Weightmans LLP are a top 40 UK law firm with over 1600 people working from our offices in Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham. We recruit annually for Apprentices and Trainees with applications opening each autumn.

We are a full-service defendant law firm representing everyone from FTSE-100 companies to family-owned businesses, and public sector organisations to individuals. With our depth of expertise and forward-thinking approach, we tackle any legal challenge with clarity and care.

For 18 consecutive years we are proud to have been certified as a top employer by the Top Employers Institute.  We have achieved this status through our commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

We have also recently been ranked 15th in the Social Mobility Index in response to our efforts to widen access to the legal profession to those from underrepresented backgrounds.

Our Early Careers Team are dedicated to providing the best possible experience for our Apprentices and Trainee Solicitors, from the initial application stage, right through their respective programmes to qualification. Being a full-service law firm means we can also provide them with a good variety of experience in different areas of law where they will be working alongside some of the top lawyers in the country.

Weightmans believe in the power of people, innovation and partnership to provide strategic business insight and deep expertise to a range of private companies, public sector organisations and individuals.

At the heart of our culture and organisation is a simple purpose that informs everything we think, say and do: See the Possibility.

We believe thinking differently allows us to see the possibilities others don’t.

To find out more about us, visit our website.

Further information regarding our vacation schemes can be found on our website.

We offer our trainees a breadth of legal experience. Challenged from the outset, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your talents across a range of seats. You will follow a focused training plan which will enable you to develop business and legal skills. The quality of our training is an important commercial investment. Our retention rate is high and we want today's trainees to remain at Weightmans and be leaders in our future.

We offer a 24-month trainee solicitor programme which provides you with the best learning and development opportunities in order for you to qualify as a solicitor. One day each week is dedicated to off-the-job study with the four remaining days gaining your required work-based experience. You will complete four work placements across different areas of the business, learning from leading experts in the legal field.

You can apply for a trainee solicitor position at Weightmans from the penultimate year of your law degree, or final year of your non-law degree (if you plan to complete a Graduate Diploma in Law, or equivalent). Successful candidates will be placed on the most appropriate pathway for them to qualify as a solicitor. If you have already commenced study towards, or completed, your legal practice course (LPC) you will be placed on a training contract pathway, which follows the same application process.

Our training provider is BPP University, with details on learning modules provided by them on our website. The course and subsequent exams are fully funded.

We also offer a paralegal apprenticeship and solicitor degree apprenticeship. Full details of which can be found on our webiste here. 

Diversity, equity and inclusion is extremely important to Weightmans. We have four key diversity strands within our diversity strategy, led by multiple strand leads and diveristy champions across the business.

We run numerous events across the calendar year to celebrate many diversity and inclusion themes, and are keen to get our trainees involved in these. 

Further details of our strategy and statistics can be found on our website.

We fully fund solicitor qualifying exam fees and preparatory courses via our training provider, BPP University. These are completed alongside your position as a trainee solicitor and you will have one day per week dedicated to study. You will therefore be earning a competitive salary from day one and not have to worry about fees. 

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