means that trainees can experience very different types of work during their two years. Trowers highlights examples including Middle Eastern infrastructure projects, major urban regeneration and private equity transactions.

Trainees also have the opportunity to spend time in one of the firm's Middle Eastern offices, providing exposure to international legal work and clients.

Practice Areas

Trowers' commercial practice provides trainees with opportunities across a range of legal disciplines, including:

Corporate: M&A, private equity, corporate transactions and business reorganisations.

Real Estate: Development, investment, regeneration and other property transactions.

Finance: Banking, real estate finance and other financing transactions.

Dispute Resolution: Commercial disputes, litigation and arbitration.

Employment: Employment advice and disputes for businesses and other organisations.

Private Wealth: Legal advice concerning private clients, wealth structures and related matters.

Projects and Infrastructure: Major infrastructure and development projects, including work with an international dimension.

The precise seat options available to trainees depend on business requirements and the offices in which they are based.

International Experience

One of the distinctive features of the Trowers training contract is the opportunity to gain international experience in the Middle East.

The firm's UK trainees have the opportunity to spend time in one of its Middle Eastern offices. This can provide exposure to different legal systems, commercial environments and client requirements while allowing trainees to work alongside lawyers from across the wider firm.

The international element reflects the firm's work on cross-border transactions and projects, particularly in sectors such as real estate, infrastructure, energy and investment.

Responsibility and Development

Trowers' trainee programme is designed around the principle of giving trainees responsibility appropriate to their level of experience.

Trainees work as part of teams and are expected to contribute to client matters rather than simply observe more senior lawyers. The firm places particular emphasis on collaboration, learning from colleagues and developing the ability to deliver high-quality work.

The programme also provides opportunities to develop commercial awareness, legal analysis, communication and client-management skills.

Qualification

Approximately five months before qualification, trainees meet with the Early Talent team to discuss the qualification process.

Vacancies are advertised internally to the qualifying trainee intake, and each trainee can apply for positions in two departments of interest. The relevant departments then conduct their own interview processes before qualification offers are made.

Trainees can also apply for available positions in the firm's overseas offices. Qualification into an overseas office depends on a suitable vacancy being available, and trainees who qualify in a UK office may subsequently have opportunities to transfer overseas.

What Trowers Looks For

Trowers does not seek a single type of candidate. The firm describes its culture as collaborative and places importance on candidates who can work effectively with colleagues and clients.

The selection process looks for evidence of:

Analytical ability: The ability to understand complex information, identify important issues and reach sound conclusions.

Commercial awareness: An understanding of the business environment in which clients operate and how legal advice affects their objectives.

Communication: The ability to explain complex issues clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing.

Collaboration: The ability to work constructively with colleagues and contribute to a team.

Adaptability: The ability to respond positively to new situations, different types of work and changing priorities.

Judgment: The ability to consider information carefully and reach informed conclusions.

Personal responsibility: A willingness to take ownership of work and follow tasks through to completion.

Resilience: The ability to deal positively with challenges and maintain performance when circumstances change.

Trowers also places importance on candidates having a growth mindset and being willing to learn from feedback.

Academic Requirements

Trowers publishes minimum academic requirements for its training-contract recruitment.

Candidates who do not meet the standard requirements can still provide information about mitigating circumstances in the application form. Those circumstances are taken into account as part of the recruitment process rather than applicants being automatically rejected solely because of their grades.

The firm considers the wider application alongside academic performance, including the candidate's experience, competencies and evidence of suitability for a career at Trowers.

Application Process

Stage 1: Online Application

Candidates begin by completing Trowers' online application form.

The form asks for information about education, employment and work experience, together with a series of longer-form questions designed to assess the competencies relevant to a future trainee solicitor.

Applications for the current cycle opened on 1 October 2026 and close at 11:59pm on 4 January 2027.

Candidates can apply to only one UK office during a recruitment cycle.

Stage 2: Online Strengths-Based Assessment

After submitting the application, candidates are automatically invited to complete Trowers' online strengths-based assessment.

The assessment is designed to consider candidates' strengths against the role of a trainee solicitor.

It is not timed, although Trowers recommends allowing up to approximately 110 minutes to complete it. Candidates are also provided with a feedback report following the assessment. The report is intended for personal development and does not itself represent the recruitment decision.

Trowers does not recruit on a rolling basis. Applications are considered after the application deadline has passed.

Stage 3: Assessment Centre

Candidates who successfully complete the application and online assessment progress to an in-person assessment centre at the office to which they applied.

The assessment centre consists of three exercises:

Written exercise: Candidates complete a written task designed to assess relevant skills.

Strengths-based interview: Candidates discuss their strengths, experiences and suitability for the role.

Group exercise: Candidates work with other applicants on an exercise designed to assess collaboration and interpersonal skills.

The assessment centre takes place at the relevant Trowers office.

Summer Vacation Scheme Route

Trowers also operates a paid summer vacation scheme, with approximately 50 places each year across its UK offices.

The 2027 schemes take place over two weeks:

7 to 18 June 2027

21 June to 2 July 2027

Candidates applying for the summer vacation scheme are automatically considered for a training contract, meaning a separate training-contract application is not required.

The vacation scheme provides candidates with an opportunity to experience the firm, work within practice teams and develop an understanding of the trainee role before progressing through the recruitment process.

Insight Events

Trowers runs insight events at its UK offices for prospective applicants.

The current programme includes events in Birmingham, Exeter, London and Manchester during November and December 2026. These events cover life as a trainee, the firm's practice areas and clients, and application skills.

Trowers recommends attending an insight event before submitting a summer vacation scheme or training-contract application where possible.

Diversity and Inclusion

Trowers places significant emphasis on creating an open and inclusive working environment.

The firm has an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team and a number of employee networks covering areas including gender, LGBTQ+, wellbeing, disability, international matters, race and ethnicity, religion and belief, social mobility and allyship.

The recruitment process also allows candidates to explain mitigating circumstances that may have affected their academic results.

Application Deadline

The application deadline for the current Trowers & Hamlins Training Contract recruitment cycle is:

4 January 2027 at 11:59pm

Applications opened on 1 October 2026.

Candidates may apply to only one UK office during the recruitment cycle.