The Legal Cheek View
This is the HFW profile for those considering solicitor apprenticeships. Students looking to apply for training contracts should check out Legal Cheek’s main HFW profile.
London-headquartered HFW is renowned for its shipping work, but its sector focus stretches well beyond the high seas. A disputes firm at heart, solicitor apprentices can expect to gain experience across HFW’s core sectors, including energy, insurance, aerospace, construction, and commodities. With 22 offices across five continents — spanning Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australasia — the firm attracts premier international work from well-known brands and leading financial institutions. Its international footprint also reflects the industries in which it is most active, with presences in the world’s key shipping ports, energy and infrastructure centres, and hubs for aviation and insurance disputes.
HFW takes an unconventional approach to its rotation structure. The solicitor apprenticeship programme offers ten seat rotations in total, including three in business services, as well as a guaranteed secondment before apprentices merge onto the firm’s training contract. During these initial business services seats, recruits gain experience across the global research and resources hub, the business development and marketing team, and the compliance, conflicts, and risk department. It’s a distinctive feature of the scheme, and one current apprentice says that “being able to see how both business services and legal teams work together offers valuable insight into the commercial side of a law firm”. This wider exposure, they add, helped them build “a well-rounded skill set, stronger commercial awareness, and lasting professional relationships across the business”. Another apprentice notes that the business services seats helped them “settle in, get used to working in a professional environment, and understand how law firms function as businesses”.
Having gained exposure to the behind-the-scenes operations of HFW’s London practice, apprentices move into their first legal seat. They start in the shipping and aviation sectors, working on major deals with big-name clients across that two-year period. The final six months before the HFW training contract brings perhaps the most exciting chapter yet: a secondment to one of the firm’s global offices, with locations including Monaco, Singapore and Hong Kong.
After that international stint, apprentices transition into the HFW training contract for their final two years. At this stage, they gain insight into the firm’s contentious practices by engaging in litigation across a range of sectors. These final two years follow the classic four-seat training contract structure, with trainees encouraged to complete at least one contentious (litigation) seat and one non-contentious (transactional) seat.
Training, apprentices say, is a real strength of the programme. Recruits have access to “a wide range of sector-focused training sessions”, alongside more general legal training, such as commercial contracts and tort law updates delivered twice a year. One apprentice says the induction programme completed in their first few weeks “closely mirrored that of a trainee”, while also including additional sessions designed to support apprentices as they transition into the professional working environment. Others point to training sessions delivered by fee-earners, describing them as “engaging, informative, and helpful” both for their university studies and their understanding of the firm’s work.
The supervision also appears to be hands-on. One apprentice says their supervisors have “consistently been proactive and eager to teach me new skills, help me understand systems, and involve me meaningfully in live matters”. Another highlights regular catch-ups and meetings to discuss progress and receive feedback. The training experience has been described by apprentices as “exceptional”, “broad and well-rounded”, and “a genuinely personalised training experience”. Perhaps most encouragingly, apprentices say lawyers and business services staff at all levels are willing to sit down, explain concepts, and show them how things are done when they have time, reflecting the open-door policy and lack of strict hierarchy at the firm.
Underpinning it all is the core educational component of the programme. Over the first four years, apprentices pursue a part-time law degree, dedicating one day a week to studying for their LLB with The University of Law. During the final two training contract years, the focus shifts to preparing for the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE), with apprentices qualifying as solicitors upon completion of the six-year programme.
The work-life balance appears to be another plus. Hours are generally around 9-5, and apprentices report that they have only been required to stay late very occasionally. Fridays are marked as study days, and supervisors are said to respect this. With good time management across the working week and study day — and the occasional bit of weekend study where needed — apprentices say they have been able to maintain a very positive work-life balance. “Supervisors are very good at protecting your study days and do not ask you to complete company work during your university time,” one apprentice tells us. Another adds: “My team is also very supportive and keeps in mind my studies, meaning I am not asked to complete work while I am out of the office. This allows me to focus solely on my university work without distraction, which I find extremely effective.”
Away from the books and the billable hours, HFW offers a strong social side. A range of internal networks host regular events, giving apprentices plenty of opportunities to connect with colleagues beyond the day job. From ethnic minority groups to an LGBTQ+ network, recruits can find and build their communities within the workplace. On the extracurricular front, sporty types can join the firm’s running and netball clubs, while those looking for something more low-key might try their luck with HFW’s coffee roulette, a light-hearted initiative that pairs people from across the firm for a casual catch-up.
The apprentices themselves speak warmly about the culture. “We get a decent budget for exclusively apprentice socials, which is appreciated,” one says. Another describes the people as “welcoming”, adding that the firm’s social events help build strong connections across teams and seniority levels, with “no noticeable hierarchical feeling”. Apprentices are also given real responsibility, structured training and regular feedback, alongside seat rotations that offer insight into different teams and how the wider firm operates. For school-leavers looking for a solicitor apprenticeship offering specialist sector expertise, early responsibility, and a deep understanding of how a law firm works, HFW’s apprenticeship scheme looks like a route well worth charting.
This is the HFW Solicitor Apprenticeship profile. Read HFW’s full Legal Cheek profile here.