Bates Wells - True Picture

Bates Wells training contract review 2025

The Firm

CSR page fatigue from browsing through law firms’ websites is real. Expressions like ‘socially conscious’ and ‘environmentally conscious’ can, let’s be honest, start to lose their meaning. Enter Bates Wells, a firm known for being the first law firm in the UK to achieve B Corp status. If you’re not familiar, B Corp companies have to pass an extremely strict external review. In short, they need to demonstrate the kind of environmental and social footprint that a lot of the big-name companies you’re familiar with (naming no names) can only dream of. That’s on top of legal commitments regarding their corporate governance structures and corporate transparency. So, Bates Wells snagging the title of the UK’s first B Corp law firm was kind of a big deal, and it set a new benchmark in the legal profession.

“I’ve worked for other law firms who do CSR stuff, but at Bates Wells, you do it every day.”

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, then, that much of the work the firm does revolves around things like charities, immigration, employment, and parliamentary and public affairs matters. What’s more, the firm boasts top ChambersUKrankings in all of them. Bates Wells is listed as having advised 368 of the UK’s largest charities, from Cancer Research and Oxfam to the WWF. “I’ve worked for other law firms who do CSR stuff,” one source told us, “but at Bates Wells, you do it every day. It doesn’t matter if you are in charities or not, you will often still be working for a charity.” The firm also offers reduced rates for certain charity clients.

The Seats

In terms of seat allocation, trainees ranked their seat preferences from one to six before being placed by HR. This year, however, first-year trainees weren’t expressly given a choice and were instead told to reach out if they had any strong preferences. “Some people took this as an invitation, and some assumed it meant not to reach out,” one interviewee commented. The exception was the case for second-years, where this was followed by an informal chat with the emerging talent partner to discuss their ideal seats. It’s also worth noting that the firm is changing its seat structure, moving from a five-seat training contract down to a four-seat training contract. The current cohort are the first to complete four six-month seats, marking a change from the previous system of five four-month seats. In line with SRA requirements, every trainee undertakes a contentious seat, and all trainees at Bates Wells must complete a mandatory Charities and Social Enterprises (CHASE) seat. Client secondments come up according to business need, but are not as common.

The mandatory CHASE seat makes sense, as it’s where the bulk of the firm’s work comes from. One trainee explained: “In any area at the firm, you will have to work with charity clients, so a baseline knowledge is useful.” In fact, it’s Bates Wells’s biggest department, split into five teams. A lot of the work revolves around the likes of charity registration applications and company constitutions, but trainees were quick to point out that “it is interesting how much it varies. Some people will hold your hand, which is good sometimes! Then others will push you into it, which is really good experience. There is such a variety that it works.” The general consensus is that everyone in the department has a niche: “There are some election law specialists, some working to provide campaign advice for general elections or student union work.” One source who had sat in the electoral campaigns team described “room to sit in on meetings, hear advisory pieces and advise on Electoral Commission registration.” Trainees can also find themselves with the opportunity to do the first draft of substantive documents.

“You check all your drafts with the partners, but you do run the case…”

Immigration is another option available to trainees and we heard it also happens to be one of the busiest departments. The firm offers the breadth of immigration services, so trainees in the seat will likely be working on both commercial and personal matters. This can include partner applications, visa extensions, Skilled Worker visas, Global Talent applications and more. There is even the opportunity to appeal against Home Office decisions. One interviewee told us: “I got work on an appeal, which was really rewarding, and I got to go to the final hearing.” The typical trainee work in this department will involve preparing corporate bundles, as well as a lot of client management. Responsibility in immigration was also a plus; we heard that “not long after joining, you run your own cases. You check all your drafts with the partners, but you do run the case, attend the client meetings and all that kind of thing.” The current crop pointed out that there are some cases where a trainee will need to submit a visa application on the portal later in the evening, but the caveat was that this time wasn’t set aside for anything more than just “pressing submit after work.”

