Do you run a summer scheme?
Yes, we run a summer placement scheme each year. There are up to 10 places available. The deadline is 24 February 2012.

How long does the scheme last?
Each placement is for 2 weeks, and normally runs between June/July.

Do you interview for the summer scheme?
Yes. Interviews are held in Spring each year (depending on when the Easter holiday is).

Do you run open days?
Yes. We run a series of open days each year. Those interested should check the 'open day' section on the site for precise dates for that year.

Will there be overseas secondments available as a result of the merger?
This is something we will continually explore and would like to make a consistent part of what we can offer as part of the training contract. Two of our trainees have now spent time in the New York office and we sent our first trainee on secondment to Hong Kong in 2010.

Will you accept a 2:2 degree grade?
We aim to recruit candidates with a 2:1 degree or above. We will only consider a 2:2 in exceptional circumstances. Candidates should have clear mitigating circumstances for not achieveing the usual required grade, which we may need to verify.  There should be clear and consistent examples of academic excellence elsewhere during their studies.

What is your policy on mature students?
We do not have a specific policy. Each candidate is judged on their own merits and we embrace diversity. Previous career experience can be very beneficial, particularly as we expect our trainees to take on lots of responsibility and really add something to the cases they are working on.

How do you feel about people deferring offers for a year?
We will consider a request to defer a training contract for a year, although this decision would obviously depend on how many requests we receive from others starting in the same intake.

Which LPC/GDL/CPE providers do you recommend?
We leave it to you to choose where to study, recognising not everyone can move to, or wants to live in, London during this time. However, our trainees have generally gone to BPP, The College of Law, Nottingham Law School, Nottingham/Kaplan in London or OXILP. If you choose The College of Law we prefer you to choose the Corporate Route LPC, offered at the London Moorgate site.  We will offer guidance on which LPC electives are beneficial to you before starting your training contract with us.

Will trainees be able to use language skills?
Much of our work is international. There are plenty of occasions within the firm when individuals with languages are able to utilise their skills, such as translating documents or communicating to international clients on the telephone/via email etc.

Do you offer a maintenance/law school fee grant?
Yes. We pay the full CPE/GDL/LPC course fees, together with a maintenance grant of £7,000 p.a if you are studying in London, or £6,500 p.a if you're studying outside London. Maintenance is paid in three instalments throughout the academic year, in September, December and the following April.  We do have a policy on paying towards retrospective law school fees.

Can I choose which seats I spend time in during my training contract?
During your training we discuss your seat preferences with you before each seat rotation and we try to accommodate these wherever possible.

How much will I be paid during the Training Contract?
Current salaries are: Year 1 £38,000 and Year 2 £42,000.

How many offices do you have?
We have one London office, 12 offices in the US, an associate office in Hong Kong and an office in Tokyo.

How do I apply?
We only accept online applications.

How many trainees do you recruit each year and will this change with the merger?
We currently recruit up to 8 trainees each year, 2 years in advance of their start date. There are no plans at the moment to drastically increase the intake size. Recruiting small groups of trainees, offering them an extremely personal training experience and having them stay with us on qualification is incredibly important to us.

Do you accept applications from non-law graduates?
Yes. We have no preference for law or non-law graduates; what matters to us is the quality of the individual candidate. Our intake is normally an approximate 50/50 split between law and non-law candidates.

When will I hear whether I've been offered an interview for a training contract?
Communications are sent out in early August, following the closing date for applications. We will usually keep in touch via email – it's important that you give us up-to-date information on your form, for this purpose.

When do you interview for training contracts?
Our assessment days are held around the end of August and beginning of September.

When do you make offers?
We abide by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) voluntary code of conduct for the recruitment of trainees and only make offers from 1 September, if you are a penultimate year law student, or final year non-law student.

If your question is not answered here, please don't hesitate to get in contact with us and we'll do our best to give you the information you need:

traineerecruitment@edwardswildman.com