Ashurst Perkins Coie is the global law firm for the future economy.

With more than 3,500 client-facing practitioners across 52 offices worldwide, we advise a broad range of clients, and have a distinct strength in technology, energy & infrastructure, and financial services – three sectors at the forefront of economic transformation.

Combining global scale, sector insight, and technological capability, Ashurst Perkins Coie helps clients unlock opportunity with market-leading experience in complex transactions, litigation, and regulatory matters.

We support clients through a shifting landscape where technology, and AI in particular, is both an accelerator and disruptor to their business opportunities and challenges and is reshaping how energy, data, and capital move across markets.

Our strengths have earned our lawyers recognition across the profession, and more importantly, the trust of our clients. Our people are our greatest asset, advising clients on complex, cross-border matters and collaborating seamlessly across markets and practices. We offer a global platform for career-defining work and an opportunity to help shape a firm with the culture and confidence to compete at the highest level.

For Ashurst Perkins Coie, innovation is our tradition. We have a long legacy of helping clients through moments of transformation with the insight to help them stay ahead.

What better way to experience working life in a global law firm than by attending one of our vacation schemes. You'll have the opportunity to step into the shoes of a trainee at Ashurst Perkins Coie while spending time getting to know our practice groups over the course of one or three weeks. 

We hold two vacation schemes per year, our winter scheme is a single one-week scheme for finalists and graduates of all degree disciplines and our summer scheme is a three-week scheme for finalists and graduates of all degree disciplines as well as penultimate-year law students. 

We work hard to make sure our schemes add value to you and are as stimulating as possible; in fact, we organise the schemes along with a committee of trainees who've been where you've been and know the best way to introduce you to the firm.

You'll get the opportunity to experience one or two different departments and will be supervised by a qualified solicitor who'll get you involved in real work. There will also be team-building events to immerse yourself in the way we work together, and social events to get to know our partners, associates and current trainees away from the bustle of daily life.

Winter vacation scheme: 30 November 2026 – 4 December 2026

Summer vacation scheme: 28 June – 16 July 2027

Our training contract has been designed to provide you with the opportunities and skills needed to become a confident and competent legal professional. Ultimately, we want to help you become a thought leader with a reputation for clear, perceptive and influential advice – a professional in whom governments and leading businesses the world over can place their trust.

This isn’t an easy route to take. You’ll need to become a shrewd negotiator, have an ability to read both balance sheets and behaviours, and become a commercial strategist with a deep understanding of specific industries.

Our training contract will start you on that road. You will rotate around four different seats, each lasting six months, gaining invaluable experience in multiple areas of commercial law. You'll spend one seat in our global loans or global markets practice, and one seat in one of our transactional practices. The additional two seats will be spent gaining experience across our broad-range of practice areas, or on a client or international secondment.

All our future trainees attend The University of Law to complete post graduate study. If you haven't yet completed a law degree you will undertake the Post Graduate Diploma in Law (PGDL), which is a replacement of the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), before moving on to complete an LLM Legal Practice Course (SQE1 and 2) which is unique to Ashurst Perkins Coie and is a replacement of the previously known Legal Practice Course (LPC). We offer the following benefits to future joiners who haven't yet completed post graduate study: 

For SQE we offer £20,000 maintance grant

Optional £2,000 interest-free loan, repayable in instalments once you start your training contract.

Our programme, which takes approximately six years includes completing your LLB (hons) degree and solicitor qualifying exams (SQE1 and 2), all which are paid in full. You will spend four days per week in the London office undertaking the role of a junior solicitor, and one day per week at The University of Law working towards your academic qualification.

You'll be allocated a supervisor to provide you with quality training and opportunities to develop, as well as feedback and guidance, along with a buddy to help you settle into your first few months with the firm. We will invest time and resources into ensuring you're fully equipped with the tools to succeed in your legal career.

Our programme gives you the unique opportunity to learn the role of a junior solicitor through osmosis, collaborating with, and learning from some of the most talented people in the industry.

At Ashurst Perkins Coie, we know the power of combining unique perspectives and talent to drive extraordinary solutions and services for our clients.

