Spring Forward programme in London

Spring Forward programme

Eligibility

For first year law students (and second year law students on a four-year degree) from lower socio-economic and/or ethnic minority backgrounds

You must have the right to work in the UK

Dates

Monday 5 April - Friday 9 April 2027

When to apply

Applications for our 2027 programme are open and will close on Wednesday 6 January 2027

An inclusive and diverse workforce is critical to our firm’s success and we seek the brightest minds to join us. Our clients work with us because they know that they can access exceptional talent.

Data from the Law Society shows that lawyers from ethnic minority or lower socio-economic backgrounds are underrepresented in law firms compared to the undergraduate population at UK universities. In our search for the best talent, we want to improve access to the profession for undergraduates from underrepresented backgrounds.

If you are a first-year law student from a lower socio-economic and/or ethnic minority background, our Spring Forward programme has been designed to give you an insight into life as a lawyer at Slaughter and May. This programme aims to develop your understanding of the work and culture of the firm and to provide information and experience for when you make decisions about applying for summer work experience schemes and training contracts in your penultimate year.

The programme includes:

• A one-week in-person work experience scheme in April. During the one-week scheme, your time will be split between working alongside an associate and taking part in training sessions and skills workshops to help you develop your understanding of our work and build your commercial awareness.
• Ongoing support including an ongoing 'buddy' relationship following the scheme to provide support with the summer scheme application/interview process in your penultimate year.

You will be asked to confirm if you are from a lower socio-economic and/or ethnic minority background on the application form.

Payment

We will pay you £550 which is intended to cover your expenses during the scheme.

If you will be relocating to London for the scheme and require accommodation, we will assist you with the arrangements for this and cover the cost on top of the £550 payment. There is also a professional clothing grant available for those who require it.

Our view on AI tools

While AI tools can be useful, we advise you not to copy and paste AI-generated text into your application. AI-generated responses often lack the personal insight and authenticity that we value and are therefore less likely to be successful.

We recommend limiting AI use to brainstorming ideas, structuring your response and checking readability and grammar.

Every application received is reviewed by our Early Careers Recruitment Team. There is no automatic filtering of applications.

Please note that this is an online application only. There are no tests or interviews for this vacancy.

Working at Slaughter and May was a unique and exclusive experience. Being able to witness first-hand how the firm operates and their values was insightful and rewarding. From day one, I was made to feel welcome and was immediately immersed in the work, which was an incredible experience.

Noura

2024 spring scheme attendee

What we look for

We aim to employ the brightest minds regardless of what or where they have studied – you will find graduates from 50+ universities at Slaughter and May.

Our work is intellectually demanding so we are looking for the following minimum academic achievements:

• A-levels : AAB (not including EPQ) or equivalent
• Undergraduate degree (and postgraduate degree if applicable) : Strong 2:1, ideally a minimum of 65% and above in the majority of your modules for each academic year completed. If you are currently in the first year of your undergraduate degree, we understand that you may not yet have any university grades to include in your application.

If you do not meet these requirements due to mitigating circumstances which materially impacted your results, please include details of this on your application. All applications are considered on their own merits.

We are also looking for candidates with:

It's important to have an interest in a career in commercial law, an understanding of what the firm does, and motivation and enthusiasm to find out more about working at Slaughter and May.

You don’t need legal work experience to apply for our work experience opportunities or training contract, but you do need to demonstrate your interest in this career and what you have done so far to research this. This might include:

• Open days
• Virtual insight programmes (for example our Commercial Law and Explore Law programmes)
• Events with law firms
• University events such as law fairs or law firm presentations

Our clients need us to be their trusted legal advisers. You should be curious about how businesses operate and have an informed understanding of the commercial world.

A good grasp of what we do as a firm - and how we support our clients - is essential.

Good communication skills (verbal and written) are vital for our lawyers, so it’s something we look for in our application and interview process.

Our collaborative culture also means that we look for candidates who can demonstrate that they can work successfully in teams.

Our way of working means that our trainees work on the full range of transactions on which the group they are sitting in advises, which is hard work.

The support is always there, but there will be times when you are stretched and need to work long hours in order to deliver the exceptional service that we provide for our clients.

We are looking for candidates who can show us they are resilient when dealing with the unexpected and can remain focused under pressure.

We value diversity and individuality very highly - different perspectives are crucial when it comes to providing innovative advice - so through our interview process, we will look for your ability to articulate and defend your point of view.

We are also looking for candidates who have a range of interests outside of a career in law, so please include these on your CV. They can also be used to demonstrate how you may have developed some of qualities and skills above that we are looking for.

To thrive here, you will also need enthusiasm, a willingness to accept responsibility and a sense of humour!

We use the Rare Contextual Recruitment System across all our early careers recruitment activity. The system helps us identify high-potential candidates by putting applicants’ grades and achievements in the context of their social and educational background.

Background, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, religious beliefs and age are all irrelevant to our application process.

For any application, interview or general queries, please visit the FAQs page. If you have a question which has not been answered there, please contact the Early Careers Recruitment Team via email or on . (Enquiries only - we do not accept applications by email).

Accessibility

Slaughter and May is committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are barrier-free and as inclusive as possible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term health condition.

If you require any adjustments to be made to the application and interview process or to attend a work experience opportunity with us, please contact Bethan Yates, Early Careers Recruitment Adviser, via email or on .

To ensure that no-one is prevented from participating in a work experience opportunity due to financial constraints, we can offer additional financial support to those who require it. Please view the payment information above for more details.

FAQs

View our FAQs

The application and interview process

Find out more

Meet us

We host and take part in a number of different university and virtual events throughout the year.

Find out more

Explore Law virtual insight programme

Complete our programme