Our vacation placement programme is the perfect introduction to Pinsent Masons and a pathway to securing a training contract at the firm. We meticulously design, structure, and develop the programme to provide you with an experience that is both practical and enjoyable, while genuinely reflecting the trainee solicitor experience.
Our two-week vacation placement programme often serves as the first opportunity for many individuals to work in a professional setting. We ensure this initial step is a smooth one through an English-wide induction, welcoming you to the firm and encouraging you to seize every opportunity. You will gain comprehensive exposure to one specific practice area which will allow you to build strong relationships, engage deeply in the team's work, and enjoy a significant level of responsibility. You will be paired with a dedicated supervisor and a buddy who will guide you throughout the placement, assign hands-on tasks, provide constructive feedback, and address any questions you may have about the firm.
The primary goal of our programme is to give you the chance to experience what it means to be part of the Pinsent Masons team and to develop transferable professional skills, boosting your confidence along the way. Additionally, this is an excellent opportunity to understand the social dynamics, forge friendships, and begin constructing a valuable network of contacts for your future career.
If you are offered a placement, it signifies that we already recognise you as a potential trainee. During your time with us, we will strive to give you every opportunity to validate our confidence in you. This is why our vacation placement students are not required to submit a separate application for our training contract programme; in our perspective, you are already being considered. Throughout your placement, we will facilitate your development of knowledge, skills, and confidence, gathering feedback from your team to assess the outcome of your training contract application.
Candidates typically make applications for our vacation placement programme in the penultimate year of their degree, seeking to commence their training contract the following year.
Our firm is deeply committed to diversity and inclusion, partnering with organisations such as the 10,000 Interns Foundation, Aspiring Solicitors, and Bright Network to promote and support applications from individuals of all backgrounds.
You must intend to apply to the Institution of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) for a place on the Solicitors Course or to be completing the Solicitors Qualifying Examinations (SQE) to enable you to commence a training contract in September 2026.
You must also meet one of the following:
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.
We do not offer ad hoc placement opportunities, so you must make sure you're available for the full placement during the above dates.
We believe placements should be paid as you will be making a valuable contribution to our business. We also recognise that undertaking placements can mean incurring costs for travel and accommodation. This is why we pay our vacation placement students a competitive rate of pay whilst on the scheme.
Our salaries are subject to review on an annual basis. The salary rates as of June 2024 are as follows:
Visa sponsorship
Our placements are full time i.e. 35 hours per week and may not be suitable for candidates with restricted work permits. If you are not sure about your individual circumstances, please contact us.
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.
Legal work experience is not mandatory. Our application form allows you to provide up to 5 of your most relevant experiences. This can be anything you've done, such as employment, work experience, placement, volunteering, sports activities, positions of responsibility etc.
You can only submit one application per intake (September 2024 - August 2025 recruitment cycle). If we offer you a position on our vacation placement programme, we'll automatically consider you for a training contract.
No, unfortunately we don’t offer in-house placements to first year students. If you’re a first-year student, we’d encourage you to develop your legal knowledge by attending law fairs and insight events. We also have a free virtual work experience programme that is open to all students.
Pinsent Masons partners with the 10,000 Interns Foundation to support diverse candidates by offering 6-week internship programmes for candidates from black-heritage, mixed-heritage, or disabled backgrounds. These opportunities run alongside our vacation placement programme.
Eligible candidates must register via 10,000 Interns Foundation within their allocated deadline, which may be different than our application deadline. The interns are then matched with suitable employers and, if you are allocated to Pinsent Masons, we will be in touch to advise you of the next steps.
Similarly to the vacation placement, the 10,000 Interns programme is a path to securing a training contract with the firm and selected interns will be invited to undertake the same assessments as our vacation placement candidates.
No, we recruit as per recruitment cycle and we deliver all outcomes after the application closing date.
If you are offered a position, we’ll ask you to tell us your top three practice group preferences and we’ll do our best to place you in one of these. However, this is subject to business requirements at the time of the placement.
We believe our interns benefit from completing the placement together, partaking in the same activities and building their network of support whilst they’re at the firm. For this reason, we do not offer ad hoc placements outside the core dates.
Yes, if you are seeking a training contract the following year and have a qualifying law degree.
Yes, we welcome applications from individuals who have had previous careers. We often find career changers bring significant transferable skills and a unique perspective.
Hear about Nawal's journey to becoming a future trainee solicitor at Pinsent Masons.
What makes Pinsent Masons Induction Day different? Read Saema's blog to find out more!
Read Steven's blog to find out more about our Vacation Placement structure and the types of tasks you can expect from our placement in the Pensions team.
Want to find out more about our work experience, apprenticeships, vacation placements or training contracts? You’ll find everything you need here.
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