Early legal careers

Legal careers are constantly evolving, but at Stevens & Bolton, you can make a flying start. Be part of a firm where you can make a real difference without compromising your ambition.

Work on real cases for major clients and gain hands-on experience from day one. Every day is an opportunity to build your knowledge and skills.

You’ll receive the supervision you need, support from colleagues, and early responsibility as soon as you’re ready. This approach helps our trainees become well-rounded, confident, and respected professionals.

Our people strategy focuses on identifying and developing talent, creating rewarding careers. Many of our partners and in-house lawyers at major clients began their careers at Stevens & Bolton.

How to apply

We recruit around 10 trainees a year and have a strong track record of them qualifying with us. As an ambitious, growing firm, our transactional and specialist teams are always seeking top talent. Most of our trainees join us after participating in one of our Spring Vacation Schemes.

To secure a training contract, apply for a place on one of our vacation schemes during the December-January application window. This process includes an interview for a training contract.

All applications should be made via our online system.

 

Apply here

Vacation scheme

The week-long placement is designed to give you a good idea of what it might be like to work here and gives us a chance to get to know you. As a vacation scheme student you are introduced to each practice and meet a cross-section of our team, with opportunities to:
  • Learn about our core practice areas.
  • Shadow our lawyers in their day-to-day working activities.
  • Attend social events.
  • Be involved in client work and meetings.
  • Work on case studies and receive feedback.
  • Interview for a training contract.

Our 2025 vacation schemes will take place over the weeks of 14th – 17th & 22nd – 25th April 2025 and will last 4 days each. We will be accepting applications for places on our 2026 vacation schemes from 1 December 2025 – 31 January 2026. These are open to second year law undergraduates, third year non-law graduates and all postgraduates. We offer 15 places on each week.

We welcome applications from candidates with a law or non-law background who have achieved (or expect to achieve) a 2:1 degree or higher (unless there are exceptional circumstances). We also require a minimum of 128 UCAS points in one sitting with at least one grade A at A Level.

The training contract

A training contract with Stevens & Bolton is a platform for learning and success. Over two years you will do four six-month seats, allowing you to experience key practice areas of the firm.

From day one, we want you to feel like part of the team. Our training contract offers real responsibility, client exposure, and the opportunity to tackle interesting, challenging work. You’ll have a dedicated supervisor in each seat to guide you in developing the core skills and experiences needed for a successful qualification.

About us

30
Around 30 places per year on Vacation Schemes
10
Around 10 trainees hired each year
£40,000
First year trainees
£42,000
Second year trainees
£66,000
Newly Qualified
£7,000
Maintenance grant for each year of study

“Let’s make it happen” is our promise to clients, colleagues and our community. Read about the shared values that underpin making this vision a reality.

Read more about our values

Let’s be responsible. We’re committed to maximising our positive impact for our people, clients, community and the environment.

Read more about our Responsible business activities.
  • Careers FAQs

As a growing business, we have an open-door recruitment policy and welcome speculative applications from lawyers, business professionals, or those just starting their careers.

If there are no current vacancies that match your search, feel free to submit your CV for future consideration. We’ll keep your details on file and reach out if a suitable position opens.

We regularly work with recruitment agencies to source candidates, but ask that agencies contact our recruitment team before submitting unsolicited applications. Terms must be agreed upon before any CVs are sent. We are not responsible for fees related to unsolicited CVs or profiles sent directly to our partners or employees.

Current Vacancies

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