Training contracts
From autumn 2020, we are recruiting trainee solicitors for the first time. We are looking for those who can start their training contract in September 2021, 2022 or 2023. We recruit our future trainee solicitors from our spring and summer vacation schemes only.

Our training contract provides an environment where junior lawyers can excel and be challenged, in a supportive environment. You will sit in four different practice areas, with a mix of partners and associates. You will spend six months in Litigation, Compliance, Investigations & Enforcement and six months in Private Equity.

In addition to the full programme of formal training, you will work alongside our partners and associates in small teams on real matters from day one. Our people work in small, nimble teams on high-quality matters, so it is important that you are motivated, collaborative and able to pick things up quickly as you will receive a great breadth of work from the outset.

Salary and benefits
Our trainees will be paid £50,000 in their first year and £55,000 in the second year. Our qualification salary is £120,000 per annum. We offer a full suite of benefits.

Vacation schemes
From autumn 2020, we are recruiting trainee solicitors for the first time, via our vacation schemes. In 2021, we will have up to 15 people in total on our spring and summer vacation schemes.

During your two-week scheme, you will sit in two different teams, with a partner and an associate, and gain hands-on experience, giving you the opportunity to undertake real, meaningful work and showcase your potential. We hope that by the end of the two weeks, you will have met most of our people at our vacation scheme-specific workshops, seminars and social events. You will be supported throughout your time with us, by a partner mentor, an associate buddy and our graduate recruitment team, and will be paid £500 per week.

Our vacation schemes will be held from 12 to 23 April and 21 June to 2 July 2021. We offer places on both schemes to penultimate year Law undergraduates, all final year undergraduates (both Law and non-Law), all graduates, post-graduates and career changers.

Application information
We recruit our trainee solicitors via our vacation schemes only. Applications are open from 1 October 2020 to 31 January 2021, and we recruit on a rolling basis.

Successful applications will be invited to a video interview and, if successful at this stage, will be invited to a half-day assessment centre, consisting of a written exercise and an interview. Our interviews are conducted on a CV-blind basis.

We welcome applicants from all universities and degree disciplines. We are looking for consistently strong academic achievement, with a 2.1 at undergraduate level. Willkie is proud to use Rare’s Contextual Recruitment System. Partnering with Rare means social mobility measures and educational data are embedded into our recruitment process. This means we will better understand your academic achievements.

Our people work in small, nimble teams on high quality matters, so it is important that you are motivated, collaborative and able to pick things up quickly as you will receive a great breadth of work from the outset. Willkie London has grown considerably over the past five years, and over 58% from 2017 alone. With this in mind, we are looking for self-starters who want to contribute to a dynamic, growing workplace, and who have a genuine interest in Willkie and our clients.

To make an application, please click here.

Should you have any further questions, please contact Gemma Baker, Graduate Recruitment Manager, at graduaterecruitment@willkie.com.

Our brochure gives more information on our practice areas in London, and contains videos with some of our partners and associates in London about life at Willkie.

To view our brochure, please click here.

Law fairs and workshops
We will be attending a number of workshops and law fairs in autumn 2020. Please see the full list of law fairs and workshops here. Please note that all of these events will be virtual. Should you wish to attend, and for more information, please contact the host directly.

We will also be attending King’s College London’s Focus on Law 2020, which is spread over several days.

Open events at Willkie
Please note that all events will be held virtually. To register your interest, please email graduaterecruitment@willkie.com, stating which events you would like to attend, in order of preference, what year of study you are in and a short statement (not more than 200 words) as to why you would like to attend. We will allocate spaces on a rolling basis and will update the webpage when all spaces are taken.

Please note priority will be given to those eligible to start their training contract in September 2021, 2022 or 2023.

Your place is not confirmed until you receive an email from us.

Webinar: How to make a successful application, hosted by Gemma Baker, graduate recruitment manager. This will be 90 minutes long, including time for questions.
Dates: 2 to 3.30 pm, Monday 2 November 2020 and 2 to 3.30 pm, Monday 7 December 2020.

Open Days: our open days are three hour virtual events, where you will hear from partners and associates about our practice areas at Willkie, our hands-on approach to training, working in small teams and the opportunities you will be given. You will also learn about pro bono and community work in London. It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn more about life at Willkie.
Dates: 10 am to 1 pm on 24 November 2020 and 12 January 2021.

