The Legal Cheek View
Meet Slaughter and May at our Solicitor apprenticeship application masterclass and insight virtual events
Slaughter and May, one of the most recognisable names in City law, launched its solicitor apprenticeship programme in Autumn 2024, with the first recruits joining the firm in September 2025.
The six-year solicitor apprenticeship programme immerses apprentices in the firm’s legal teams which could include corporate, competition, financing, disputes and investigations and tax. Here, recruits work on real deals and cases, gaining hands-on experience alongside leading lawyers and building a strong foundation in practical legal skills.
Financing partner Kevin Howes is Slaughter and May’s Solicitor Apprenticeship partner. Legal Cheek heard from Howes on what sets the firms’ apprenticeship offering apart. “Our multi-specialist approach is one of the distinct differences of Slaughter and May,” he says. “Our programme has been designed to provide our apprentices with the breadth of experience and training needed to become a multi-specialist laywer, equipped to advise on a broad range of legal matters.” This approach to training promises to provide apprentices with plenty of “interest and challenge” as they progress through their career.
Howes is clear that it’s not just apprentices that benefit from the programme, it’s very much a two-way street: “It’s crucial to the sustained success of the firm that we continue to recruit the best people. Our Apprenticeship Programme ensures we have access to talent from all possible sources,” he tells Legal Cheek.
The programme follows a classic structure, with four years of annual rotations across different teams, followed by a two-year training contract, providing apprentices with extensive exposure to the firm’s high-calibre work. To begin with, the firm sets the rotation choices to give you a balanced foundation, but as you progress, you’ll have the chance to shape your path with your own preferences.
Academically, apprentices spend one day a week at BPP University Law School, working towards a law degree. This day-release structure allows them to immediately apply classroom theory to real work. Throughout the programme, apprentices also prepare for the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE), which are taken in the final years.
Slaughter and May prioritises integrating new apprentices into the firm’s culture right from the start. Apprentices are included in the trainee cohort’s activities, with regular social events providing a great way to connect with peers.
The firm’s employee networks, which focus on areas like social mobility, diversity, and environmental sustainability, offer additional ways to get involved, hosting a variety of events ranging from speaker sessions to cultural lunches.
For those interested in sports, there are clubs for football, badminton, and netball, and the firm is open to new club ideas if there’s enough interest.
Slaughter and May’s early careers team revealed to Legal Cheek that they are looking for candidates who are ready to commit to the six-year journey, have done their homework on the firm and its distinct differences, and can show they understand what a career in commercial law entails and the demands of the programme.
We also asked Howes for the advice he would offer apprenticeship hopefuls. “A solicitor apprenticeship programme is a big commitment,” he replies, “so it’s important to us that applicants can demonstrate a good understanding of commercial law as a career, in particular the role of a solicitor apprentice.” That being said, formal legal work experience is not a requirement: “virtual work experience programmes, events you’ve attended, workshops or law firm open days you’ve taken part in” are all great ways to show your knowledge of and enthusiasm for commercial law.
And finally, be yourself. “Your answer should be personal to you, your journey and your experiences,” says Howes. “Write your application form in your own words, using a professional or natural tone, so that is is authentic and original to you.”
This is Slaughter and May’s Solicitor Apprenticeship profile. Read Slaughter and May’s full Legal Cheek profile here.