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At LA we really do see our trainee solicitors as potential future leaders of the business. In fact, many of our current partners and lawyers qualified with LA through our training contract programme. Our two-year training contract is designed to support you on your journey to qualification as a solicitor and help you gain the experience you need to be able to become a trusted business adviser as well as a technically proficient lawyer.
The window for applying for a training contract with us commencing in 2025 closed on 28 May 2023.
Real responsibility. Real work.
During a training contract with LA you will have the opportunity to experience four six-month seats in a variety of our practice areas, across our three offices. Our trainee solicitors are an integral part of each team they work with. You will work with many of our enviable clients from large, high profile corporates to high net-worth individuals with the support and supervision of our exceptional lawyers.
You will also be encouraged to participate in all the team’s other activities including business development, team meetings and training as well as socials and CSR events. In addition to the day to day support from your colleagues within each team, you will have monthly meetings with your allocated training principal and regular formal appraisals. We will give you constructive feedback so you understand what you are doing well and how you might be able to improve. In return we want you to feel that you can talk openly about your feelings too. Our managing partner, along with other senior leaders host quarterly trainee meetings for all our trainees, followed by dinner so you have the chance to talk with them about LA and wider issues impacting the legal sector.
The LA Hub will give you further insight into LA including firm news, blogs, seminars and events we are involved in.
Read what our people have to say about us
“When I visited Lester Aldridge for my training contract interview I felt comfortable straight away. Everyone was really friendly and I felt like I could be myself from the get-go, which was really important to me.”
“Everyone is always happy and ready to help irrespective of their position, and you can always learn something new from the people in your team.”
“The number of partners who trained in the firm is a testament to the firm’s extensive training and development focus, and a strong, friendly culture.”
“Since starting, I can appreciate even more LA’s commitment to a balanced life, mental health and equality and diversity.”
“It was very appealing to me that a lot of partners and senior staff at LA initially trained with the firm, so it clearly showed the investment that LA put into their trainees.”
Frequently Asked Questions
We are looking for trainees who are academically robust, good communicators and are adaptable. A willingness to embrace all the opportunities our training programme will offer is important too.
Ideally, we are looking for candidates with a minimum of ABB at A-level (or equivalent) and a predicted or achieved minimum 2:1 in their undergraduate degree. However, we do look at applications as a whole and our application form does give the opportunity to let us know if there have been any circumstances that have impacted on your academic performance.
Our 2025 SQE programme has now closed, anyone who is currently in the penultimate year (or beyond) of their degree is able to apply in January 2024 for contracts starting in September 2026.
From 2024 all our trainees will qualify under the new SQE route. Our applications for the 2024 SQE programme (even if you have completed an LPC) have now closed. If you have completed an LPC you are exempted from the requirement of SQE 1 and only have to pass SQE 2 prior to joining us. Look out in January 2024 for our 2026 application process.
For our new SQE programme, LA can offer full sponsorship for the SQE prep course and exams with our preferred provider, Barbri.
The Training Contract Application Form and Equal Opportunity Monitoring Form for 2026 applications will be available to complete from 1st January 2024. You may find these guidance notes helpful.
We will review all applications as they are received but we will not have selected candidates for all spaces on the assessment day until after the deadline closes.
Yes, we will have a limited number of one week vacation scheme placements in 2024, which could be at any of our offices (Bournemouth, Southampton or London). We will select people for our vacation scheme places from those who submitted a training contract applicant before 28 May 2023 and who have indicated they are interested in a vacation scheme on their application form.
Please look out for further details in January 2024 for our vacation scheme placements in 2025. Our vacation scheme will be held the week in June 2024 for 2026 applications.
Next year our assessment days will be held in our head office in Bournemouth between mid and late June 2024. You will only be required to attend on one day in this period.
The day will be made up of a panel interview with one or two of our partners and a member of our HR team. There will be a Watson Glaser critical thinking test and a drafting exercise. For tips on the Watson Glaser test please follow this link.
There will also be a chance to meet some of the existing trainees and newly qualified solicitors over lunch (COVID-19 restrictions allowing).
Unfortunately due to the volume of applications received we will be unable to give feedback to you if you are unsuccessful at any stage of our process.
If you have any further questions regarding our graduate training contracts, please contact us by emailing Training.Contract@LA-Law.com.