Diversity & inclusion
At Willkie, we believe everyone benefits from a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we are committed to maintaining such an environment by recruiting, retaining and promoting people of all backgrounds and cultural experiences.

Willkie is proud to partner with Rare Recruitment on two initiatives: Rare’s Contextual Recruitment System and Vantage. Partnering with Rare means social mobility measures and educational data are embedded into our recruitment process. This means we will better understand your academic achievements. Additionally, interviews are conducted on a CV blind basis.

In London, we have an active LGBTQ+ Affinity Group, as well as the London Chapter of the Women’s Professional Development Committee (WPDC). The WPDC was established more than a decade ago to offer professional development programmes and guidance to ensure that Willkie provides a rewarding and empowering experience to women at the firm.

Our lawyers and business service staff are also members of Willkie’s firm-wide Diversity and Inclusion Committee, established approximately thirty years ago. In the past twelve months, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee has continued to host its highly successful Diversity Speaker Series, with external speakers such as Nikesh Shukla, Dr Angela Neal-Barnett, Michelle Silverthorn, Dr Russell Jeung, Kylar Broadus and Dr Tyrone Howard, amongst others. Topics have included strategies for handling the impact of racism, trauma, stress, and anxiety; inclusion and anti-racism (including rules of equity, allyship and building an inclusive workplace); the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and violence; how to talk to your children about race and racism; and race and immigration in the UK.

Pro bono
Willkie regularly partners with a number of clients to support myriad nonprofit organisations. These organisations are dedicated to a wide array of causes, including education, immigration and providing support to underprivileged communities.

In London, our lawyers work on a number of different projects, both in the UK and the US. Our London office encourages our lawyers to introduce new pro bono matters to the firm.

Community work
We recognise the need to partner with local communities and, in London, we partner with a local school, providing work experience placements for at least two Year 11 or 12 students each year. Additionally, we have one paid apprenticeship a year, for a school leaver to work in our business services team.

A number of our lawyers in London regularly mentor a Law student from Queen Mary University of London to provide advice on a career in law and to help develop each mentee’s commercial awareness.

Training contracts
From autumn 2020, we are recruiting trainee solicitors for the first time. We are looking for those who can start their training contract in September 2021, 2022 or 2023. We recruit our future trainee solicitors from our spring and summer vacation schemes only.

Our training contract provides an environment where junior lawyers can excel and be challenged, in a supportive environment. You will sit in four different practice areas, with a mix of partners and associates. You will spend six months in Litigation, Compliance, Investigations & Enforcement and six months in Private Equity.

In addition to the full programme of formal training, you will work alongside our partners and associates in small teams on real matters from day one. Our people work in small, nimble teams on high-quality matters, so it is important that you are motivated, collaborative and able to pick things up quickly as you will receive a great breadth of work from the outset.

Salary and benefits
Our trainees will be paid £50,000 in their first year and £55,000 in the second year. Our qualification salary is £120,000 per annum. We offer a full suite of benefits.

Vacation schemes
From autumn 2020, we are recruiting trainee solicitors for the first time, via our vacation schemes. In 2021, we will have up to 15 people in total on our spring and summer vacation schemes.

During your two-week scheme, you will sit in two different teams, with a partner and an associate, and gain hands-on experience, giving you the opportunity to undertake real, meaningful work and showcase your potential. We hope that by the end of the two weeks, you will have met most of our people at our vacation scheme-specific workshops, seminars and social events. You will be supported throughout your time with us, by a partner mentor, an associate buddy and our graduate recruitment team, and will be paid £500 per week.

Our vacation schemes will be held from 12 to 23 April and 21 June to 2 July 2021. We offer places on both schemes to penultimate year Law undergraduates, all final year undergraduates (both Law and non-Law), all graduates, post-graduates and career changers.

Application information
We recruit our trainee solicitors via our vacation schemes only. Applications are open from 1 October 2020 to 31 January 2021, and we recruit on a rolling basis.

Successful applications will be invited to a video interview and, if successful at this stage, will be invited to a half-day assessment centre, consisting of a written exercise and an interview. Our interviews are conducted on a CV-blind basis.

