Trainees

Applications will open on 21 October 2026 and the deadline is 23:59 on 21 December 2026. To be considered, you are required to submit your application via Candid ATS, and we cannot accept CVs via email.

The application form asks candidates to provide personal and academic information, details of any work experience, and information as part of the Rare Contextualised Recruitment System. Candidates will also be asked to answer a question about their motivation for applying to Lewis Silkin.

Shortly after submitting an application, all candidates will be invited to complete an online assessment. No advance preparation is required. The deadline to complete the assessment is 31 December 2026.

In your application, it can be tempting to tell us what you think we want to hear and pretend to be someone you're not. However, the person we most want to hear from is the genuine 'you'. We want to get to know you, your experience, and what excites you about a training contract at Lewis Silkin. Likewise, we want you to get to know us in return.

Throughout your application, we will be looking to understand two fundamental points:

• Why you want to be a solicitor?
• Why you want to train at Lewis Silkin?

You should view your application as an opportunity to introduce yourself to us, and layout what makes you a strong candidate for our training contract. Please read the question asked of you, and consider how your answer relates to the two questions asked above.

Candidates who are successful following the application and online assessment stage will be invited to complete a short telephone interview with a member of the Talent Acquisition team. The interview consists of three questions designed to assess candidates' motivation for a career in law and their interest in Lewis Silkin.

Ahead of the telephone interview, candidates will be invited to attend an optional networking event. This is not assessed and is designed to give candidates the opportunity to learn more about the firm before their interview.

London candidates
We will be running two networking events on 14 January and 21 January 2027 at our London office.

Regional candidates (Belfast, Manchester and Cardiff)
The event will be held on 17 February remotely via Teams.

Following the application stage, shortlisted candidates will be invited to one of our Assessment Days, dependent on the location they have applied for. These will all take place at our London office on the dates below:

• Friday 26 February 2027 (London candidates)
• Monday 1 March (London candidates)
• Tuesday 2 March (London candidates)
• Monday 22 March (Belfast, Manchester and Cardiff candidates)
• Tuesday 23 March (Belfast, Manchester and Cardiff candidates)

The day will include a group exercise, a written exercise, and one interview (your interview will be with a Partner and senior lawyer). You will also get to meet with trainees and ask them any questions you have. Remember, the Assessment Day is also as much an opportunity for you to get to know us, as it is for us to meet you, so we encourage you to ask questions and get to know our firm.

We appreciate assessment days can be nerve-wracking and the advice "be yourself" can feel redundant, but what this really means is "try not to let the nerves get the better of you". At Lewis Silkin, we champion an open, friendly culture through our ethos of bravery and kindness, so we hope this will shine through on the day and you have the best experience possible!

Following the Initial Assessment Days, shortlisted candidates will be invited to a final Assessment Day at the office they have applied for. The dates are as follows:

• London candidates: Friday 12 March 2027
• Manchester candidates: Wednesday 21 April 2027
• Belfast candidates: Wednesday 28 April 2027
• Cardiff candidates: Friday 14 May 2027

The assessment day will include two partner interviews and a case study exercise.

Hopefully you'll be feeling more confident and comfortable after already doing one assessment day, but the same advice of trying not to let nerves get the better of you still applies. If you've made it to the final assessment day, that means that a number of professionals across the firm have recognised your potential!

Top tips for throughout the process:

Be yourself

Relax, smile and let your personality come out. You’ll perform at your best if you’re relaxed and allow your personality to shine through. It’s also likely being yourself will help make your answers will also be more genuine and therefore convincing. There's nothing worse than seeing someone trying to be what they think we want them to be, rather than themselves.

Be professional

Your attitude should at all times remain professional and aimed at showcasing your strengths. Remember you are being assessed on the application process as a whole. Treat everyone you meet with respect and present yourself well.

Be confident

Confidence is the act of trusting yourself. Showing that you trust yourself is critical because it can lead your assessor to trust in you, as well.

Take time to think

Many people worry about how to deal with difficult or unexpected questions. It is okay to take a minute to consider your answer to questions and gather your thoughts.

Admit if you don’t know something

If you really don't know how to answer a question it is better to say so with a smile and allow the interview to move on. Don't try to bluff your way through or make something up - you can end up getting badly caught out.

Don’t dwell on perceived failures

If one exercise doesn’t go as well as you’d hope, don’t dwell on it and focus on your next assessment. You’re being assessed on the application process as a whole and we’re not expecting you to be perfect! The likelihood is, your assessor won’t have noticed a mistake as much as you, so don’t let one slip-up impact the rest of the process.