Our Dubai gateway programme is suitable for those who wish to qualify under SQE and individuals who are qualifying, or have already qualified, in other Middle East jurisdictions looking to build their experience. We welcome applications from individuals who are attracted to a legal career with an international, professional services firm with law at its core.
Candidates should have existing connections to the Middle East with a desire to build a career in the region and help us build the junior talent pipeline of our Dubai office. On our two year programme, we will give you a comprehensive introduction to a multi-national, commercial professional services organisation with law at its core.
Throughout the programme you’ll gain broad exposure to different areas of the firm by moving seat every six months. The training in each seat is ‘front loaded’ to enable you to quickly develop legal knowledge of each area and take on real responsibility. When you have completed the programme , you’ll be better informed about which practice areas interest you and can take your career to the next level in your chosen specialism.
We will support you throughout your training contract, from liaising with the wider business on seat allocation, to meeting with you regularly to offer professional support and guidance.
To be eligible for this programme, you must:
If you are not qualified, you are expected to meet the following criteria but not essential:
If you are already qualified, you are expected to meet the following criteria but not essential:
If you have any questions regarding the eligibility of this programme, please contact us.
If you don’t meet the above minimum academic criteria but you have mitigating circumstances, there’s an opportunity for you to include this information in your registration form.
Our salaries are subject to review on an annual basis. The salary rates as of July 2024 are as follows:
We have an exclusive relationship with the University of Law whereby our future sponsored trainees study the LLM SQE course remotely in advance of joining us, if they are yet to (and wish to) obtain that qualification. We're committed to hiring the most talented people, regardless of your background. That's why we'll cover your postgraduate legal education tuition fees and offer you a fair maintenance grant. In addition, we will also subsidise travel costs to the UK to undertake the SQE 2 oral assessment.
For those joining us from a different qualification route or jurisdiction, we offer financial support in respect of any compulsory legal education, local Bar exams and registration costs.
The below shows the typical recruitment process for our Early Talent programmes in our UK, Dublin, Johannesburg and Dubai offices.
Tell us about yourself, your academic history and your employment history where applicable. We also gather information about you to support our contextualized recruitment approach.
The next stage of the recruitment process will involve completing our online blended assessment. This blended assessment incorporates situational judgment questions, a written case study and a short recorded video interview allowing us to see how well you would perform in different scenarios.
If you pass the online blended assessment, we’ll ask you to book a place at one of our in-person assessment centres. You will complete three exercises over the day – This will include a one-to-one interview, a business simulation exercise and a case study.
Whatever the outcome, we’ll let you know as soon as we can after the assessment centre. If you display the key attributes we are looking for and perform well throughout the assessment, we’ll send you an offer and talk you through the onboarding process.
To start your application, please click on apply now. Once you have registered an account, you will need to complete the following before the application closing date:
Once you have submitted all of the above, our recruitment team will review your application alongside your online blended assessment and will be in touch in due course regarding your outcome.
Our Dubai Gateway Programme is designed for candidates who currently reside in, or have long term connections to, the Middle East. Priority will be given to candidates who can demonstrate their residency or long-term connections to the Middle East. Pinsent Masons does not cover travel or accommodation expenses for those living outside of Dubai for this programme.
Unfortunately, Pinsent Masons does not cover travel or accommodation expenses for those living outside of Dubai for this programme.
All seats will be completed in our Dubai office.
