Fladgate LLP is an innovative, progressive and thriving law firm which prides itself on its friendly and professional working environment. We are based in modern, attractive offices in London's Covent Garden.

Types of work

We provide a wide range of legal services to a portfolio of prestigious clients in the UK and overseas, including multinationals, major institutions and listed companies, clearing banks, lenders and entrepreneurs. Our lawyers have experience in most major areas of practice and we combine an accessible and responsive style of service with first-class technical skills and in-depth expertise.

We have a strong international dimension based on multilingual and multi-qualified lawyers working in London and complemented by access to an extensive network of overseas lawyers. We operate international 'desks' which serve continental Europe (with an emphasis on the Germanic countries), India, Israel, South Africa, the US and the Middle East. The firm’s principal departments comprise corporate (which includes tax, private capital, restructuring, employment, IP, sports and technology), dispute resolution (including matrimonial) and real estate (which includes planning, funds and finance, construction and real estate litigation). These are supported by specialist cross-departmental teams that provide co-ordinated advice on a range of issues.

Who should apply

We seek trainees with enthusiasm, leadership potential and excellent interpersonal skills. You must be able to work both independently and in a team and will be expected to show common sense and initiative. Awareness of the commercial interests of clients is essential. You will have a minimum of a 2.1 degree, although not necessarily in law, together with three excellent A levels or equivalent.

The vacation scheme provides graduate students – our potential future trainees – an opportunity to gain hands on experience at the firm and a good understanding of what life as a Fladgate trainee will be like.

Candidates will complete a series of exercises, spend time working with lawyers in two to three different departments, and have the opportunity to socialise and network with each other as well as employees and partners of the firm. 

Typically, you will complete fsix four-month seats. Each seat will bring you into contact with new clients and colleagues, and you can expect to gain real hands-on experience of a variety of deals and projects, both large and small. In each seat you will work alongside senior lawyers who will supervise your development and ensure that you are involved in challenging and interesting work. In addition to on-the-job training, each department has a comprehensive training schedule of seminars and workshops covering a range of legal and skills training. The firm has a modern culture and an open-door policy where trainees are given early responsibility and encouraged to achieve their full potential.

We sponsor our trainees to complete the LLM Legal Practice (SQE1 and 2) course, via The University of Law (our exclusive provider). You can study the SQE full-time or part-time, as long as you are able to complete the course by your specified start date with us. We no longer sponsor the LPC route, unless in exceptional circumstances. 

Fladgate offers up to six solicitor apprenticeship positions. This is a six-year programme that combines practical work based learning with formal study at The University of Law. You will start at an administrator level, and your work will increase in complexity as you gain experience. In year five and six you will join our trainee cohort whilst attaining your SQE qualification, in order to be admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in England and Wales.

At Fladgate we run our business in ways that promote equality of opportunity and respect for diversity. Ours is a business that thrives on bringing together people with different perspectives to address our clients’ challenges, so we value and encourage diversity, both internally and externally. Furthermore, the firm recognises the importance of the health and wellbeing of all our people and that it can play a part in promoting an environment which allows everyone to flourish and reach their full potential.

Promoting diversity and inclusion is a key element of our commitment to being a great place to work, enabling us to attract and retain the best talent, and we take our responsibility to this seriously. We will continue to strive for a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Our strategy is led by the director of people and culture on behalf of the executive board, who works closely with our partner lead for I&D and senior culture and inclusion manager. We also have employee and partner led networks across the firm who support and inform our inclusive culture at Fladgate. We are also proud to partner with a number of organisations working hard to improve access to the legal sector.

This includes the PRIME commitment, which aims to provide fair access to meaningful work experience within the legal sector for school-age students who may not otherwise have the opportunity. Following our work experience programme, we are proud to have seen these students filter through our graduate and apprentice pipeline.

We ensure equity within our recruitment processes and monitor the data to ensure that we are reaching a diverse range of candidates. We use RealRating when reviewing our trainee and apprentice applications. This is a feature developed by UpReach, a social mobility charity, to help us to understand academic performance in the context of factors such as type of school attended and background.

We also uphold a strong commitment to corporate social responsibility, dedicating fundraising to two nominated charities per calendar year.

We care deeply about the wellbeing of our people and have a strong commitment to employee wellness. Our wellbeing programme consists of four key pillars: physical health, mental health, financial health and social & CSR. As part of our programme we offer a range of benefits to staff and provide regular updates and seminars on health and wellbeing. Furthermore, the firm has run various physical and mental health seminars, led by internal champions and external experts such as Nutrable, Mind and LawCare, encouraging staff to feel comfortable to bring their whole selves to work. As part of our commitment to employee wellbeing, we also offer a wellbeing information session guiding our trainees and apprentices on ways to manage their wellbeing and how to access the resources we have available. We were delighted to be win the "Best Health and Wellbeing Initiative" entry at the People in Law 2020 Awards, recognising our efforts and commitment to encouraging and support the wellbeing of our people.

We offer a comprehensive sponsorship package to our trainees. We will pay course fees for the PGDL and/or SQE if you still need to undertake the course(s). We also offer a maintenance grant for those undertaking sponsored study prior to the commencement of their training contract with us. 

• Corporate
• Real estate
• Dispute resolution
• Funds, Finance & regulatory
• Construction
• Real estate disputes
• Private wealth disputes
• Family
• Private client & tax
• Commercial
• Sports
• IP

• Corporate & Commercial
• General Commercial

• London

• London

• Dandi Legal
• ELBA
• Halo Code
• Inclusive Group
• InterLaw Diversity Forum
• IntoUniversity
• Legal Apprenticeships
• Legal CORE
• PRIME
• Rare Recruitment
• The Women in Law Pledge
• upReach