The trainee solicitor role

• Our trainees rotate through four departments in six-month ‘seats’. Our training contracts are litigation focused and satisfy Law Society training requirements. Our HR team will work with you to determine your seat choices. You will have the opportunity to express your preferences, so you can spend time in the areas that suit you best (subject to business need). However, we require all trainees to complete at least one injury and one commercial seat during their training contract.
• Trainees have a chargeable hours target of 650 hours per annum.
• From your first seat, you will be entrusted with responsibility and deal directly with clients; however, that’s not to say you’ll be handed more than you’re equipped to deal with. Trainees are supervised by either a partner or senior associate, and have access to the whole department’s expertise and support.
• You will be given a bespoke training record, which is reviewed regularly, and there will be a quarterly performance review meeting.
• On top of legal training, you’ll get business skills training, including presentation skills, project management, networking and client development.

Trainee recruitment

• We exclusively recruit our trainees from our internal paralegal pool.
• Please note that if successful in securing a training contract with Stewarts, paralegals with the Bar Course will be required to self-fund and complete either the Legal Practice Course (LPC) or Solicitor’s Qualifying Examination (SQE) alongside their training contract.

The process

• The application window is open from 1 to 31 March.
• For the first stage of the process, candidates are required to submit an application form, complete a contextual recruitment questionnaire and complete an In Tray exercise.
• All applications and assessments are blindly marked by our HR team using a points-based system.
• Candidates who are successful at the first stage are invited to complete a drafting exercise and attend an interview with a panel of partners.
• Training contracts are offered based on a candidate’s overall score, experience and performance as a paralegal at Stewarts.

Requirements

• All paralegals at Stewarts are eligible to apply for our training contracts, regardless of length of service.

FAQs

If my training contract application is unsuccessful, can I reapply next year?

Yes, there is no limit on how many times a paralegal can apply for a training contract with us. Each application will be considered as a “fresh slate”.

Progression to a newly qualified associate role

• Last year we retained four of our six trainees.
• NQ roles are advertised to trainees in May, ahead of their qualification on 30 September. Candidates are invited to attend a panel interview.

Partnerships and Accreditations