Trowers & Hamlins LLP - True Picture

Trowers & Hamlins training contract review 2026

The Firm

If there’s one key takeaway from a True Picture of life at Trowers & Hamlins, it’s that real estate is a really big deal. Not only is it the firm’s largest department, but many of its others practice areas – like planning and construction - are closely related and involve plenty of crossover. As a result, it’s probably a good idea to note that for a good proportion of the firm’s current trainees, a “real interest in real estate” and an opportunity to “hone in on that sector” was a big part of the draw.

What might surprise you about such a real estate-focused firm is that Trowers offers a combination of local and international work: “I liked that Trowers does local work in Exeter. I could drive past sites and say, ‘I did that.’” At the same time, there’s also plenty of work on “national and international projects from the Middle East. I like the variety that comes with a firm of this calibre.” In fact, beyond four UK offices in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Exeter, the firm has a further six across the Middle East and Asia.

“I could drive past sites and say, ‘I did that.’”

The firm’s HQ is its London office, and the firm bags top Chambers UK rankings for its work in the capital in areas like real estate, social housing and employment. There are also top rankings nationwide for social housing finance and local government. That said, interviewees were unanimous that the firm’s sector strengths didn’t get in the way of its human touch: “I wanted to work somewhere where I didn’t have to try to fit in and could focus on working instead of putting a mask on,” one trainee told us. And, as another put it: “I was quite sure I didn’t want to be at a firm where if I made a mistake, I was going to be treated harshly rather than constructively.”

The Seats

The London HQ houses the largest number of trainees, with the rest pretty evenly split between Manchester, Exeter and Birmingham. Trainees have one “dream seat” which is “not guaranteed but it’s very likely you’ll get that seat at some point in your TC.” This choice remains the same throughout the training contract, but trainees have three other preferences which they can change midway through each seat during a check-in chat with HR.

As preferences are balanced with business need, we heard that all trainees should expect a seat in real estate, and often first with around 50% of new joiners starting in the seat. Trainees from all offices can apply to go on an international secondment to Oman, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi or Dubai from their second seat onwards, all via the same seat allocation process.

The real estate department is split into eight sub departments covering affordable housing development, commercial development, care development, private development, and funding & investment. The commercial development team focuses on “buying large pieces of land to turn into warehouses that are then sold on to the likes of Tesco or Amazon, or regen projects with local councils to get more commercial clientele into shopping centres, etc.”

In one recent real estate matter, the firm advised London Museum on its relocation to a new site in a listed building around the historic Smithfield Market. On this side of the real estate coin, the trainee life involves “basically a lot of drafting” of leases and licenses and “a lot of transaction management,” including communicating with the other side, working with the land registry and assisting on reporting on title and completions. As one trainee put it: “They tend to let trainees run simpler transactions,” such as obtaining an easement or renewing a lease. There’s also a sub team that works on telecoms.

“…they’re really happy for you to take it on like it’s your own project, which is great.”

The property litigation department is also split into a residential side and a commercial side. How much trainees work on each side varies depending on which side their supervisor sits, but they can expect to try at least a bit of each. The residential side deals with landlord and tenant acts, “mainly evictions, injunctions and tenant disrepairs.”

Trainees told us that the work is “really quick-paced,” and each will get their own client list, working for clients such as housing associations. There’s the opportunity to attend court hearings, as well as get a lot of contact with the client. One source explained that pretty early on, “they’re really happy for you to take it on like it’s your own project, which is great.” It’s also, we heard, a “really good opportunity to showcase your advocacy.”

We heard that the commercial side will take on “really nitty gritty legal disputes” over pieces of land. Trainees told us that the work is a “lot slower” than the residential side, involving a lot of “subtasks,” so is “heavily research-based” with a lot of reading, reviewing and drafting. But it’s far from boring! There are “lots of weird and wonderful queries which I particularly enjoy.” As just one example of the department’s work, the firm advises BT on its property management, including currently defending the company against a dilapidations dispute brought against it by a former landlord. That the department is a “tightknit team who support each other” added to our sources’ enjoyment of their time here.

