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Freeths LLP

50 vacancies
66 trainees
156 partners
1005 staff

A leading full-service law firm, with 1,000+ freethinking colleagues all working together to make the future better for our people, clients and communities.

Remember to cite LawCareers.Net on your application form if you apply to Freeths LLP.

More info

Legal assistant programme

Our legal assistant programme allows you to gain grass roots experience of working in a legal environment alongside our talented lawyers. You will provide a combination of administrative and legal support to trainees, lawyers and partners, which means that you get a true picture of what a career in law could offer you in the long term. We are looking for outstanding legal assistants with excellent academics, first class organisation, with the ability to build lasting relationships and have a flexible and can-do attitude to contribute and succeed with us.

Legal assistant positions are initially for six months. We review performance at three monthly intervals; at the six month mark we are assessing performance and attitude with a view to offering a second six-month contract. At the nine-month stage, we make a decision on whether to offer funding for the solicitors qualifying examination (SQE) and a further contract to enable you to complete your qualifying work experience (QWE) and this will be delivered through a graduate level apprenticeship.

Successful legal assistants will then enrol onto the graduate apprenticeship and this means starting the formal training. This will involve working at Freeths four days a week and studying one day a week at The University of Law to prepare for and take the SQE1 and SQE2. You will have the option to make the apprenticeship up to a masters qualification. The apprenticeship will last 25 months and during that period, you will rotate seats in different areas of law whilst completing your QWE.

Once you have completed our graduate apprenticeship and passed your exams you will be ready to qualify!

Freeths LLP legal assistant programme application form is available here. The application process is open year round.

Early talent pathway (ETP)  insight day (first years only) 

First-year students – don’t miss out!

Apply for Freeths’ ETP insight days – and get a head start in your legal career.

Are you a budding lawyer with a burning ambition to be brilliant? At Freeths, we get you off to a flying start.

We’re a full-service law firm with more than 1,000 freethinking colleagues, spread across 12 UK offices.

We’re smart and entrepreneurial. We’re bold in how we engage with our clients. And we’re a friendly, diverse and together team who always look out for each other.

Flourish at Freeths

If you’re a first-year undergraduate, we have an exciting opportunity to join our ETP and get ahead in your career.

It starts with our insight days in June at one of three offices – Nottingham, Birmingham or Leeds – where you can learn about Freeths and how you could build a successful law career with us.

If you show us that you’re driven, collaborative and dynamic, we’ll invite you back for a week-long work experience placement in your second year.

Students who excel on work experience are offered a place on our legal assistant programme in their third year. This is a fantastic stepping stone to a graduate apprenticeship and ultimately qualifying as a solicitor.

Work experience (penultimate year students) 

Huge opportunity for second-year students

Apply for work experience at Freeths – and build a rewarding career at our leading firm

Are you a budding lawyer with a burning ambition to be brilliant? At Freeths, we get you off to a flying start.

We’re a full-service law firm with more than 1,000 freethinking colleagues, spread across 12 UK offices.

We’re smart and entrepreneurial. We’re bold in how we engage with our clients. And we’re a friendly, diverse and together team who always look out for each other.

Unique opportunity for second years

Would you like to spend a week in one of our offices, doing hands-on work experience and learning what life is like at a leading law firm?

Students who excel in this opportunity will be offered to join us as a trainee after finishing their third year. This is a stepping stone to a graduate apprenticeship and ultimately qualifying as a solicitor.

How our work experience works

We offer a limited number of one-week placements in our offices each year. Choose your preferred office when you apply (below) and we’ll do our best to meet it.

Our placements are an opportunity to learn about the law, increase your understanding and self-confidence, and learn how Freeths can support you building a successful law career.


Applications to

Carole Wigley

Method of application

Online Application Form

Method of assessment

  • HR-led interview
  • Partner interview

Freeths is a national law firm. Tracing its origins in the East Midlands back to 1810, the firm has in recent years pursued a dynamic strategy of becoming a pre-eminent regional law firm, with successful offices now established in Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Oxford and Sheffield. While Freeths is a heavyweight commercial firm, serving a wide variety of corporate and institutional clients, there is also a strong commitment to a broad range of legal services, which includes a substantial private client element. This enables us to give a breadth of experience in training which is not always available in firms of a similar size.


