Bates Wells
10 Queen Street Place,
London,
EC4R 1BE
Website https://bateswells.co.uk/
Making a profit is core to all businesses but our goal is to combine this with a real social purpose. Our values are pivotal to us, they shape our decisions and the way we live and work.
We focus on positive social impact as much as we focus on being a successful law firm. Our top tier legal advice is coupled with a real desire to drive change and we were the first UK law firm with B Corp certification, awarded to businesses that balance purpose and profit.
Today, our clients are diverse – from corporate household names, to public bodies, to start ups. We’re also the firm of choice for thousands of charities and social enterprises. We continue to lead the market we helped to shape.
Bates Wells challenges what is possible in legal expertise delivery.
Bates Wells is best-known for our expertise in advising charities, we have the largest dedicated charity and social enterprise team in the UK. However, we also have a focus on commercial and corporate law, as well as employment, real estate, arts and media, immigration, litigation and public and regulatory law.
When you join us, you’ll be ready and willing to bring your ideas and the best of yourself. You’ll be part of a small trainee intake and a supportive and participative culture where you can be yourself, learn, grow and develop.
All trainees complete seats in charity and social enterprise, and we’ll help you to choose other seats that will best prepare you for your preferred career path.
All trainees do seats in charity and social enterprise, and we’ll help you to choose the seats that will best prepare you for your preferred career path.
You’ll have a dedicated supervisor in each seat, who’ll make sure your work is relevant and varied, with training where necessary.
Our vacation schemes are a great way to make your mark — and could lead to a training contract. By applying for a vacation scheme, you’re guaranteed to be considered for a training contract. You don’t need to apply for both the vacation scheme and the training contract — you only need to choose one.
We accept applications from both Law and Non-Law university students, as well as from graduates of any discipline, but please make sure you are eligible to begin a training contract in 2026 when applying. Applications for vacation schemes close in January 2024, so be sure to apply before the deadline, and note that we recruit on a rolling basis.
Other benefits
Life insurance, private healthcare, cycle to work scheme, gym, employee assistant programme, pension, profit sharing scheme, recognition scheme, season ticket loan, wellbeing weeks, access to complementary therapies, volunteering days, agile working, extra day of annual leave (usually in December) as well as many more.
Aspiring Solicitors Virtual Diversity Law Fair – 9 October
Legal Cheek Virtual Law Fair – 10 October
All About Law x Bates Wells: Navigating AI's Impact on Data & Privacy Law 16 October
All About Law x Bates Wells: Unearthing Work Experience Opportunities in the Legal Field 17 October
BPP National Law Fair – 18 October
All About Law Virtual Law Fair – 19 October
Young Professionals Solicitor
Apprenticeships Fair: 25 October
Inn Group Q&A – Being Part of a Small Trainee Cohort – 31 October
93% Club Careers Fair: Date TBC
How we treat each other day-to-day is underpinned by our Purpose and Values and our Code of Conduct and Dignity at Work Policies demonstrate our commitment to this. We also require all new joiners to complete our Equality and Diversity training before they start and our partners and employees undertake further inclusion training on an annual basis.
We are happy to hold ourselves to wider scrutiny, either as required by law, for example Gender Pay Reporting, or being active members of programmes which promote inclusivity within the legal sector. We are signatories of the Law Society Diversity & Inclusion Charter and the firm has actively participated in the Law Society’s Women in Leadership Law project with the recent release of our co-authored practical toolkit for women in law.
We strongly believe that everyone should have the opportunity to reach their full potential whatever their background and having a diverse team and an inclusive culture is integral to our success. We are signatories of the Halo Code Agreement, Race at Work Charter and Race Fairness Commitment.
We strongly believe that everyone should have the opportunity to reach their full potential whatever their background and having a diverse team and an inclusive culture is integral to our success. We are signatories of the Halo Code Agreement, Race at Work Charter and Race Fairness Commitment.
Our Management Board appointed a Diversity and Inclusion Forum (DIF), led at senior partner level and supported by HR, which include volunteers at all levels of seniority across the firm. Their remit is to reflect our values by striving to have a positive impact on our clients, our people and society by: (a) creating a workplace enriched by diverse talent, views and thinking; and (b) striving to be leaders for change in the legal profession and society in relation to diversity and inclusion issues.
Working alongside and with DIF, is our Employee Forum. By raising topics of interest, they can be brought to the partnerships’ attention, discussed and taken forward.
The health and wellbeing of our people is a high priority for the firm and so we have established a number of different initiatives and continue to innovate in this space.
We have encouraged training a number of Mental Health First Aiders, including Senior Partners, who are available to support employees, in addition to an Employee Assistance Programme.
Bates Wells also holds Wellbeing Weeks each year providing our people with access to nurses and nutritionists to discuss health issues, exercise and healthy eating. It’s also a time to connect with our colleagues and participate in activities that would not be on offer every day, like welcoming therapy dogs to the office! Whilst working remotely we have continued with wellbeing weeks, but coordinated virtual activities and events.
We promote wellbeing by operating a cycle to work scheme and giving free access to cycle storage and changing facilities, offering access to subsidised gyms, in addition to webinars. We have an Employee Assistance Programme as well as Private Medical Insurance, which has a range of resources through Bupa such as Help @ Hand or counselling. There is also Bupa Support, which can be used for family members that need to speak to someone on their mental health line.