My favourite part of the recruitment calendar is making the calls to offer training contracts to candidates following the vacation scheme. During the recruitment process, and especially the vacation scheme, I have the opportunity to get to know candidates well. Seeing their hard work and potential recognised with a training contract offer and being the one to deliver that life changing news is an incredibly rewarding experience.  

We run one summer, in-person vacation scheme – 2025 will be the first time we’ll run it across our seven offices, including in our brand-new office in Bristol! Our vacation scheme is open to second-year law, third-year non-law students or graduates.

Our vacation scheme is a vitally important and integral part of our recruitment cycle. We recruit the majority of our trainees through our summer vacation scheme. In previous years, around 70% of our trainees were hired through the vacation scheme. However, with strong pools of candidates, this figure is increasing, markedly this year (2024) where we recruited all but one of our 2026 trainees through the vacation scheme. Our vacation scheme isn’t just important for us as a firm, but also for our candidates. It gives them the chance to demonstrate their practical skills and let their personality shine through in different scenarios.

We appreciate that not everyone can take part in vacation schemes, so we also have the opportunity to apply for standalone training contracts. Vacation scheme applications are open now and close at midnight on Wednesday 8 January. Standalone training contract applications will open at the beginning of June 2025.

Our vacation scheme gives candidates unparalleled access into the life at a UK top 50, full-service law firm. During the fortnight, interns will experience three different ‘seats’, allowing them to get a well-rounded experience of what it’s like to be a trainee at Birketts.

During the seats they’ll work on live matters, set exercises, business development events and client interactions. In addition, we set our vacation schemers up for success with a full induction day with the entire cohort, and opportunities for networking with people across the firm from partners to trainees.

Not only do candidates get the opportunity to work independently, but our mock trial and debating exercise also give everyone the chance to practise their advocacy skills and work as a team. The week concludes with a social event and a one-to-one early careers partner debrief.

We exclusively sponsor the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) route with our training partner The University of Law, which has been the case since 2023. The press surrounding the SQE can be hard to swich off from, so we’re continually looking at ways that we can support our incoming trainees with their studies. Whether that’s sharing tips through our quarterly bulletin or putting them in touch with current trainees who’ve already completed the exams.

Diversity and inclusion is integral to our culture and success. We look to foster an informed and inclusive culture where all our people feel a sense of pride and belonging, and empowered to be themselves.

We create this environment through several key initiatives. These include partnering with schools through our Social Mobility Insight into Law Experience (SMILE) programme, which provides students with an interest in law – and who may not otherwise have access to meaningful work experience – opportunities for direct, law-focused workplace exposure.

We have an increasing number of employee lead networks that work as a platform to connect and advocate for change within the firm, including the LGBTQ+ Network, EMBRACE Diversity and Inclusion Network, Different Minds Network and the Social Mobility Network.  We also promote awareness and understanding through training, events and open dialogue.

There are three common things that we see candidates falling down with. The first is being too general. Not researching the firm and tailoring an application specifically to Birketts will let candidates down. We understand that applicants will apply to more than one firm but take the time to research carefully and do a few quality applications rather than lots of mediocre ones!

The second is spelling and grammar. Being thorough and proofreading is vital as a solicitor, and this must be demonstrated in your application. Errors of this kind can vary in applications from the misspelling of Birketts to having another firm’s name in all together!

The final one, which is more apparent in the past few years, is the obvious use of AI. We read hundreds of applications, and you soon find yourself reading the same phrases, sentences and sometimes even paragraphs or better still ‘[ChatGPT]’ at the end of the copied and pasted sentence!

We strongly discourage the use of AI in writing applications. We want to see individuality in our candidates and their applications, and you simply can’t get this across through the use of AI. We accept that AI is part of our world and as a firm we’re finding ways to use it effectively in our work. However, good written communication is a key skill for a solicitor at any level, so it’s important that a candidate can demonstrate this through their application.

Absolutely! When speaking to candidates, I always encourage them to include any work experience even if it’s not law related. So many jobs, volunteering roles and workplace encounters have skills that are transferable to being a solicitor, such as customer service, time management and communication skills. The same goes for extracurricular activities. Being part of a sports team or a society at university can help to demonstrate your interests and who you are as a person. Consider the different skills you can draw on from these experiences and how they’d benefit you being a trainee solicitor.

We’ve seen an increased appetite for in-person interactions, so this year we attended more than 10 careers fairs across the country. Our main objective is to give prospective candidates a flavour of Birketts’ unique offering and our position as a top 50, full-service law firm with London-quality work but the support and culture of a regional firm.

If you’re interested in a career at Birketts, tell us why and be genuine with it. Research us well and get beyond the ‘about us page’ on our website. Look at practice areas, clients or initiatives that really interest you and are the driving force behind your decision to apply for a vacation scheme or training contract with Birketts. Recognise your skills and provide tangible examples of them (from previous roles legal or non-legal), and outline how you can grow and develop them at Birketts. Finally, make sure your values genuinely align with ours. At Birketts everyone is different, and we celebrate individuality but what unifies us all is shared values, incredible culture and ambition to be the best that we can be.

I’ve just finished The Mechanic: The Secret World of The FI Pitlane. I’m massively into Formula 1, and this was quite an insight into the sport in the mid to early 2000s! I’m looking forward to reading How to Win A Grand Prix by former race engineer and now brilliant Sky Sports pundit Bernie Collins.