Solicitor Training Contracts
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Solicitor Training Contracts at Irwin Mitchell
Our training contract is structured to not only refine your legal expertise but also to cultivate outstanding client care abilities, guaranteeing that our clients experience exceptional service.
As the UK's leading full-service law firm, we believe we have something genuinely different to offer our trainee solicitors due to our wide range of legal teams. You will have the opportunity to specialise in legal services tailored for individuals or businesses, while simultaneously gaining exposure to our comprehensive suite of teams. This integrated approach ensures that clients can fulfil all their legal requirements with us, while allowing you to broaden your legal expertise across a spectrum of interrelated service areas throughout a client’s journey.
We offer training contacts in 16 offices throughout the UK and last year we retained 91% of our trainees on qualification and welcomed another 45 trainee solicitors in August 2026 – we're committed to your future.
We don't currently have a Legal Work Placement but instead we invite all candidates who are successful after our assessment centre to attend a one-day in-person insight day to see the office, meet the people you could be working with, hear about the teams available in your office, have lunch with trainees, and network with colleagues. Find out more on our recruitment process page.
Every year, we welcome applications from all backgrounds and subjects. Our 94 current trainees come from 43 different universities and 38 of our trainees went to non-Russell institutions. We also welcome students from a Law and non-law background, and 33% of our current trainees are non-law students.
What are the benefits?
First year salary:
Regional: £31,500
London: £43,500
Second year salary:
Regional: £33,500
London: £45,500
NQ salary:
Regional: £45,000 - £57,000 (dependent on practice area)
London: £59,500 - £78,000 (dependent on practice area)
You’ll also get a range of employee benefits.
Applying
When you apply for a training contract, you’ll need to decide on two key pieces of information that suit you:
- Which stream – individual or business?
- Which location?
Our streams - Client Service teams
Our Client Services team is our legal and operations engine. It delivers a wide range of outstanding legal services to clients across different sectors. We have a strong reputation, and experts within their field, who adopt a client centric approach in all they do. Our range of legal services covers five practice areas:
Legal Services for Individuals (LSI)
- Medical Negligence
- Personal Injury
- Court of Protection and Public Law & Human Rights
- Private Client Group
Legal Services for Businesses (LSB)
You'll undertake three seats within LSI or within BSG, and a repeat seat, all within your location, over two years, giving you a breadth of experience.
By completing seats in one stream only allows you to complete seats that complement each other and develop your knowledge and skills regarding your particular client base.
Our locations
When applying for a training contract, you will need to choose one office location. It is worth thinking carefully about where you would like to be.
Each office has its own atmosphere, shaped by different teams and numbers of colleagues. Wherever you are, the client work is consistently engaging, challenging, and rewarding. You will be working on real issues that make a genuine difference.
Your future colleagues will want to understand why you have chosen their location, so take time to do your research. Get to know the teams based there and consider how their work aligns with your interests and career goals. Each department has its own anchor days when everyone is in, and work hours will vary. You will be expected to be in the office regularly, depending on team and client needs. This is not just about being present; it is about learning from experienced professionals, building relationships, and growing your confidence in a supportive environment.
Beyond the work, offices are active in their local communities and social scenes. You will be encouraged to get involved, build your network, and contribute to the firm’s culture. It is not just about knowing the law; it is about supporting your colleagues and raising your profile.
You will need to be empathetic and genuinely interested in your client’s story to achieve the best possible result for them. But supporting your client throughout is only one aspect of being a solicitor – you also need tenacity to get the job done, to stay organised to keep everything on track, to apply an analytical mindset to spot opportunities for success, and communicate effectively with a wide range of people, often all at once.
Becoming a solicitor is a significant commitment, but it is also a huge opportunity. You will grow professionally, make lasting connections, and be part of something meaningful. Not all departments in your chosen office will be available for every trainee cohort. The availability of seats is always dependent on the demand from the team which is reviewed on a continuous basis.
Please note, when applying for a solicitor training contract, we can't consider applications against multiple offices. See the list of departments available at each office below.
Practice areas
Some of the practice areas can be broken down into further departments:
Legal Services for Individuals
- Medical Negligence
- Personal Injury - Serious Injury, Asbestos & Occupational Disease
- Court of Protection, and Public Law & Human Rights
- Private Client Group – Family, Private Client Advisory, Private Client Dispute Resolution.
Business Services Group (BSG)
- Banking & Finance
- Commercial
- Commercial Dispute Resolution
- Construction
- Corporate
- Employment
- Intellectual Property
- Pensions
- Planning & Environmental
- Real Estate Transactional
- Real Estate Disputes
- Regulatory & Compliance
- Restructuring & Insolvency.
