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Withers LLP

Withers LLP

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In their own words

A law firm focused on people, performance, and collaboration.

Snapshot

Firm type

International

UK offices

London

International offices

Greenwich , Los Angeles, New Haven, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Texas, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Geneva, Milan, Padua, British Virgin Islands

Training contract places

12

Vacation scheme places

20

First-year salary

£47,000

Second-year salary

£52,000

Newly qualified salary

£95,000

Trainee retention

80%

SQE support

Yes, full support

Visa sponsorship

Yes

International secondment

Yes

Client secondment

No

Guaranteed secondment

No

Typical secondment locations

Milan

Holiday allowance

25 days

Office attendance policy

2-3 days in office

Recruitment route

Direct training contract and vacation scheme

First Year Insight scheme places

30

Solicitor apprenticeships

Not currently

Rolling application reviews?

Yes

Can trainees repeat seats?

No

Seat structure

Four seats, six months each

Can trainees express seat preferences?

Yes, they are taken into account

Salary reviews

Reviewed annually

Non-law applicants

Actively encouraged

Career changer applicants

Actively encouraged

Remote working

Formal flexible working policy

Typical start time

9:00am

Typical finish time

18:54pm

Average working hours per week

35 hours

Target billable hours

1400

Pro bono

Formal pro bono scheme

SQE1 and SQE2 funding

Yes - full

SQE maintenance grant

Yes

PGDL funding

Yes - full

Retrospective funding

No

Visa sponsorship

Considered on a case-by-case basis

% female trainees

68%

% female partners

48%

Minimum academic requirements

2:1 at university, AAB at A-level (mitigating circumstances considered)

Wellbeing support

Comprehensive wellbeing programme, including a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, private medical insurance, unlimited private GP appointments, wellbeing initiatives covering mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing, family care support, health assessments and a range of wellbeing resources and guidance

Parental leave

Dedicated policies covering maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave and pay, parental bereavement leave, bereaved partner's paternity leave, pregnancy loss and dependant care leave
Before you apply

Before you apply, ask yourself:

Is private client a practice you want to specialise in?

Are you able to understand the importance of clients’ personal and familial relationships and find solutions whilst keeping these in mind?

Is working across time zones and borders something you want to focus on, or would you prefer to work with UK entities?

Deep dive

Explore this firm in detail

What makes it different

The only global law firm dedicated to the personal and private capital needs of high-net-worth individuals and families.

What this could mean for you
Your clients will be individuals, just as frequently as it might be companies and other institutions. You will need to have excellent interpersonal skills as you develop, understanding client family dynamics alongside having strong commercial awareness.

Working together across teams and time zones

What this could mean for you
You will need to adapt to different clients’ cultural and geographical experiences. Understanding other cultures will be important in best servicing clients.

Practice area strengths

Private Client and Tax

Private Client and Tax is one of Withers' strongest practice areas and the firm's largest practice globally. Withers describes itself as the only global law firm dedicated to the personal and private capital needs of high-net-worth individuals and families. Trainees can work on international tax, estate planning, succession, trusts, philanthropy and mental capacity matters, often involving multi-jurisdictional families, business owners and private wealth structures. The work frequently requires collaboration across Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific, giving trainees early exposure to complex cross-border matters and long-standing client relationships.

All practice areas

Private clientTaxTrusts, estates and inheritanceLitigationCommercialDivorceFamilyEmploymentImmigrationInternational arbitrationInvestment fundsIntellectual propertyReal estateWhite collar defence and investigationsPublic international law
Who it may suit

Before you apply, ask yourself:

  • Is private client a practice you want to specialise in?
  • Are you able to understand the importance of clients’ personal and familial relationships and find solutions whilst keeping these in mind?
  • Is working across time zones and borders something you want to focus on, or would you prefer to work with UK entities?

This firm may suit candidates who...

  • Enjoy meeting and working with a broad range of people across different cultures and working to deadlines that cross time zones.
  • Are sociable and understanding of different client priorities and happy to act in a way that best services the client and their family.
  • Want to focus on private client work, but still want to work internationally.

Things to consider

  • You may not be able to experience as broad a range of practices compared to some other international firms.
  • Withers is a uniquely large law firm specialising in private client work, allowing trainees to work for some of the wealthiest individuals on the planet, across borders and matters.
Work-life reality

Work-life balance varies by team, seat and transaction cycle. This section is designed to help you understand the pattern, not reduce the experience to a score.

Holiday allowance

25 days, plus an additional Withers Day over Christmas. You can buy or sell up to 5 days' leave, and have access to enhanced family-related leave, compassionate leave, dependant care leave, jury service leave and long-service holiday entitlements.
Application process

Online application form

(1-2 hours)

Online strengths-based assessment

(90 minutes)

What happens

Provided by Cappfinity

Online proofreading assessment

(15 minutes)

Virtual interview

(50 minutes)

What happens

Interview via Microsoft Teams.

Assessment centre

(Half-day)

What happens

Group exercise, role-play exercise and a partner interview with two partners, including a 10 minute presentation on a selection of current affairs topics.
Insights
The Trainee Program - Caoilinn