Lewis Silkin is a distinctive commercial law firm with offices in London, Oxford, Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff, Dublin, Belfast and Hong Kong. The firm takes pride in retaining a unique culture and a fun, less stuffy whilst professional and fast paced environment. It places a high priority on relationships with clients, excellent technical ability and the commercial thinking of their lawyers. Clients find them refreshingly easy to deal with. The firm is committed and professional as any good law firm but perhaps more adept at the inter-personal skills that make relationships work and go on working. It has a friendly, lively style with a commitment to continuous improvement. As an employer they place an unusually high emphasis on workplace engagement and has a genuine commitment to getting the right work life balance and see this as a key feature in attracting and retaining talented people. 

Lewis Silkin is recognised as a leading firm in global employment law, immigration and related services; and providing legal services to clients working within the creative industries and creative economy. It provides services through its eight key sectors: advertising and marketing; financial services; manufacturing and engineering; media and entertainment; professional services; retail, hospitality and leisure; sports business; and technology. The major practice areas include: brands and intellectual property; commercial; corporate; data and privacy; dispute resolution; employment; immigration; partnership; real estate; tax, reward and incentives; and trade mark and portfolio management. Clients range from large multinational corporations and FTSE 100 companies, to small owner managed business and entrepreneurs. The firm is a member of two global alliances – Ius Laboris, the global alliance of employment law specialist firms and GALA, the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance.

At Lewis Silkin, we believe that learning should be fun and engaging. Our training contract is designed to provide aspiring lawyers with a dynamic and stimulating environment where you are able to develop your skills, experience, and passion as you start your path to becoming a qualified Solicitor. We understand that the best learning happens when you are motivated and enthusiastic, so we've created a program that brings out the best in you.

As a trainee at Lewis Silkin, you'll have the chance to work alongside experienced professionals who are not only passionate about what they do, but are leading specialists in their field. Our team of legal experts will guide and mentor you, ensuring that you receive the support you need to excel in each of your chosen seats. From day one, you'll be given real responsibilities and be involved in high-profile cases, allowing you to gain hands-on experience and make a meaningful impact.

Our training contract also offers a range of development opportunities to enhance your legal skills. From workshops and seminars to secondments and client visits, we provide a well-rounded training experience that prepares you for a successful legal career. You will complete four six-month seats. You will have access to cutting-edge technology and resources, ensuring that you stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving industry. 

We celebrate individuality and believe that a diverse workforce fosters creativity and innovation. Our commitment to equality is reflected in our training contract, where you'll have the opportunity to work on a wide range of cases and gain exposure to different areas of law.

We're not just a law firm; we're a community of like-minded individuals who are passionate about what we do. So, if you're looking for a training contract that goes beyond the ordinary, join us at Lewis Silkin.

From our 2025 training contract cohort onwards, our preference is that you will study the SQE route. However, at Lewis Silkin, we don't exclude candidates based on whether they have completed the LPC or SQE, or if they have or if they have not yet studied a PGDL, LPC, or SQE at all. If you are offered a training contract with us, we will discuss your individual circumstances with you.

Whichever route you would prefer, we recommend all future lawyers keep up-to-date on the changes through https://www.sra.org.uk/.

We recruit for our solicitor apprentices bi-annually. Applications for our September 2026 intake will open in September 2025. The apprenticeships will be available in our London office.

As an apprentice at Lewis Silkin, you’ll spend four days a week with us, and one day a week studying with your apprenticeship education provider. By the end of the apprenticeship you’ll have earned your Law LLB University degree, gained six years of experience, and be a fully qualified solicitor through the SQE route.

From the moment you join us, you’ll be able to be actively involved in life at the firm, rotating through our different legal practice groups over the course of your apprenticeship. We offer interesting, challenging, and varied work, as well as hands-on training and a chance to work with some of our big-name clients. There are a broad range of employee groups if you want to get involved in the DE&I and responsible business activities at the firm and we also hold regular social events, which are great opportunities to make new friends and get to know the firm.

For further information on how to apply, please visit solicitor apprentices.

We are proud of the diverse range of people within Lewis Silkin and our culture of bravery and kindness that allows individuals to be themselves at work and ensures we provide the best possible service to our clients.

Our firm is named after Lewis Silkin (b. 1889), whose story of social mobility continues to inspire us. His family were poor, having arrived in England as refugees from Lithuania. His determination and hard work won him a scholarship to Oxford University – but he was prevented from taking it when, due to his social status, his headmaster reputedly advised the University “this boy will not benefit from a university education”. Undeterred, he worked in the London Docks until he spotted a notice in the window of a firm of solicitors seeking a ‘bright lad’. He was appointed as a clerk before eventually qualifying as a solicitor. He went on to become an MP, to serve as a Minister in Attlee’s post-war government and to sit in the House of Lords.

Lewis Silkin’s story shapes our culture and values, and continues to drive our commitment to ensure that access to the legal profession is open and fair, that the profession itself is diverse and socially inclusive, as is access to legal services. We have deliberately chosen to include the word ‘equity’ in our group’s name, because we believe it is important to strive for equality of opportunity – and to achieve equality of opportunity, you need to take an equitable approach.

That’s why as part of our trainee recruitment process, we use the Rare Contextual Recruitment System, which uses big data to help us identify candidates with the greatest potential. The system allows us to look far beyond what a more traditional recruitment process might be able to tell us about someone's past achievements and future potential. It helps us to spot exciting talent we might otherwise have missed, and ensure we build an even richer and more diverse staff population.

We are a proud signatory to The Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter, the leading diversity initiative of the legal profession, and Gold Standard award recipient. We are also a legal partner to The Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion.

We have been accredited as a Living Wage Employer since 2012; our commitment extends to outsourced services, ensuring that our wider team is paid the real living wage.

In 2022 we were one of only two UK firms to win an Accenture Outside Counsel Diversity Award; these awards recognise and celebrate efforts to increase equality and inclusion within the legal profession. Accenture highlighted our solicitor apprenticeship program and praised our role as a founding member of LeGalBesT (a London-based LGBT+ network for small and mid-sized law firms).

There is so much to get involved with at Lewis Silkin. As a firm, we do what we can to ensure our team feels supported and included

Full financial support for GDL and LPC/SQE course fees and a maintenance grant of £16,500 for London candidates and £15,600 for Manchester, Belfast and Cardiff candidates. 

• Commercial
• Corporate
• Data & privacy
• Dispute resolution
• Employment
• Immigration
• IP disputes
• Real estate

• Corporate & Commercial
• General Commercial

• London
• Oxford
• Manchester
• Leeds
• Belfast
• Cardiff
• Dublin
• Hong Kong

• Amicus
• Business in the Community
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• Free Representation Unit
• Inspire
• Legal Advice Centres
• Mary Ward Legal Advice Centre
• The Chancery Lane Project
• The National Pro Bono Centre
• TrustLaw Connect
• Working Families

• Diversity Access Scheme - Law Society
• Inspire!
• Legal Apprenticeships
• Pathways to Law
• PRIME
• Rare Recruitment
• Social Mobility Business Partnership
• Stonewall
• Sutton Trust