Labyrinthitis
Slaughter and May is a leading international law firm, recognised for our exceptional legal service, commercial awareness and commitment to clients.
We are trusted advisers to some of the world’s largest companies, advising on complex, high-profile and often ground-breaking transactions, and our forward thinking and innovative approach complements the best-in-class advice on which our reputation is built.
Our practice areas
We are a full-service law firm and have leading practitioners across a wide range of areas including Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate and Commercial; Financing; Tax; Competition; Disputes and Investigations; Real Estate and Projects; Pensions, Employment and Incentives; Financial Regulation; and Technology, Digital, Data and Intellectual Property.
A world of difference
There are clear differences between Slaughter and May and other global law firms:
Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and Inclusion is an integral part of how we do things as a firm. We believe that a supportive and inclusive workplace drives collaboration and helps people perform at their best. We are looking to employ the brightest minds regardless of what or where they studied, and we strive to ensure that people feel comfortable being themselves at work through fostering an inclusive culture which values diversity of experience and perspective.
For more information please visit www.slaughterandmay.com
We support a number of charities, non-profits and organisations who help us to develop our culture of inclusion and engage with diverse communities:
Stonewall Top 100 Employers 2024
Top 75 Social Mobility Employers Index 2024
Labyrinthitis
1st year open days
The aim of our spring open days is to provide an insight into the legal profession in general and more specifically the work of a City law firm. They are open to law and non-law students in their first year of undergraduate study, or their second year of a four-year degree.
During the day, you will have the opportunity to hear from partners, associates and trainees about their experiences of working at the firm, learn about one of our recent deals and find out more about what we are looking for in the application and interview process for our summer work experience schemes and training contract.
Summer work experience schemes
We run three work experience schemes each summer which are for penultimate year students (and first year students on a two-year accelerated law degree).
During each scheme, you’ll sit in one of our legal groups and will get involved in legal work and conducting hands-on legal research. There will be a trainee solicitor assigned to you, who will help you to settle in and will be available throughout your scheme to answer any questions and assist with any tasks you may be given. There will also be social activities arranged to give you opportunities to talk with partners, associates and trainee solicitors outside the office. At the end of the summer scheme, you will be offered the chance to interview for a training contract.
Spring forward programme
An inclusive and diverse workforce is critical to our firm’s success and we seek the brightest minds to join us. Our clients work with us because they know that they can access exceptional talent.
Data from the Law Society shows that lawyers from ethnic minority or lower socio-economic backgrounds are underrepresented in law firms compared to the undergraduate population at UK universities. In our search for the best talent, we want to improve access to the profession for undergraduates from underrepresented backgrounds.
If you are a first-year law student from a lower socio-economic and/or ethnic minority background, our Spring Forward programme has been designed to give you an insight into life as a lawyer at Slaughter and May. This programme aims to develop your understanding of the work and culture of the firm and to provide information and experience for when you make decisions about applying for summer work experience schemes and training contracts in your penultimate year.
The programme includes:
Solicitor Apprenticeship Programme
Our six-year Solicitor Apprenticeship Programme is designed for bright and motivated school leavers interested in a career in commercial law, and will offer you the breadth of experience and training needed to become a multi-specialist lawyer, equipped to advise on a broad range of legal matters.
Training Contract
Our training contract is designed to offer you the breadth of experience and training needed to become a multi-specialist, equipped to advise on a broad range of legal matters. You will be given responsibility from an early stage and the opportunity to work alongside partners, who, together with other team members in the firm, provide mentoring and individual support.
All of our trainees complete at least two six-month seats in our Corporate and M&A and Financing groups. Subject to gaining some contentious experience, your remaining time can be divided into two or three specialist areas or focused on one.
Our overseas offices and close working relationships with market-leading law firms in other jurisdictions mean there are also opportunities for trainees to apply for a secondment in their second year; this can either be an international secondment (to destinations such as Paris, Amsterdam, New York and Hong Kong), or a client secondment located in and around London.
Slaughter and May recruiters share their top tips for applicants:
Check your application before you submit it
Always take the time to proof read your application for typos or errors before you submit it or ask a friend to check it over for you.
Prepare for your interview
Preparation is all about doing your research on us and being able to answer questions like why are you applying to us specifically and why do you want to work as a commercial lawyer?
Get in touch
If you have any queries, contact the Early Careers Recruitment Team. We will be happy to talk through any concerns and answer your questions.
Our trainees come from a range of universities – it is the quality of the candidate, not the university that is important to us.
Across all of our opportunities, we are looking for candidates with:
We use the Rare Contextual Recruitment System for all of our opportunities. The system helps us to identify high potential candidates by putting applicants’ grades and achievements in the context of their social and educational background.
For further details about the eligibility requirements for each of our opportunities, please visit our website.
Our application process
We have approximately 90 vacancies for trainee solicitors each year, six Solicitor Apprenticeships and 300+ opportunities across our different work experience schemes and open days.
For all of our opportunities, you will be asked to submit an online application form and attach your CV and cover letter (or your responses to questions if applying for the Spring Forward Programme or Solicitor Apprenticeship Programme).
For further details on our application process and hints and tips on preparing your application, please visit our website.
Slaughter and May is committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are barrier-free and inclusive as possible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term health condition. We have included some examples below, but we would encourage candidates to get in touch to discuss their individual needs.
Extra time
We can arrange for candidates to be given extra time to complete the written exercise and article reading.
Equipment/materials
Candidates can bring their own equipment with them for example laptops with screen readers. We can also provide a printer if candidates would prefer to check their work in hard copy rather than on the screen and we can provide materials in a large font.
Timings
We can adjust the timings of the day where necessary to include breaks.
At Slaughter and May we have eleven employee networks which are run by and open to all employees and are supported by leaders across the firm. Each network encourages dialogue and opportunities to celebrate diversity and learn about different experiences. They host several events throughout the year and are a great way to meet new people in the firm. All employees are encouraged to join a network – for both those who identify with the network and allies.
Empowered is the firm’s disability and health network, which represents those with visible and hidden disabilities, neurodiversity, long-term health conditions, carers, and allies.
It is a forum in which employees can share their experiences and advice, as well as to help raise awareness of disability and health inclusion across the firm. We want everyone to feel empowered to bring their whole selves to the workplace.
The Empowered Network aims to continue to raise awareness and advocate for neurodiversity, carers and visible and hidden disabilities and long-term health conditions.
To follow this employer join the MyPlus Students' Club
To save this content, join the MyPlus Students' Club