The work in planning & environment varies a little from office to office. Trainees in London and Exeter can work across both aspects of the department, whereas Manchester only has an environment team, so any planning work would be done under the supervision of a team in another office. What's more, in any office, trainees might be allocated to a seat in just one side of the team. This is a relatively small but busy department, as “changes in planning legislation mean there is so much work out there for the team. It’s the busier team I’ve been in!”

Planning trainees help to draft and negotiate planning agreements, such as a section 106 agreements for large developments when the firm is acting for local authorities or developers. For example, the department was instructed by Epping Forest District Council as outsourced legal support. The department also works on infrastructure projects including highways and water.

Trainees might be encouraged to “take ownership” of managing workstreams, run smaller-scale matters and work on compulsory purchase orders (section 186 agreements). They also conduct planning due diligence as part of larger projects in the corporate or real estate departments. Perhaps unexpectedly, the health and safety team also sits within the planning department, but trainees don’t generally get involved in its work. The environment side involves working on (you guessed it) the environmental element of planning applications as well as contentious environmental work.

“…definitely for people who like managing a project, because there are like 20 parties that need keeping tabs on and you’ll be their first port of call.”

Among the firm’s larger departments that trainees can find themselves in is projects & construction. One important difference between locations is that in Manchester projects and construction disputes sits within the projects and construction department, so trainees here will also do contentious work (which they won’t in the other locations). “A lot of the work is linked to affordable housing, so a lot of developments for affordable housing providers,” explained one trainee, continuing the theme. But that’s not all, the firm also works for private sector clients, in fact “our biggest client is in the private sector - Berkeley,” a large housing development company.

The firm also frequently acts for local councils across its regions, such as Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Melton Borough Council and Tamworth Borough Council in the Midlands. Trainees prepare warranties, draft development agreements and review documents, agreements and amendments such as letters of claim. While there’s some admin, “it’s less form-based and admin-based than real estate, but it’s very technical, so I’ve been getting very much eased into it,” explained one trainee. This means the day-to-day trainee experience is “more a project management role.” This means a seat here is “definitely for people who like managing a project, because there are like 20 parties that need keeping tabs on and you’ll be their first port of call.”

Trainee Life

As one trainee was quick to highlight: “I would say it’s been very inclusive and welcoming at every single level.” So, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the culture is a big part of the appeal: “Most of the people that I’ve met I’ve become friends with in a personal capacity, rather than just colleagues to chat to at work.” We heard this extends all the way to the top: “Partners will have your back, and they have been more than happy to invite me to events and integrate me into the firm.”

On the social side, there’s “always something going on, an event you can go to, be it legal or non-legal, to help you grow your network.” This includes tickets to go see a play or internal networks putting on events. The firm organizes events for trainees too, like meet ups with other offices and connecting with local trainee societies. Teams have lunches and away days, and the property litigation team even went glamping! Firm-wide, “the main events of the year are the Christmas and summer parties.” DEI networks also organise events like bake sales, “it’s nice to feel like there are all these opportunities to mingle, basically.”

There are also regular volunteering opportunities open to trainees, such as taking part in reading schemes in local schools and Let’s Feed Brum, an initiative which gives food to homeless people in Birmingham city centre. One-off opportunities include volunteering for client companies on schemes like creating gardens and fundraising events such as a monopoly challenge.

As for offices, one recent development was the relocation of the Birmingham office to 1 Snowhill, which trainees considered to be a “big improvement,”:“It’s quite swanky, everyone’s got stand up desks, and there’s even a feature wall with moss.” All offices have transitioned to being predominantly hot desking spaces, which trainees described as “more conducive to having chat with people.” Trainees are expected to be in the office a minimum of three days a week.

On average, trainees were heading home between 6.30pm and 7.30pm with longer hours in certain seats like real estate, planning & environment and corporate during busier periods. There’s “very much a culture that you shouldn’t be staying late,” with seniors noticing when trainees are doing so and offering to push back deadlines when it's not urgent. And how did trainees feel about their compensation? “For the work I’m doing at my level I’m fairly compensated, but I’d never say no to more,” summed up the general feeling among our interviewees.

