Training contract at Burges Salmon

At Burges Salmon we firmly believe our people are our greatest asset and this is reflected in the time and care we invest in you. As a multi-disciplinary law firm with expertise across the board from media and banking to energy and sport, our trainees are exposed to an extensive range of work from the very beginning of their career.

Read the Legal Cheek Burges Salmon profile.

Six seat system

While traditional training contracts comprise four seat rotations, our six seat approach is designed to provide you with the greatest breadth of experience possible as a trainee solicitor, allowing you to become an expert in many fields. This approach builds confidence, commercial awareness and adaptability from the outset. Throughout your training contract you should expect to spend some time in real estate and dispute resolution. Aside from this there is a great deal of flexibility in where your training contract takes you. Within each seat you will be encouraged to take work from right across the department, ensuring you gain a breadth of experience in each area. Your final seat will normally be spent in your qualification department, meaning you have four months to settle in before starting your career as a newly qualified solicitor.

GDL and LPC sponsorship

We have an arrangement with the University of Law to teach both the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and the Legal Practice Course (LPC) to our future trainee solicitors. We will pay your tuition fees, once you have been offered a training contract whether you are due to start the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or the Legal Practice Course (LPC). In addition, a maintenance grant of £7,000 is paid to LPC students and £14,000 (£7,000 per annum) is paid to those students studying for both the GDL and LPC.

Other benefits

Here are a few more reasons why trainees like our approach: On joining us, most trainees have yet to decide on where they want to qualify; the opportunity to experience additional departments can make all the difference. You start building relationships across the firm early in your career, helping you work out which teams you most enjoy and where you best fit. As all our people are based at our Bristol HQ you won’t find you are missing out on exciting work at a different location. Being based together makes it easy for you to call on colleagues across a range of areas, helping you to grow your skillset and provide a rewarding service to clients. This collaborative approach gives rise to a genuine team spirit which makes Burges Salmon a friendly and approachable place to work. And while you will be given early responsibility as a trainee solicitor, this is always balanced with open door support and guidance from experienced supervisors so you never feel out of your depth.

Development

You won't find a restrictive hierarchy at Burges Salmon. Throughout your training contract you will be an integral part of the team, working alongside lawyers who are experts in their field and sharing a room with a supervisor who will support your growth and development. Working with a range of associates, senior associates and partners means you hit the ground running and experience a real variety of work from a range of personalities. But we are not just interested in helping you build on your legal skills. Our bespoke development programme encompasses all the training and support you will need to succeed as a trainee solicitor and beyond so as well as the Professional Skills Course, we provide a range of in-house training on topics such as presentation skills and offer one to one coaching and support.

Career progression

We invest greatly in recruiting and developing our trainee solicitors and aim to retain them all on qualification. We set realistic recruitment targets based on future business needs and aim to take on the number of trainee solicitors that we will require in the future. Over the last five years our average retention rate on qualification has been 93 per cent, which is well above the industry average: September 2011: 85 per cent. September 2012: 100 per cent. September 2013: 91 per cent. September 2014: 91 per cent. September 2015: 100 per cent. Your personal and professional development does not end on completion of your training contract; training and support continues at every stage of your career within and outside the law, which may be why 38 per cent of our partners here today trained at the firm.

Application deadline: 31 July 2016