By choosing either Business Services Group (BSG) or Legal Services for Individuals (LSI) your seats will cross over any of the teams within that stream and within your office. Seats will be aligned to business need, teams that are busy, and with the potential to offer a newly qualified solicitor position at the end of your training contract.
Offices and departments
Each office has various teams but not every office has every team. Take the time to understand which departments are in your chosen location and remember that not all the teams will be available within your training contract as this all depends on their requirements at the time of you starting.Solicitors Qualifying Exam
The SQE, introduced in September 2021, is now the assessment for all aspiring solicitors in England and Wales
As an inclusive employer committed to attracting the best talent, we welcome applications from all graduates and undergraduates, whether you need to complete the SQE, are partway through it, or have already completed it (or the LPC).
Your route with us
Haven’t started the SQE yet?
We’ll enrol you on SQE1 and SQE2 preparation with our dedicated training provider and pay all associated course and exam fees and give a maintenance grant per month while your study. You will complete both SQE1 and SQE2 before your training contract begins.
Started and/or completed SQE1/SQE2
If you’ve already begun SQE study or passed SQE1, we’ll work with you to agree the best pathway to complete before your training contract starts. (Please note: we do not pay SQE fees retrospectively.)
Completing or completed the LPC
We accept applications from candidates who have completed, or are in the process of completing, the LPC. (Please note: we do not pay LPC fees retrospectively.) If you have completed the LPC then we do not expect you to complete any parts of the SQE.
Non‑law graduates (PGDL)
If you’re a non‑law graduate and haven’t started the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) at the time of offer, we will fund your PGDL tuition with our training provider and give a maintenance grant per month while you study.
Support & development
Maintenance grants
We provide a maintenance grant of £1,000 per month of study for eligible candidates who have not already started the relevant course at the time of their training contract offer:
- SQE preparation: £1,000 per month for the duration of your SQE study (if you haven’t started the course when offered a training contract).
- PGDL (full‑time study): £1,000 per month for the duration of your full‑time PGDL (if you haven’t started the course when offered a training contract).
Support while you study
We run a well‑developed programme that offers lots of support while you’re studying, so you’re set up to succeed on your course and ready to hit the ground running when your training contract starts.
Important notes
- We do not pay LPC or SQE fees retrospectively
- Where you’ve already started a course, we’ll discuss the most appropriate next steps and support.
Your development
Your training contract journey begins as soon as you accept your offer. You will receive a welcome pack assigning you a buddy and finding out who your fellow trainees will be when you join. Whether you're still studying or working before you begin, you will feel a part of the Irwin Mitchell team.
If successful, you will attend a two-day induction in one of our offices and continue with further in-person and virtual induction sessions over a three-week period. It’s a great way to get to know the firm and your fellow trainees. With approximately 45 training contracts spread across 16 locations, you will have a strong support network of other trainees but still have room to grow and make your mark.
As a trainee solicitor, no two days are ever the same. One day you may be drafting witness statements, while the next you may be attending court hearings and instructing barristers and experts on case-critical information. There are also opportunities to get involved in business development projects, networking events and our community programmes.
Our dedicated Early Careers team will discuss your progress during each seat to ensure that your training contract journey is a positive experience from start to finish.
What are the entry requirements for a training contract?
The first stage of the recruitment process involves a short online form where you will give your basic personal information and academic record. You will then automatically receive a link to complete our online strengths-based questionnaire (which takes approximately 90 minutes to complete) and you will have seven days to complete the questionnaire so don’t register until you feel ready.
The data we collect is for reporting purposes only, which means your personal and academic information isn’t shared with any of our assessors at any stage and we don’t recruit based on academic results or university attended.
If you are applying for a role within Business Services Group (BSG), you must be available to start your Training Contract in 2028 and be ready to complete your SQE studies in 2027. We have roles in BSG for 2028 available in Birmingham, Brighton/Gatwick, Leeds, London, and Manchester. To apply you must be one of the following:
- A law or non-law graduate
- An undergraduate who's in their final year of a law degree
- A non-law graduate who is currently undertaking the PGDL or completed the PGDL.
If you are applying for a role within Legal Services for Individuals (LSI), you must be available to start your Training Contract in 2028 or 2029 and be ready to complete your SQE studies in the preceding year.
In 2028 we have LSI roles available in:
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Cambridge
- Chichester
- Liverpool
- Manchester
- Nottingham
- Sheffield.
To apply for 2028 you must be one of the following:
- A law or non-law graduate
- An undergraduate who's in their final year of a law degree
- A non-law graduate who is currently undertaking the PGDL or completed the PGDL.
In 2029 we have roles in LSI across all our offices.
When you apply for 2029 you must be one of the following:
- A law or non-law graduate
- An undergraduate who's in at least their penultimate year of a law degree
- An undergraduate in their final year of a non-law degree.
For more information, please see our recruitment process page.
