FAQs

If you are a first year law student or a second year law student on a 4-year degree, you can apply for both the spring scheme and a spring open day. If you can attend more than one spring open day, please apply for your preferred date and mention in your application which dates you can attend.

No, we can only accept one application from you. It is not necessary to have completed work experience with us to have a successful training contract application. If you already have legal work experience and/or you feel ready to apply directly for a training contract, we would encourage you to do so. If you would still like to apply for the winter workshop before applying for a training contract, please bear in mind that training contract offers will be made on a rolling basis and we are therefore unable to guarantee the availability of places as we progress with these interviews. If you attend the winter workshop, you will be offered the chance to apply for a training contract but you may be applying for a later intake.

If you are a second year student on a four-year degree, you are eligible to apply for the spring open days.

If you are a second year law student on a four-year degree, you are also eligible to apply for the spring scheme.

If you are a law student, you can apply for the spring scheme and spring open days in your first or second year.

If you are a non-law student, you can apply for the spring scheme and spring open days in your first or second year.

You can apply for summer work experience schemes in your penultimate year.

We appreciate that you may not have any results yet. Please mention this in your application and include any predicted grades, essay or coursework results you have received to date if you have them, or just put N/A for this section of the application form.

Yes, you can. We will review all applications for our spring work experience scheme, although priority will be given to successful applications from candidates from an ethnic minority and/or lower socio-economic/social mobility background.

We appreciate that many students will be in this position. Please mention this in your application and include any predicated grades, essay or coursework results you received during those years instead.

That is entirely up to you. As long as we have this information on the form, we do not insist that you repeat it on your CV.

Good A-Level grades are not a strict requirement. All applications are welcome and will be reviewed by our recruitment partners based on their own merits. If you have any mitigating circumstances that affected any of your academic results, we recommend that you include them in your application.

Your cover letter should tell us about you, why you are interested in a career in law and why you are applying to Slaughter and May. You should also include any other information which you think may be relevant to your application. Please ensure that your cover letter is no longer than one side of A4 and address it to Janine Arnold, Head of Recruitment.

We recommend that your CV is no more than 2 sides of A4. The information included should be factual – tell us what you have done, where and when. You should include details of everything you have been involved with, whether or not these activities are related to a career in law. We want to understand your journey and how you spend your time outside of your studies.

Strong applications will be authentic and personal to you. The use of generative AI to help you prepare your application may result in inaccuracies and a lack of originality and creativity.

Please provide details of all equivalent exams taken. You may choose to provide this information in your CV instead. Please also provide an explanation of the grading system either as an additional attachment or in the relevant section of the application form.

No, you should input your marks as they appear on your academic transcript. Please also provide an explanation of the grading system either as an additional attachment or in the relevant section of the application form.

Please provide at least one academic referee. If you are currently in employment you can provide your employer as a second referee. We do not take up references for the 1^st year open day so there is no need to provide a referee if you are applying for this vacancy.

Yes, all applications are welcome. However, we do not sponsor nor provide visas for the purpose of our work experience schemes. If you do not have a British passport or settled status (such as permanent residence or indefinite leave to remain), the offer to attend our work experience scheme is conditional on your having permission to enter or remain in the UK. You must have an immigration status that permits employment. This could be one of the following:

• Student Visa (Tier 4) - For more information, please see the following link: https://www.gov.uk/student-visa. If we offer you a place on our work experience scheme, this is conditional on you providing a letter from your university confirming that the work experience scheme lies outside your term dates.
• Youth Mobility Visa (Tier 5) - For more information, please see the following link: https://www.gov.uk/tier-5-youth-mobility
• UK Ancestry Visa - For more information, please see the following link: https://www.gov.uk/ancestry-visa

Please note that the above list is not exhaustive. Please ensure you state your eligibility to work in the UK on your application form. Please also note that we will not reimburse work experience scheme applicants for the cost of any immigration related application submitted in order to partake in the scheme, nor any costs relating to attending the scheme itself (such as overseas travel or transportation).

Due to the large number of applications we receive, we are only able to provide feedback following an interview.

No, our work experience schemes are not formally assessed by the Trainee Recruitment Team. For those who complete a summer scheme, your supervisor will provide us with some written feedback on your time with us.

If you are in your first year of a two-year accelerated degree, you are eligible to apply for the summer work experience schemes.

No, the summer work experience scheme is restricted to those in the penultimate year of their undergraduate degree. You should consider the winter workshops which are aimed at finalists and graduates. Alternatively, if you already have legal work experience and/or you feel ready to apply directly for a training contract, we would encourage you to do so.

You would be considered a first-year student and would therefore be eligible for the spring open days and the spring scheme (if you are studying a law degree).

We offer training contract interviews at the end of our summer schemes. At the end of the winter workshop, you will be offered the chance to apply for a training contract but you may be applying for a later intake.

No. Although completing work experience with us will give you a greater insight into the firm, it is not necessary to have completed work experience with us, or indeed with any other firm, to have a successful training contract application. However, if you do not have any legal work experience on your CV, you should be sure to demonstrate your interest in and commitment to a career in commercial law through, for example, open days, virtual internships, virtual or in-person law firm events/university events such as law fairs or firm presentations.

If you are in Year 12 at school and looking for work placements and insight opportunities, we have two schemes available: Lead in to Law and Excellerators. You can find out more about both schemes here.