Successful businesses rely on a unique set of ideas and people. We help our clients protect and develop those vital assets, unlocking possibilities for future success.

From iconic brands and leading multinationals to pioneering start-ups, we are proud to work with a huge range of inspiring clients, helping them to turn their ideas into reality and get the best from – and for – their people.

Our people are not only exceptional at what they do, they also enjoy doing it and consistently give their best to a firm they’re proud to be part of. This stems from our firm culture and our ethos of bravery and kindness. That ethos runs through everything we do, from our approach to recruitment, business practices, and DEI activities to the day-to-day environment in our office and our relationships with clients.  

With an internationally minded team of more than 700 working across key areas of law – plus strategic partnerships around the world – we’ve got both the combination and calibre of legal experts it takes to enable our clients’ businesses to thrive. Whether it is providing global employment law advice, managing a global IP portfolio or piecing together a multijurisdictional corporate transaction, we are able to have the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

We are proud winners of the ‘Firm of the Year’ category at The Lawyer Awards 2025 – the most prestigious category in the UK’s most important legal awards. This is testament to our innovative approach and collaborative culture.

What we do

Our major practice areas include: digital, creative and commerce; corporate; data, privacy and cyber; dispute resolution; employment; immigration; investigations and regulatory; partnership; real estate; tax, reward and incentives; and trade mark and portfolio management.

Key sectors we work in include advertising and marketing; financial services; media and entertainment; professional services; retail, fashion and hospitality; sports business; and technology.  

We do not offer vacation schemes. Candidates are invited to apply directly for a training contract in our London, Belfast, Cardiff and Manchester offices. For more information please visit our website and social media channels.

Sixth form work placements

If you're in sixth form and are looking to get a headstart on your legal career, we offer a range of opportunities for you to gain insight into life and work at Lewis Silkin.

We run three four-day placements throughout the year in our London office. Further information can be found here: https://www.lewissilkin.com/life-at-ls/careers/work-experience

At Lewis Silkin, we require all trainees to complete the entire two-year training contract, composed of 4 seat rotations, spending six months in each area. This allows you to gain as much experience as possible, and helps you decide which area of law you might like to qualify into at the end of your training contract.

At Lewis Silkin we have eight seat options:

1. Corporate
2. Data
3. Digital, commerce, and creative,
4. Dispute resolution
5. Employment
6. Immigration
7. Intellectual property disputes
8. Real estate

Sometimes there may also be the opportunity to go on a client secondment for three to six months, where you’ll work in-house on a placement to a client’s legal team. For more on secondments please see our blog here. 

You will also have to do one contentious seat throughout the period of your training contract. You’ll have the choice of either dispute resolution, intellectual property disputes, or employment (within the employment, litigation, and financial services sub-team).

Further information about the seat rotation process can be found here: https://www.lewissilkin.com/insights/2023/05/16/seat-rotations

From our 2025 training contract cohort onwards, our preference is that you will study the SQE route. However, at Lewis Silkin, we don't exclude candidates based on whether they have completed the LPC or SQE, or if they have or if they have not yet studied a PGDL, LPC, or SQE at all. If you are offered a training contract with us, we will discuss your individual circumstances with you.

Whichever route you would prefer, we recommend all future lawyers keep up-to-date on the changes through https://www.sra.org.uk/.

Solicitor apprenticeships

If you’re passionate about a career in law, and want to get started by gaining genuine legal experience, working alongside lawyers who are specialists in their field – then a solicitor apprenticeship may be the route for you. Unlike a traditional law degree, apprentices get the chance to obtain practical, hands-on experience, and develop research, negotiation and client-service skills.

As an apprentice at Lewis Silkin, you’ll spend four days a week with us, and one day a week studying with your apprenticeship education provider. By the end of the apprenticeship you’ll have earned your Law LLB University degree, gained six years of experience, and be a fully qualified solicitor through the SQE route.

We recruit for our solicitor apprentices bi-annually. Applications for our September 2026 intake will open in September 2025. The apprenticeships will be available in our London office.

Further information can be found here: https://www.lewissilkin.com/life-at-ls/careers/solicitor-apprentices

Diversity and inclusion

Our firm is named after Lewis Silkin, whose story of social mobility continues to inspire us. His family were refugees from Lithuania and he was brought up in poverty, but qualified as a solicitor before becoming an MP and eventually sitting in the House of Lords. This history is at the core of our culture and our values and it drives our commitment to ensure that access to the legal profession is open and fair and that the profession itself is diverse and socially inclusive.

More broadly, we recognise that a more diverse and inclusive workplace allows for a plethora of ideas, thoughts and skillsets, a variety of points of view that can generate broader discussions and result in innovation, enhanced client service and a stronger and more cohesive team.

We are proud of the diverse range of people within Lewis Silkin and culture of bravery and kindness that allows individuals to be themselves at work, ensuring we provide the best possible service to our clients. All colleagues are encouraged to play a role in activities related to DEI or Responsible Business. A number of DEI groups are active across the firm – Gender, Age, Race and Ethnicity, Social Mobility, Lewis SilkOut (LGBTQ+), Disability, Wellbeing, and Interfaith – supported by our DEI Board and DEI & Wellbeing Lead.

Full financial support for GDL and LPC/SQE course fees and a maintenance grant of £16,500 for London candidates and £15,600 for Manchester, Belfast and Cardiff candidates.

• Commercial
• Corporate
• Data & privacy
• Dispute resolution
• Employment
• Immigration
• IP disputes
• Real estate

• Corporate & Commercial
• General Commercial

• London
• Glasgow
• Oxford
• Cardiff
• Manchester
• Leeds
• Belfast
• Dublin
• Hong Kong

• Belfast
• Cardiff
• London
• Manchester

• Amicus
• Business in the Community
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• Free Representation Unit
• Inspire
• Legal Advice Centres
• Mary Ward Legal Advice Centre
• The Chancery Lane Project
• The National Pro Bono Centre
• TrustLaw Connect
• Working Families

• Diversity Access Scheme - Law Society
• Inspire!
• Legal Apprenticeships
• Pathways to Law
• PRIME
• Rare Recruitment
• Social Mobility Business Partnership
• Stonewall
• Sutton Trust