Training style and format varies between departments, with trainees reporting more “frontloaded” training in some departments than in others, but each has a programme of sessions covering everything trainees need to know. Usually, trainees will receive work from other staff as well as their supervisors: “I’ve had really, really good relationships with both of my supervisors, it’s been one of my favourite things about the training contract so far,” gushed one junior. “I do feel very supported but also there’s definitely high standards, especially amongst different departments and you are pushed. But I really like that.” It’s quite common to have weekly check-ins with supervisors and reviews are “quite constructive, I’ve never had a bad review, they’ve all been useful.”

Trainees are given a clear idea of the steps involved in the qualification process: “We know the date the NQ jobs list is going to come out. We know when we need to submit cover letters by, what’s involved in the jobs, and what’s involved in the interviews and outcomes date. It’s all very transparent.”

Trainees are often understandably nervous about qualification, but our sources were feeling confident: “I don’t get a sense of competitiveness with the other trainees in my cohort. We all know that if we do our best, the firm will do everything it can to keep us on. It feels like we’re all on the same team.” In 2025, Trowers & Hamlins retained 22 of 26 qualifiers.

Get Hired

How to get a Trowers & Hamlins training contract  

APPLY HERE

Vacation scheme deadline (2026): 5 January 2026

Training contract deadline (2028/2029): 5 January 2026

Applications  

Trowers & Hamlins recruits around 25 trainees each year into its UK offices based in Birmingham, Exeter, London and Manchester, split between March and September intakes. The majority of training contracts are offered to those who undertake the firm's paid summer vacation scheme but a small number is reserved for those who are unable to commit to that scheme. 

Both training contract and summer vacation scheme applications begin with an online form that features four questions alongside the usual education and work experience sections. Head of Early Talent, Rachel Chapman, says “Before you apply, spend time doing research and thinking about why you want to join Trowers and what you think you could bring to the firm. Go further than looking at our website – search for articles our lawyers have written, podcasts they've recorded or videos they've featured in. There is a wealth of information available which will give you a real insight into the type of firm we are and the work we do.”

“Enhance your research by coming to speak to us at virtual and in person law fairs and insight events. You can show your motivation for Trowers specifically by tailoring your application using the knowledge you have gained from your research. Finally, remember to showcase your work experience. The most important thing here is not whether you have lots of previous legal work experience, it's about demonstrating the skills you have developed during any experience you've had and why they will be relevant to a career in law.”  

The firm looks for candidates with a minimum of 128 UCAS points (ABB) from their top three A-Levels or equivalent, and a consistently strong predicted or achieved 2:1 degree. However, they take mitigating circumstances into account and do not automatically reject candidates who do not reach this minimum criteria. They also use a contextualised recruitment tool to understand a candidate's achievements in context. 

Assessment centres

After submitting an online application, candidates will be invited to complete an online assessment. There is a strict deadline to complete the assessment so candidates must make sure they pay attention to the email received upon submitting their application which will contain all the information needed.

If successful after these stages, candidates will be invited to an assessment centre taking place in two parts.

The first part is a written exercise completed remotely.

Next, candidates join an in-person in the office they have applied to to complete which will consist of a maximum of three exercises, including a group exercise and strengths-based interview. For candidates who have applied for a vacation scheme, there will then be a final interview at the end of the scheme in order to be considered for a training contract. The firm then assesses performance during the vacation scheme via feedback from the teams in order to consider the candidate for a training contract.

Vacation scheme  

Chapman says, “Our summer vacation schemes are the perfect way to explore life as a trainee and a team member at our firm.” Trowers & Hamlins offers around 50 places across its Birmingham, Exeter, London and Manchester offices each year. Each placement lasts two weeks, during which attendees sit in two different departments.  During the scheme, attendees will be involved in work such as drafting, undertaking research, attending meetings and interacting with a range of people across the firm.

The firm runs insight events in November and December each year to provide an insight into the firm and tips and tricks for applications. Attending an insight event is encouraged before applying for a Summer Vacation Scheme or Training Contract. 

Trainee profile

Trainees come from a wide variety of backgrounds at Trowers and have had different experiences. What is important, says Chapman, “is an ability to build relationships with our equally diverse client base and the passion and drive to succeed.”

Our trainee sources characterised the ideal candidate as “a team player who can take the initiative and spot solutions to problems.” They had this advice for applicants, “Don't rush your application; you need to make sure it shows you've researched the firm and effectively portrayed yourself.”