At Harbottle & Lewis we offer five training contracts per year, two contracts commencing in March and three in September.
We have been ranked regarding our traineeships in the 2012 Chambers UK Student Guide, which gives an overview of the ‘true picture’ for trainees at Harbottle & Lewis.
Training Lawyers for the Future
Our aim in recruiting trainee solicitors is to employ the firm’s future lawyers and, over the years, the majority of our trainees have stayed with us following qualification.
When you join Harbottle & Lewis as a trainee, you become part of a team of lawyers advising clients in dynamic and demanding industries.
We employ trainees from a variety of educational backgrounds. Many of our trainees and lawyers took degrees in subjects like history, english or languages before converting to law.
Hear more from Glen Atchison and Sandi Simons:
“What allows us to achieve our objective of doing interesting work for creative and dynamic people is having creative and dynamic people doing the work.”
Glen Atchison
Hear from our Trainees
Some of our current and past trainees have shared their experiences to give you a genuine insight into our training, support and culture, as well as offering their advice to potential applicants.
Chris Brown, Trainee Solicitor
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Donna Cardwell, Associate, Corporate
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| Chris outlines his expectations on joining the firm and how his training and experiences have measured up so far. | Newly qualified Donna provides an overview of her four seats, sharing her best and worst moments. |
Sarah Pons, Associate, Film, TV and Theatre
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Chloe Wright, Partner
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| Sarah explains why she chose the firm and discusses the transition from Trainee Solicitor to Associate. | Chloe explains why she thinks the firm provides a unique experience for trainee solicitors, lawyers and clients. |
Nature of Training
In order to ensure that our trainees’ work is relevant and challenging and to maximise their exposure to a full range of legal tasks, we have a policy of accepting a small number of trainees.
We will train you in all aspects of being a lawyer. This includes drafting, negotiation, legal and court procedures, advocacy, case and transaction management, but also aspects such as client care and practice support, research and communication, as well as giving you guidance in managing your work efficiently.
Areas of Training
The two year training contract is divided into four seats of approximately six months. There are a total of seven different seats, including:
- Company and Commercial
- Litigation
- Property
- Commercial (Music, Sport, Advertising, Interactive Entertainment, Intellectual Property, Publishing, Broadcasting, Theatre, Film and Television)
- Family, Tax and Private Client
- Employment
- Trainee secondment to one of our aviation clients.
How we support you during your training
A Trainee Supervisor is responsible for overseeing your day-to-day work, training and development in each seat. They ensure that you have a full and varied work-load and are given appropriate skills training.
You will be formally appraised by the Trainee Supervisor at the middle and end of each seat to review your overall performance, assess the development of your skills and to plan future training. In addition you will meet regularly with your Trainee Partner who will monitor your training and general progress.
Law Society and Other Training Courses
You will complete the various components of the PSC with an external provider during your training contract. In addition, we run a wide range of internal training sessions and seminars. Some of these are tailored specifically for trainees but others you will attend along with other members of the firm.
LPC and GDL
The offer of a training contract is conditional upon the applicant passing the LPC (and the GDL where applicable). We do not pay the tuition fees for the GDL. However, for those applicants who are offered a training contract before or at the time of embarking on the GDL, we would prefer you to study for the GDL with The University of Law – Incorporating College of Law (“the University of Law”) (any branch) and will offer you a £500 bursary towards your GDL fees if you do so.
We will pay the tuition (but not resit) fees for the LPC for those applicants who are offered a training contract before or at the time of embarking on the LPC course. With effect from September 2009 we entered into an exclusive relationship with The University of Law and will require you to study the LPC at The University of Law, unless you have already completed or commenced the LPC at the time our offer of a training contract is made to you. Whilst we would prefer you to study at the Bloomsbury branch we can accommodate requests to study at one of The University of Law’s other branches. In addition we offer interest free loans towards maintenance costs during the LPC course.
In respect of the electives offered on the LPC at The University of Law, we will require you to study the International Commercial Law and International Intellectual Property options. You are then free to choose the remaining elective from the following: Advanced Property Practice; Commercial Dispute Resolution; Employment; Family; International Joint Ventures; International Public Companies and Private Client.
Vacation Placements
We do not offer a vacation placement scheme.
