Life at LS /Careers /
Work experience
Want to learn more about legal careers?
If you're looking to get a headstart on your legal career, we offer a range of opportunities for you to gain insight into life and work at Lewis Silkin.
FAQs
Our work experience scheme
addOur four-day work experience programme offers first-hand insight into the world of commercial law, and will see you spending time in a variety of different teams, as well as attending a number of skills workshops.
During our scheme, you will spend your first two days attending various workshops including, but not limited to:
- Overview of the Various Routes Into Law
- Application and CV Top Tips
- Speed Networking
- Interview Skills
You will then spend your next two days shadowing a member of our team at Lewis Silkin. Ahead of you joining us, you will be given the opportunity to let us know which teams you would like to shadow.
With the exception of the “Routes into Law” session, the workshops will focus on transferrable skills, making the scheme beneficial for students who are interested in both our legal and business services teams.
Am I eligible?
addOur work experience scheme is aimed at sixth-form students (Year 12 and Year 13). All candidates must have the right to work in the UK.
We will be looking for candidates who express enthusiasm and interest in the legal sector, whether this is towards a future career as a lawyer, or a career supporting a legal practice.
We are making every effort to make our work experience as inclusive as possible.
Due to the nature of the programme, the scheme is not suitable for candidates over 18.
When does the scheme run?
addWe will be running three four-day placements throughout the year in our London office. We have plans to extend the offering to our regional offices in the future.
The dates of the placements are arranged to align with common half-term dates. Please see the dates below for our 2026 programme:
- 25 – 28 May 2026
- 17 – 20 August 2026
- 26 – 29 October 2026
When applying, there will be a separate application form for each programme which will only be open within a certain timeframe. Details are outlined in the next section. Due to fairness reasons, we encourage applicants to only make one application for the programme that best suits them.
How do I apply?
addApplications for our August placement are closed. Applications for our October placement will open on Monday 7 September.
You’ll be required to complete a short application form, explaining your interest in a career in law (or a relevant business teams function), via our online recruitment system following the link above.
In your application, you will be asked to let us know why you are hoping to gain work experience at our firm. You will be given up to 250 words to do this.
In this word count we’re ideally looking for further information in the following areas that apply to you:
- Your career ambitions
- What being a solicitor means to you/what working in a law firm means to you
- Are there any specific areas of Law or Business Services that you are interested in?
- Why are you interested in Lewis Silkin?
- What will you bring to Lewis Silkin?
- What do you hope to get out of the scheme?
For our other work experience placements, the application windows are:
- October placement (26 – 29 October) – applications open on Monday 7 September and close at 23:59 on Friday 18 September.
Is there any assistance?
addEach student will receive a £50 pre-paid voucher for work essentials (e.g., appropriate clothing) ahead of your placement with us. We will also arrange any relevant travel, which will be pre-booked through our travel booking system. You will also be able to expense reasonable lunch costs.
PRIME
We are a member of PRIME, a UK alliance of law firms and legal departments, who are committed to improving access to the legal profession. As part of our membership, we host a number of students for a period of work experience in conjunction with the Social Mobility Business Partnership.
arrow_right_altFind out moreInsight events
Our insight events
addWe appreciate that gaining work experience whilst in full-time education can be difficult but recognise the importance of gaining exposure and insights into the legal industry when starting to think about your career. For this reason, we will be hosting two virtual insight events throughout the year.
During this session, you will learn from our legal experts about working at Lewis Silkin and the type of work we do, as well as our talent acquisition team, who will share their advice on pursuing a legal career.
Whilst these sessions have been designed for those in full-time education, they may be useful for anyone at whatever stage of their legal career wanting to gain further insight into life at Lewis Silkin.
When are the sessions?
addThe sessions are run virtually twice a year in the Summer and Autumn.
The next session will be on 18 June 2026. Further details, including how to register, can be found below.
How do I apply?
addThere will be no application required and anyone interested will simply just need to register their details via this link. We will then reach out with further details in advance of the event.