One option for a contentious seat at Bates Wells is dispute resolution. Those we spoke to immediately flagged DR as a seat with plenty of more structured training, with knowledge sessions every fortnight – one on media and another covering general DR. Trainees are encouraged to present at these sessions, which the current crop described as a great way to get yourself in front of the partners. Typical trainee tasks in the seat often revolve around legal research, which “a lot of senior fee earners will rely on trainees to do.” For lower-value disputes, like a debt claim or a contractual dispute, we heard trainees will often find themselves running the matter with the supervision of a partner, which gave them the opportunity to prepare the claim or defence. If a matter goes to a hearing, court or mediation, there is room for trainees to get involved. Some of this work can even be legacy disputes, cases where part of an estate has been left to a charity and the person’s relatives are contesting it.

Real estate is another department that welcomes newbies at Bates Wells. Read a few of our features and you’ll notice that real estate departments are a bit different, depending on the firm. At Bates Wells, we were told that there is more of a commercial leaning as opposed to residential. As one interviewee put it: “A senior associate told me that it is like its own little ecosystem in real estate, and they were right!” The general consensus was that this little ecosystem involved less hand-holding and more independence: “Trainees can be the ones responsible for keeping conversations going with clients and communicating about matters,” one interviewee told us. Despite the commercial work going on in the department, of course, there is still a distinctive charity focus.

Trainee Life

If there’s one thing that should be clear at this point, it’s that Bates Wells is not your typical ‘City’ firm. So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that this extends to the culture surrounding their Cannon Street office too: “You do work hard, that is for sure,” one interviewee tells us, “but compared to other firms, the hours are significantly more balanced.” It is not uncommon for a Bates Wells trainee to wrap up work at 5.30 or 6pm. In fact, a trainee even mentioned that “one time I got told off for being in the office past 6pm!” The firm’s remote working policy makes room for all employees to work from home up to three days a week. Of course, as is often the case, there isn’t always room for firms that do as much good as Bates Wells to pay the astronomical salaries of the bigger firms, but at £41,000 for first-year trainees, you can’t complain! Plus, newbies told us that “it just isn’t the main reason for coming to the firm; it’s the strong work-life balance and it’s ethical practices.” Despite this, there is a profit-share bonus scheme and a performance-based bonus scheme once you qualify.

“Everyone is careful about what they consume and conscious about how they use things.”

Ethical conduct is ingrained in everything the firm does – from bathroom products to catering and drinks, everything is sourced from B Corp companies. We heard the firm is also moving away from printing and other forms of waste: “You can see people who work here care more about the environment than your average Joe,” we were told. “Everyone is careful about what they consume and conscious about how they use things.” Catering tends to lean more to the vegetarian side at socials, in keeping with the sustainability theme. Socials are something that the firm is in no short supply of either. Trainees highlighted the social committee, who apparently were “making an extra special effort this year,” organising events such as the Bates Wells pub quiz, Euros events and theatre trips. The most recent Christmas party took place at the Haberdashers’ Hall: “Everyone dressed up fancy and there were recognition awards, which was very wholesome, as well as the yearly trainee speech.”

The general consensus too was that the firm encourages genuine friendships within the workplace, setting trainees up with mentors in other departments as an extra contact point: “They want people to be friends and to socialise,” one recent joiner explained. “There is a big space for socialisation in the atrium, as well as a culture of raising problems and concerns if there are any.” On that note, trainees were keen to point out that the firm is responsive to concerns and asks for feedback. One example was the seat allocation process, where trainees were given the opportunity to suggest improvements for next year’s process.

“…it is very useful for juniors to have safe spaces.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the firm has made considerable strides in the DEI sphere. Bates Wells has several different forums, such as the Racial Equity and Cultural Heritage group REACH which, one trainee says, “offers a safe space to talk about concerns and voice anything; it is very useful for juniors to have safe spaces. The partner who heads it up is also incredible and very involved.” There is also the FAITH group, who put on an Iftar event for Eid, and another event for Ramadan. This offered “a lot of cultural exchange and a lot of learning.”