Types of work

The firm covers a wide range of work and is organised into four divisions: real estate and construction, commercial services, private client, and personal litigation.

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

We have an exciting opportunity for second-year law students to spend a week in one of our Freeths offices, to complete valuable work experience and gain an insight into what life is like at a leading national law firm. At Freeths we recognise the important role that work experience plays in developing the skills, knowledge, and experience of individuals looking to start or progress their career within the legal industry. Therefore, those students who excel on our vacation work experience scheme will be offered a place on our legal assistant programme with a view to undertaking a graduate apprenticeship with us leading to a qualification as a solicitor.

The firm will accommodate a limited number of placements in our offices per year, for one-week periods. We endeavour to meet the location preferences of each candidate, but this may not always be possible. Please apply via the link below and upon applying, please state your location preference.

This is a unique opportunity to learn about the law and gain insight into how Freeths can support you with building a successful career within the law.

Give yourself the best start, a head start with Freeths.

Learn more and apply now!

Our legal assistant programme allows you to gain grass roots experience of working in a legal environment alongside our talented lawyers. You will provide a combination of administrative and legal support to trainees, lawyers and partners, which means that you get a true picture of what a career in law could offer you in the long term. We are looking for outstanding legal assistants with excellent academics, first class organisation, with the ability to build lasting relationships and have a flexible and can-do attitude to contribute and succeed with us.

Legal assistant positions are initially for six months. We review performance at three monthly intervals; at the six-month mark we are assessing performance and attitude with a view to offering a second six-month contract. At the nine-month stage, we make a decision on whether to offer funding for the solicitors qualifying examination (SQE) and a further contract to enable you to complete your qualifying work experience (QWE) and this will be delivered through a graduate level apprenticeship.

Successful legal assistants will then enrol onto the graduate apprenticeship and this means starting the formal training. This will involve working at Freeths four days a week and studying one day a week at The University of Law to prepare for and take the SQE1 and SQE2. You will have the option to make the apprenticeship up to a masters qualification. The apprenticeship will last 25 months and during that period, you will rotate seats in different areas of law whilst completing your QWE.

Once you have completed our graduate apprenticeship and passed your exams you will be ready to qualify!

We offer funding for the SQE.

Freeths are committed to giving everyone an opportunity to succeed, regardless of their background, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, disability, religion or belief, age, social background or part-time status. We are proud to be as diverse as our clients.

We believe that our inclusive attitude and eagerness to try new things gives us an edge in the legal field. For example, we pick our trainees and graduates based on their talent rather than the name of their university. From finding innovative ways of working to building trust in our varied clients, diversity underpins our success. Our aim is to attract, develop and retain the brightest lawyers in the UK from many walks of life.

We offer funding for the SQE.

  • Commercial litigation
  • Employment
  • Family
  • Real estate
  • Real estate litigation
  • Commercial
  • Corporate
  • Drinks
  • Hospitality
  • Leisure
  • Clinical negligence
  • Personal injury
  • Private client
  • Construction
  • General Commercial
  • General Practice
  • Corporate & Commercial

Practice Areas

Extra info

Cumberland Court, 80 Mount Street, Nottingham, NG1 6HH
Phone: 084 5274 6815
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.freeths.co.uk
Work placement: Yes
Minimum qualification: We have no grade level entry requirements.
Start salary: London £35,000/Bristol £31,000/Elsewhere £27,000
Retention rate: 85% (2012)
Has client secondments: Yes
Client secondments:
  • Retail outlets
  • Birmingham
  • Bristol
  • Derby
  • Leeds
  • Leicester
  • Liverpool
  • London
  • Manchester
  • Milton Keynes
  • Nottingham
  • Oxford
  • Sheffield
  • Business in the Community
  • #10000BlackInterns
  • BITC
  • Black Lawyers’ Directory
  • Black Solicitors Network
  • IntoUniversity
  • Law Society Social Mobility Ambassadors Scheme
  • Legal Apprenticeships
  • Pathways to Law
  • Rare Recruitment
  • Stonewall
  • Working Families