We welcome applicants from all universities and degree disciplines. We are looking for consistently strong academic achievement, with a 2.1 at undergraduate level. Willkie is proud to use Rare’s Contextual Recruitment System. Partnering with Rare means social mobility measures and educational data are embedded into our recruitment process. This means we will better understand your academic achievements.

Our people work in small, nimble teams on high quality matters, so it is important that you are motivated, collaborative and able to pick things up quickly as you will receive a great breadth of work from the outset. Willkie London has grown considerably over the past five years, and over 58% from 2017 alone. With this in mind, we are looking for self-starters who want to contribute to a dynamic, growing workplace, and who have a genuine interest in Willkie and our clients.

To make an application, please click here.

Should you have any further questions, please contact Gemma Baker, Graduate Recruitment Manager, at graduaterecruitment@willkie.com.

Our brochure gives more information on our practice areas in London, and contains videos with some of our partners and associates in London about life at Willkie.

To view our brochure, please click here.

Law fairs and workshops
We will be attending a number of workshops and law fairs in autumn 2020. Please see the full list of law fairs and workshops here. Please note that all of these events will be virtual. Should you wish to attend, and for more information, please contact the host directly.

We will also be attending King’s College London’s Focus on Law 2020, which is spread over several days.

Open events at Willkie
Please note that all events will be held virtually. To register your interest, please email graduaterecruitment@willkie.com, stating which events you would like to attend, in order of preference, what year of study you are in and a short statement (not more than 200 words) as to why you would like to attend. We will allocate spaces on a rolling basis and will update the webpage when all spaces are taken.

Please note priority will be given to those eligible to start their training contract in September 2021, 2022 or 2023.

Your place is not confirmed until you receive an email from us.

Webinar: How to make a successful application, hosted by Gemma Baker, graduate recruitment manager. This will be 90 minutes long, including time for questions.
Dates: 2 to 3.30 pm, Monday 2 November 2020 and 2 to 3.30 pm, Monday 7 December 2020.

Open Days: our open days are three hour virtual events, where you will hear from partners and associates about our practice areas at Willkie, our hands-on approach to training, working in small teams and the opportunities you will be given. You will also learn about pro bono and community work in London. It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn more about life at Willkie.
Dates: 10 am to 1 pm on 24 November 2020 and 12 January 2021.

Diversity & inclusion
At Willkie, we believe everyone benefits from a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we are committed to maintaining such an environment by recruiting, retaining and promoting people of all backgrounds and cultural experiences.

Willkie is proud to partner with Rare Recruitment on two initiatives: Rare’s Contextual Recruitment System and Vantage. Partnering with Rare means social mobility measures and educational data are embedded into our recruitment process. This means we will better understand your academic achievements. Additionally, interviews are conducted on a CV blind basis.

In London, we have an active LGBTQ+ Affinity Group, as well as the London Chapter of the Women’s Professional Development Committee (WPDC). The WPDC was established more than a decade ago to offer professional development programmes and guidance to ensure that Willkie provides a rewarding and empowering experience to women at the firm.

Our lawyers and business service staff are also members of Willkie’s firm-wide Diversity and Inclusion Committee, established approximately thirty years ago. In the past twelve months, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee has continued to host its highly successful Diversity Speaker Series, with external speakers such as Nikesh Shukla, Dr Angela Neal-Barnett, Michelle Silverthorn, Dr Russell Jeung, Kylar Broadus and Dr Tyrone Howard, amongst others. Topics have included strategies for handling the impact of racism, trauma, stress, and anxiety; inclusion and anti-racism (including rules of equity, allyship and building an inclusive workplace); the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and violence; how to talk to your children about race and racism; and race and immigration in the UK.

Pro bono
Willkie regularly partners with a number of clients to support myriad nonprofit organisations. These organisations are dedicated to a wide array of causes, including education, immigration and providing support to underprivileged communities.

In London, our lawyers work on a number of different projects, both in the UK and the US. Our London office encourages our lawyers to introduce new pro bono matters to the firm.

Community work
We recognise the need to partner with local communities and, in London, we partner with a local school, providing work experience placements for at least two Year 11 or 12 students each year. Additionally, we have one paid apprenticeship a year, for a school leaver to work in our business services team.

A number of our lawyers in London regularly mentor a Law student from Queen Mary University of London to provide advice on a career in law and to help develop each mentee’s commercial awareness.