Fieldfisher confirms Birmingham training contracts

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By Thomas Connelly on

City outfit’s newbies will start this September

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European law firm Fieldfisher has today confirmed it will offer training contract positions at its Birmingham office.

The outfit gained a foothold in the West Midlands back in November 2016 thanks to a merger with Birmingham-based commercial outfit Hill Hofstetter.

Now, just over three months on, Fieldfisher has revealed that it will be launching a training contract programme at its new Brum outpost. With a September start date already penciled in, the firm — which also has UK offices in both London and Manchester — is looking to take on up to two new wannabe lawyers. The deadline for applications is 15 April.

Fieldfisher, which offers around 14 UK-based training contracts annually, is yet to disclose how much its new trainees will be paid. However, according to Legal Cheek’s Most List, outfits such as DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland and DWF all offer their first-year Birmingham cohorts around the £26,000 mark.

Chris Hill, Fieldfisher’s managing partner in Birmingham, said:

This is the first trainee scheme since we merged with Fieldfisher. We are delighted to offer this opportunity and know that our new trainees will benefit from working across our European network and international clients.

According to Legal Cheek’s 2016 Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey, Fieldfisher scored A* for partner approachability and work/life balance. With lawyers arriving at the office on average at 9:09am and leaving at 6:50pm, respondents trumpeted the firm’s regular supply of brownies, cakes and ice cream.

This latest development comes just a week after Berwin Leighton Paisner revealed it was set to launch a training contract offering in Manchester. Having set up a legal services hub in the city back in August 2014, the firm told Legal Cheek that applications will open “shortly”, but only to “Manchester-based BLP employees”. The firm did not disclose how many TCs it would offer, or what they will pay.

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