DLA Piper is one of the world’s leading business law firms. With over 90 offices in more than 40 countries, the firm provides seamless local and cross-border advice. The firm believes great businesses can make a better world. That's why, every day, DLA Piper helps its clients succeed.

DLA Piper's progressive mindset challenges conventions and evolves its global legal offering into broader advisory services and new business areas. Through the firm's deep industry knowledge, technological solutions, and diversity of thought and experience, clients embrace change and seize opportunities.

DLA Piper’s ten sector groups cover the full range of business law services. Clients include multinationals, start-ups, public sector bodies and governments. Across the two leading legal directories, the firm has over 3,567 lawyer rankings, and over 1,440 practice group/sector rankings. DLA Piper has a world-leading global pro bono practice, with lawyers working across Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and North America. In 2021, the firm contributed 197,512 hours of pro bono legal services globally. Internationally, the firm focus on displaced people. Their practice is uniquely placed to work to protect the rights of refugees, displaced people and those who are stateless, with a particular focus on supporting the most vulnerable groups, including women, children and members of the LGBT+ community.

The firms' entrepreneurial and supportive culture promotes bold, ambitious thinking and a warm, empathetic approach. Trusting, collaborative relationships with clients and each other are at the heart of everything it does.

DLA Piper is looking for ambitious, capable and forward-thinking graduates from any degree discipline to join its journey. Graduates will be based in one of the firm's UK offices: Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, London and the North West (Manchester and Liverpool). We also welcome gradaute trainees in Dubai and Hong Kong.

DLA Piper has the following practice groups: corporate, employment, finance and projects, intellectual property and technology, litigation and regulatory, real estate restructuring, tax.

To find out what it is like to work at DLA Piper UK LLP read the firm's Meet the Lawyer profile.

Gain first-hand experience of working at DLA Piper with our in-person summer internship. Our three-week paid programme starts with a four-day induction event held in the London office followed by time working in your chosen office location. This is the gateway to our International training programme and will provide you with opportunities to explore your interests and make informed career choices. We only recruit trainees through the summer internship.

Summer internship

Our summer internship is designed to give you insight to what life at DLA Piper is really like. Our three-week programme starts with a four-day induction event held in the London office followed by time working in your chosen office location. 

The induction will allow you to meet new people and hear from senior members of the firm, as well as our current trainees and associates. You will discover more about the firm’s practice groups and sectors, our approach to radical change and technology, as well as diversity, equality, and inclusion. You will also spend time building your professional skills and workplace capabilities to ensure you have the best internship experience possible. 

You'll spend your second and third weeks of the Internship undertaking work experience across two of our practice groups in your chosen office location. We will do our best to allocate your placements based on your preferences which you can share with us in advance. 

For the summer of 2024 year we will be recruiting interns into the following UK offices. Please click your preferred location to apply:

Birmingham

Edinburgh

Leeds

London

Manchester

The internship is your chance to show us your strengths in actions and following your time with us you may be offered a place on our international training programme (training contract). Please note: You will be considered for a training contract offer in the office you undertake the summer internship in.

Am I eligible?

Studying a law degree: you can apply for the programme if you are a second-year student on a three-year course or a third-year student on a four-year course. You can also apply if you are in your final year of study.

Studying a non-law degree: you can apply for the programme if you are in your final year of study.

You are also eligible to apply if you are a graduate or career changer.

We welcome applications from all degree disciplines but only one application can be made per year

You must have the right to work for the duration of the programme (35 hours a week) in the location which you have chosen. DLA Piper is unable to sponsor visas for the summer internship programme.

Key dates

Applications close: please note that we review applications on a rolling basis, and therefore will close when we have enough applications to fill the role.

We would therefore encourage early applications to avoid missing out.

Applicants will be assessed for a place on the International trainee programme, commencing in Autumn 2026.

During their two-year graduate programme, graduates will complete four six-month rotations, and the majority will undertake an international or client secondment. As part of DLA Piper's future, all graduates are given the resources and opportunities to build an exciting, fulfilling career.

At DLA Piper, diversity and inclusion underpins how we live our values and everything we do. We believe that everyone has a voice, and that everyone’s voice counts. We know that the rich diversity across our firm makes us stronger, more innovative and creative, which helps us to better serve our clients and communities. We are committed to providing an inclusive working environment and culture across our global firm, where everyone can bring their authentic self to work.

Diversity of perspective, thought, background and culture combine to make us the leading global law firm; that’s why we actively seek to build balanced teams. We welcome the unique contribution that you will bring to our firm and actively encourage applications from all talented people – however your talent is packaged, whatever your background or circumstance and regardless of how you identify.

We support anyone with a disability or long term health condition to ensure they have the opportunity to perform at their best. If you have not done so already, please let us know if you require any support so we can make the right adjustments and considerations should they be required.

Agile working

We know that people have responsibilities and interests outside of their career and that as a business, we all benefit from working flexibly. That's why we are open to discussing with candidates the different ways in which we are able to support requests for agile working arrangements.

Where training contracts are secured prior to course completion, we fully fund the LPC and the GDL. We also offer maintenance grants of up to £10,000 (depending on location).

• Corporate
• Employment
• Finance & projects
• Intellectual property & technology
• Litigation & regulatory
• Real estate
• Restructuring
• Tax
• Client secondments
• International secondments

• Corporate & Commercial

• Birmingham
• Edinburgh
• Manchester
• Leeds
• London
• Manchester
• Dublin
• Dubai
• Hong Kong

• A4ID
• Advocate
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• i-Probono
• London Legal Support Trust (LLST)
• PILnet (Public Interest Law)
• Prince’s Trust
• ProHelp
• The Baroness Hale Legal Clinic
• The Manuel Bravo Project
• TrustLaw Connect
• UnLtd

• City Parents
• MyPlus Consulting
• Pathways to Law
• PRIME
• Rare Recruitment
• Social Mobility Foundation
• Stonewall
• Sutton Trust
• The 93% Club
• upReach
• Urban Lawyers Careers Conference