Fostering an environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and respectful of all backgrounds and perspectives is the cornerstone of our values and the foundation of our success. At Ashurst Perkins Coie, inclusion, diversity and belonging (IDB) are at the heart of everything we do.

At the start of 2024, we have launched our new IDB Strategy which provides us with the foundations to continue to innovate and lead the industry.

Our strategy is guided by two principles, intersectionality and accessibility, which provide a pathway to create the extraordinary for everyone.

Accessibility as a minimum requirement 

Ensuring everyone can participate in the strategy will be an essential component of its success.

Intersectionality by design 

Our IDB strands have been a core part of how we have put IDB at the heart of everything we do. However, we know the focus on our strands has left some people feeling like IDB doesn’t apply to them, while others have a higher burden of participation and effort if they fit in to more than one strand.

This strategy focuses on systemic intersectional change, rather than prioritising progress for individual strands. Project teams and initiatives will consider intersectionality in their design as well as delivery. 

Our strategy pillars

Our people

Increasing representation of diverse communities across our global workforce

Capability

Building capability through learning, experience and the capacity to thrive

Collaboration

Encouraging inclusive collaboration in a psychologically safe environment centred on respect

Our clients

Partnering with our clients to solve complex people challenges for the betterment of the legal industry

As a firm, we've also set ourselves ambitious global diversity targets to be reached by 2026, including:

To have representation at senior leadership levels of 40% women, 40% men and 20% flexible (women, men and non-binary persons).

4% of LGBTI+ representation at the partner and senior leadership level.

Within the UK to have 15% of partners and senior business leaders to be ethnically diverse, of whom 6% will be black; 30% of staff to be ethnically diverse, of whom 13% will be black; and 35% of our trainees each year will be ethnically diverse, of whom 13% will be black.

For more information on how we bring IDB to life, please visit our website.

Non-law students completing PGDL will receive a bursary to study at The University of Law along with a £12,000 maintenance grant (£10,200, if you study the PGDL at a The University of Law campus outside London).

All students yet to complete LLM Legal Practice Course (SQE1 and 2) will receive a bursary to study at The University of Law, Moorgate branch, along with a £20,000 maintenance grant.

Interest-free loans of £2,000, repayable in instalments once you start your training contract.

• Financial regulatory
• Investment funds
• Global loans
• Global markets
• RSSG
• Projects & energy transitions
• Real estate
• Competition
• Employment
• Disputes
• Tax
• Corporate transactions
• Digital economy

• Corporate & Commercial

• Abu Dhabi
• Anchorage
• Austin
• Beijing
• Boise
• Brisbane
• Bellevue Brussels
• Casablanca
• Chicago
• Dallas
• Denver
• Dubai
• Dublin
• Frankfurt
• Glasgow
• Hong Kong
• Jakarta*
• Jeddah*
• Krakow
• Latin America
• London
• Los Angeles
• Luxembourg
• Madison Madrid
• Melbourne
• Milan
• Munich
• New York
• Palo Alto
• Paris
• Perth
• Phoenix
• Portland
• Port Moresby
• Riyadh
• San Diego
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Seoul
• Shanghai
• Shenzen
• Singapore
• Sydney
• Taipei
• Tokyo
• *Associated office

• London

• A4ID
• African Prisons Project
• AIRE Centre
• Amicus
• Asylum Aid UK
• Center for Reproductive Rights
• Competition Law Pro Bono Scheme
• Fair Trials International
• Free Representation Unit
• IPSEA
• Legal Response International
• PILnet (Public Interest Law)
• Reprieve
• The Bingham Centre
• The RCJ Citizens Advice & Law Centre
• Tower Hamlets Law Centre
• Toynbee Hall Legal Advice Centre
• TrustLaw
• UnLtd

• Access Ashurst
• Aspiring Solicitors
• Black Lawyers’ Directory
• Bright Network
• City Solicitors Horizons
• Future First
• Legal Apprenticeships
• Mindful Business Charter
• PRIME
• Rare Recruitment
• SEO London
• Social Mobility Business Partnership
• Social Mobility Foundation
• Stonewall
• Sutton Trust
• The 93% Club
• The Access Project