Summer Work Experience Scheme in London

Eligibility:

• For penultimate year students
• For second year students on a four-year degree, spending third year abroad
• For first year students on a two-year accelerated law degree
• You must have the right to work in the UK

Dates:

• 21 June - 9 July 2027
• 19 July - 6 August 2027
• 31 August - 17 September 2027

When to apply:

Applications for our 2027 schemes are open and will close on Friday 4 December 2026. We encourage summer work experience applications as early as possible within the window. Interviews are scheduled on a rolling basis.

During each scheme, you will sit in one of our legal groups. There will also be a trainee solicitor assigned to you, who will help you to settle in and will be available throughout your scheme to answer any questions and assist with any tasks you may be given. As well as getting involved in legal work and conducting hands-on legal research, you will take part in training, workshops and interactive case studies. There will also be social activities arranged to give you opportunities to talk with partners, associates and trainees outside the office.

If you attend the summer scheme, you will be offered the opportunity to interview for a training contract. Your interview will take place towards the end of the scheme.

Payment:

We will pay you £550 per week 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 weekly payments. There is also a professional clothing grant available for those who require it.

Successful candidates will be invited to attend an interview at our London office. The interview process will include:

• A written exercise
• An interview with a partner and an associate, or a partner and a senior counsel

We place great value on individuality and diversity, and our interview process echoes this approach - we want to get to know you and the qualities you can bring to the role. We normally find that the whole process takes approximately two and a half hours. You will be required to bring with you a valid form of photo ID (passport or driving licence). Please note that interviews will take place between 6 January – 24 February 2027. Please ensure that you are available during these dates.

Written exercise:

On arrival at our offices on the day of your interview, you will be given a written exercise to complete. This written exercise requires no legal knowledge and you will not be expected to prepare in advance. The exercise is based around a fictional business. The business is likely to have been in existence for some years, and is going through a strategic review process. There will be various pieces of information provided, for example, an internal memo, some statistics and a newspaper article. These may consist of 5 or 6 pages of reading. Your task will be to write your own report once you have assimilated the information and facts provided. Clear instructions will be given about what is expected and your report will be assessed for:

• written communication
• ability to persuade
• judgement and problem analysis
• innovative ideas and commercial knowledge

You will be given one hour to complete this exercise and we will provide a laptop for you to type your answer. There is a lot of information to consider and we would encourage you to manage your time carefully to allow you to complete the task and review your work in the hour set.

Partner interview:

The partner interview will be with a partner and a senior counsel, or a partner and an associate. It is designed to assess a range of qualities that we look for, including:

• Intellect – your ability to think critically, analyse information and present reasoned arguments.
• Drive and commitment to a career in law – your motivation for pursuing commercial law and joining Slaughter and May.
• Resilience and influence – how you respond under pressure, adapt to new challenges and communicate persuasively.
• Interpersonal skills – your ability to build rapport, listen actively and engage in constructive discussion.

The conversation will be wide-ranging and will likely include discussions about your:

• CV
• Academic choices (for example your A-level subjects and degree course)
• Interests and extra-curricular activities
• Understanding of commercial law, the role of a lawyer and the business environment
• Your motivations for applying to Slaughter and May.

The interviewers will be looking for evidence that you can think critically, communicate clearly, and demonstrate genuine interest in a career in commercial law with us. A key part of the interview will involve a discussion based on a recent current affairs article which will be provided to you on the day.

The Article Discussion:

After completing the written exercise, you will be given a short current affairs article to read for approximately 15 minutes. You may take notes during this time and bring both the article and your notes into the interview. This part of the interview is designed to test how well you can assimilate information quickly, identify key issues, and articulate and defend your point of view. The interviewers will expect you to:

• Summarise the article’s main points
• Form and express an opinion on the subject matter
• Engage in a reasoned discussion on the issues raised.

This is not a comprehension test or an assessment of your political views. Instead, it is an opportunity to demonstrate intellectual agility, influence and interpersonal skills.

Points to consider when reading the article:

• What are the key issues, arguments and conclusions (if any) presented?
• Do you agree or disagree with the position taken, and why?
• What counterarguments might exist?
• Are the arguments coherent and logical?
• Are there relevant issues that have not been addressed?

While the discussion will focus on the article, the interviewers may broaden the conversation to related topics. Be prepared to think on your feet and respond to questions you have not considered before.

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 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:

• 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.

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.

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 Sara Medgyesi, Early Careers Recruitment Executive.

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.