London Training Programme
London Vacation Schemes
Dechert offers a world of opportunity through our global platform, top-notch training and development programmes and a collaborative and inclusive culture. As a London trainee solicitor, you will be encouraged to find your passion and cultivate your skills. Our ultimate goal is for you to experience what it’s like to be a part of our community.
Each year we recruit trainee solicitors from our vacation schemes. We offer places on our schemes to penultimate year law undergraduates, all final year undergraduates (both law and non-law), all graduates, post-graduates, and career changers. Vacation Scheme students sit within our different practices doing real work for our lawyers, including research, drafting, attending meetings and training sessions.
Before you begin your vacation scheme, we will ask for your practice area preferences and try to place you in your chosen groups. You will be allocated a supervisor (an associate or partner), and a trainee buddy, and will receive work from people at all levels from across the group. Social events are also an important part of Dechert’s vacation schemes, as they enable you to build relationships with Dechert trainees, associates, and partners.
How To Apply
The first step to securing a place in one of our vacation schemes (and a subsequent training contract) is to complete the online application form. The application form asks you about your academic achievements and work experience to date.
Applications for vacation schemes will be for training contracts commencing in September 2028 and September 2029.
The deadlines for our vacation scheme applications are:
Winter Vacation Scheme: 16 October 2026
Spring Vacation Scheme: 31 December 2026
The second stage in our recruitment process is a Critical Reasoning Test (CRT) & written exercise. Here we are assessing the key skills you’ll use every day in your future legal career. You’ll have 5 days to complete this stage and you can complete the CRT & written exercise at different times. In total it will take around 1 hour to complete both exercises.
Shortlisted candidates are invited to a 15-minute telephone interview with one of Graduate Recruitment team. Collaboration is a core value at Dechert, we believe a real, two-way conversation helps us get to know you (and you us) and gives you space to bring your application to life. We’ll discuss your motivation for commercial law, what draws you to Dechert; our practice areas, clients and culture, and how this aligns with your ambitions. It’s relaxed and collaborative, so bring your questions.
Finally, successful candidates will be invited to an interview with a partner and senior associate. This is followed by an office tour and coffee chat with a current trainee. We know that candidates are likely to be interviewing with other firms as well, so the interview is very much a two-way process, and we provide plenty of time for you to ask questions.
To apply, complete our application form via the link below.
London Training Contracts
London trainee solicitors are recruited from one of our vacation schemes, held in the winter and spring each year.
We take your training seriously, both before and after you qualify. As a trainee, you will receive legal skills and commercial training that goes beyond black letter law, with workshops on AI innovations, effective writing, commercial know-how and building technical legal expertise in each practice group you sit in. Our Trainees benefit from our Critical Skills Institute, which focusses on leadership, management, communication and client relations.
However, we recognize the most vital training is that which goes on every day, with your supervisor guiding your work and providing help and feedback. Although we encourage you to take on more responsibility, we do so in a supportive environment. Your supervisors provide continuous guidance. In addition, your professional development is monitored on a regular basis by your personal partner mentor and the graduate recruitment and development team, all of whom are available to help you.
Our commitment to your development is reflected in our six-seat rotation system. We believe that by allowing you to experience up to six different practice groups during your two-year training, we can provide a unique trainee experience.
Our approach to the Solicitors Qualifying Examination
The introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) offers a unique opportunity to craft a training contract experience specific to Dechert trainees.
The starting point for your SQE training will be through preparation for the SQE 1 & 2 assessments, providing you with all the knowledge and skills you need to excel at the assessments. We will be using the scope that the new route to qualification provides to tailor the training experience to ensure our trainees are able to hit the ground running when they join the firm. Training will focus on our specific practice groups along with modules looking at innovation and legal technology and the law firm as a business.
Non-law students will undertake the Post-Graduate Diploma in Law (PGDip) before starting their SQE preparation, ensuring that you have all the foundational legal knowledge you need to succeed at the next stage of your legal training.