Kieran Bennett is a senior coordinator in graduate recruitment and development at Mayer Brown International LLP. Kieran is based at the London office and has worked at the firm for four years.
What is your favourite time of the recruitment calendar?
I really enjoy attending the various recruitment events, both in person and online, and getting to interact with prospective candidates and hearing their insightful questions and thoughts.
Does your firm run a vacation scheme?
Mayer Brown runs two vacation schemes: one in spring (April); and one in summer (June to July). Both schemes last two weeks and candidates spend each week in two different practice groups. The schemes take place in person at our London office.
How important is the vacation scheme as part of the recruitment process?
We primarily recruit through our vacation scheme programme as we see a huge benefit, for both the firm and prospective training contract applicants, in the rich in-depth experience the schemes provide. However, we’ll always consider a pool of direct training contract applications because we recognise that a vacation scheme isn’t a preferred, suitable or viable route for all individuals – for example, if they have parental or caring responsibilities, and/or if they’re in full-time employment.
What kind of work can candidates expect to experience during the vacation scheme?
Candidates can expect to gain exposure to live trainee tasks and projects to ensure they develop a true understanding of what it’s like to train at Mayer Brown. As candidates will complete each week in different areas of the business, we aim to ensure breadth in their experience and involve them in a range of different trainee tasks.
What key skills does your firm look for in candidates when they apply?
At Mayer Brown, we’re looking for hard working and committed individuals who demonstrate a passion for the work we do. We want our trainees to be intellectually curious and business minded. As a firm, we also pride ourselves on our culture, so we’re looking for authenticity and enthusiasm in our prospective trainees. Throughout the recruitment process, we’ll be testing candidates’ resilience, adaptability and commercial awareness, as well as placing an emphasis on their knowledge of the legal industry and, specifically, Mayer Brown.
How is the firm adopting the Solicitors Qualifying Exam?
We moved to the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) route in September 2024. Our first cohort of future trainees began studying towards the SQE in 2023. BPP University is our preferred provider and all future trainees will receive a maintenance grant of £20,000 while completing the LLM SQE1&2.
How important is commercial awareness and how can candidates show they have this skill in their applications?
We’ll be testing commercial awareness throughout the process as we see this as a key skill for any aspiring solicitor. This is a skill that you’ll continue to develop and use as you progress through your career, so it’s important that you can showcase your ability to do so from the beginning. You’ll be able to demonstrate your ability at interview and assessment centre stages of the process.
What is the most common way that candidates let themselves down in their applications?
Throughout our application and assessment process, we’re looking for candidates to demonstrate a considered, thorough and detailed approach to their knowledge of the profession and Mayer Brown. There’s a tendency for applicants to provide generic and sweeping statements around their motivation for pursuing a career in commercial law, which can often be applied to a number of our competitors. Keep in mind that law firms will likely favour quality over quantity – aim for a few developed and convincing reasons why you’re interested in training as a commercial solicitor, and make sure you’ve tailored your answer to the firm you’re applying to.
What's the firm's stance on the use of AI in vacation scheme/training contract applications?
The ongoing and continuous development of AI is something that we continue to monitor but we recognise that AI is a valuable tool. When applying to our vacation schemes and training contract, it’s important that applicants remember that we want to know who you are, individually and authentically, and that we value integrity for you to succeed in the process.
How important is it for candidates to show they have researched the firm? What key things about your firm should any good candidate be able to talk about?
It’s key for us that applicants can confidently talk around our practice offering at Mayer Brown. While we provide a well-rounded and broad training experience, candidates should demonstrate an understanding of, and passion for, the main drivers of our business, which are finance, corporate and high-stakes litigation. We don’t want candidates to simply list cases or deals we’ve worked on – we need to see a genuine interest in the work we do and why it appeals to them.
Does your firm attend university law fairs in the autumn term? What is your main objective when you go to a law fair?
We adopt a hybrid approach to our recruitment season with a mixture of in person and virtual events. We’ll be returning to university law fairs in autumn 2025 at various universities around England, so keep an eye out for us at yours. We’re also working with a range of providers, like LawCareers.Net, as we want to ensure that we’re reaching students from many different universities, not just those in London and close in proximity to our office. Our aim is to provide students with the right information so they can make an informed choice about whether a training contract with Mayer Brown aligns with their own values and goals.
What’s your favourite TV show?
At the moment it would have to be The Fortune Hotel – it’s always interesting to see how people react, form alliances and try to strategise to win a competition show.
