Each year, WFW takes on 19 new trainees in the UK. By keeping our intake small and select, we ensure that your two-year training contract will give you a very hands-on experience.
You’ll engage in high-profile work, be in direct contact with clients, and take considerable responsibility. Throughout your time as a trainee, we will give you the support, feedback and infrastructure you need to grow and develop, both professionally and personally.
You can read more here about the work our trainees get involved in.
What makes our training contract unique – and sets it apart from those offered by other law firms – is that we offer six four-month seats (rotations), rather than the standard four six-month seats, with at least one of your six seats being outside the UK.
Our current overseas secondments are to Athens, Bangkok, Dubai, Frankfurt, Paris and Singapore.
Our Early Careers team plans each rotation with a clear focus on your professional growth and development.
One seat will be in our largest practice group (assets and structured finance) and another in dispute resolution. For other seats, you can express a preference in various service lines: capital markets; corporate; employment; projects; real estate; regulatory, public law and competition; and tax. In your second year of training, you can also opt to do a seat with our general counsel.
The training contract gives you an opportunity to explore different areas and to see what type of lawyer you'd like to be.
Able to do six seats instead of the usual four, gave me extra flexibility to choose and find out which areas of law I was good at and which I really found fascinating.
Am I eligible?
To apply for a training contract, you must allow sufficient time to complete your postgraduate legal studies before the training contract begins (September 2026). If you are still studying, you’ll need to be in at least the penultimate year of a law degree or in the final year of a non-law degree.
You will need a 2:1 (predicted or obtained) or above in your bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent international grade. If you have completed the law conversion course (PGDL), we look for a merit or distinction. We also expect (at least) ABB at A Level, 34 points at IB, or equivalent.
If you have taken other academic qualifications, our application form gives you the opportunity to explain these and provide context. If you did not achieve the academic grades outlined, we invite you to use our form to clarify your individual circumstances, which we will consider.
When can I apply?
Applications open annually on 1 October. We’re currently recruiting for 2026 and the deadline for applications is 24 June 2024.
What’s the process?
- Application
- Video interview
- Assessment centre
- Training contract interview
Find out more about our selection process.
Our selection process
We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are fully inclusive and as barrier-free as possible. This includes making adjustments for candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions. If you wish to discuss adjustments or issues at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact our Early Careers team who will be happy to help you.
Some adjustments we have made in the past include (but are not limited to) providing extra time for reading and writing, different interview formats, extra time at interviews, and additional guidance and support, where appropriate, at each stage.
In focus
Watch Peter and his colleagues talk about the firm's six-seat training contract.
Training contract