Trainees will check in monthly with their supervisors. For some trainees, these check-ins can be as regular as every week. For others, the need wasn’t so great when there was the option to sit next to their supervisor in the office and ask questions. The open and honest culture at the firm meant that feedback was easy to obtain: “Feedback is king here,” said one trainee. “You even give your supervisor feedback.” Even if your official supervisor is busy, “it is a friendly firm and you make friendships quickly, so you can just ask someone else to look over your work.” If you’re on the CHASE team, supervision matters less, as there is a dedicated professional support lawyers’ team, who run regulatory training and knowledge-sharing sessions. There is also a paralegal and trainee group chat where you can float ideas and questions.

Come qualification time, those approaching NQ status felt dutifully supported throughout the process. Qualification options are released a few months before applications open. All six of the current cohort were retained and have signed qualification agreements. As one qualifier told us: “This isn’t surprising as there is an attitude that trainees are an investment, so there is no fear of getting pushed out; they do what they can to keep people.” Around one-third of Bates Wells partners even trained at the firm!

How to get a Bates Wells training contract

• Vacation scheme deadline: 6 January 2025
• Training contract deadline: 30 March 2025
• Training contract places: 6
• Training contract applications: Approximately 700

Experience

Bates Wells is “passionate about making a positive social impact, so any experience that demonstrates that commitment, either personal or professional, is impressive.” 

Application process

There are three stages to the application process. Firstly, candidates complete an online application form on the firm’s website which covers academics, experiences and motivations: “We use contextual recruitment software which is built into the application form, and we take mitigating circumstances seriously when reviewing applications. Candidates can speak in confidence to the graduate recruitment team regarding those circumstances and any adjustments they might need in the application process.’

Candidates that meet expectations complete a Watson-Glaser test, examining critical thinking skills – they have about a week to complete it. “We then look at the test score and re-review the application to confirm who we want to progress to the next stage,” Maria Michael, HR Advisor explains. “If successful, vacation scheme applicants will be invited to attend an assessment centre before being invited to attend our vacation scheme; ; those applying directly for a training contract are also invited to an assessment day. Our assessment days include an interview, written test and presentation exercise.” If successful at the assessment centre candidates will be invited to attend a final stage interview. This is to ensure that all candidates being considered for a Training Contract complete the same assessments.

“Be sure to keep up-to-date with current affairs and have an opinion about what is going on in the world before you come and speak to us,” Maria suggests. Those who’ve been successful at the assessment centre will then be interviewed by the firm’s managing partner and senior partner in June and will find out the decision by July.

Top tip: “Candidates who do well at our interviews are able to express their opinion on a range of issues; they’re engaged in the world around them and can show that they want to be part of a firm that is sincerely committed to making a positive social impact. They have a clear understanding of the importance of balancing purpose with profit. Those who perform less well during our recruitment processes have not researched enough about the firm and the space we operate in.”

Bates Wells recruits from both its vacation scheme and direct training contract applications, in addition to considering internal employees.

The vacation scheme

The firm runs one in-person vacation scheme at Easter.. Candidates will be able to engage directly with practice areas they are interested in, as well as completing meaningful work and tasks across the firm. Vacation scheme applicants will be invited to an assessment centre prior to the vacs scheme. All vac scheme participants will automatically be invited to attend a final stage interview for a training contract following the vacation scheme. All candidates wanting to be considered for a training contract attend  an assessment centre.

The vacation scheme also comes with various workshops and presentations, plus social activities and potential client meetings: “You’ll be involved with our Diversity and Inclusion Forums as well as gaining a better understanding about the Impact Economy.”  Maria concludes: “We receive a high volume of applications for our schemes and although we recruit on a rolling basis we do read every application submitted – yours can stand out by showing genuine motivation towards all things Bates Wells.”

Trainee profile

“Trainees join the firm because they’re interested in the nature of our work and are impressed by the clients we work with,” Maria suggested. “They’re also committed to making a positive social impact, whatever that might be! Trainees are excited about the high-quality training offered and getting involved in interesting work from the early stages of their career. Being part of a smaller cohort also means it’s easier to build up relationships with one another and feel part of one team and firm.”

How wide is the scope of the firm's recruitment drive across the country? “Prior to Covid-19 we would travel to different events across the UK to meet potential applicants,” we heard. “You may have seen us giving away bamboo toothbrushes as a means of reducing the amount of plastic often seen at careers events! This year we will join events both remotely or in-person where possible.”