Birketts LLP - True Picture

Birketts training contract review 2026

The Firm 

It can be hard to strike the right balance. Too much of this, or too much of that, and things can quickly feel off, but trainees at Birketts reckoned they’d struck gold. “The firm is very much growing exponentially at the moment – by headcount, revenue and number of offices,” trainees began. But what they were most keen to highlight was that, despite all the above, Birketts still “actively encourages work-life balance.” 

With a smattering of offices along the east coast – namely Ipswich, Norwich, Cambridge and Chelmsford– Birketts certainly has regional roots. Since 2020, however, the firm has expanded with bases in London, Sevenoaks, and most recently, Bristol. That said, it’s the firm’s OG East Anglian practices which capture the attention of our colleagues over at Chambers UK, who decorate the firm with a number of accolades in the region, for agriculture and rural affairs, banking and finance, construction, corporate/M&A, employment, family/matrimonial, information technology, litigation, planning and environment, real estate, real estate litigation, and restructuring/insolvency. Across the board, there is a somewhat even split between trainees located between Ipswich, Norwich, Cambridge and Chelmsford, and a handful in London, Sevenoaks and Bristol, too.   

“It ticked all the boxes as a great firm to work for, proximity to home and work-life balance.”  

Looking for the right fit in a regional outfit, sources determined, “It ticked all the boxes as a great firm to work for, proximity to home and work-life balance.” The vacation scheme was highlighted as being the perfect insight into firm life as well, featuring a mini-seat rotation across the departments. Sources agreed, “It was brilliant being able to try things out.” Additionally, any concerns around growth and maintaining a cohesive culture were quickly squashed by interviewees, who emphasised, “The firm is good at bringing together nice people who want to do the job. We were all from different backgrounds, but we get on well.”  

The Seats 

Incoming newbies are assigned their first seat off the bat. From then onwards, they have the opportunity to discuss future seat options during mid-seat reviews with HR. In this process, trainees are able to submit their top five preferences. It’s worth noting as well that trainees can do a stint in one of the firm’s other offices if the need arises. “It’s a really good way to meet people across the firm and build relationships,” one source praised. As such, there is a £400 monthly travel and rental allowance for those who do elect to temporarily relocate. 

Kicking off with the corporate department – one of Birketts’ largest practices – this lot predominantly handle mergers and acquisitions on behalf of buyers and sellers, and support on restructuring matters, too. A variety of clients make up the books, from start-ups, longstanding family-owned, regional through to international businesses across the insurance, agriculture, food, technology and energy sectors. In one recent example, the team advised Euronext, a European stock exchange group, on its acquisition of 75% of Global Rate Set Systems.

Day-to-day, rookies can expect to be assisting with transactions by diving into the due diligence process, producing disclosure letters and drafting reports. They also pick up the pen to draft ancillaries such as board minutes, director resolutions and stock transfers. As for client contact, there is scope to be involved through attending meetings and answering ad hoc questions. If this sounds a tad daunting, worry not. “They teach you how a deal works,” a trainee underlined.

All in all, for our interviewees, it struck the right balance between responsibility and oversight. Whilst some deals can take a long stretch of time – beyond the six-month stint trainees will spend in the department – nothing is better than “seeing deals from start to finish and seeing a satisfied client,” an insider enthused.  

“…being in on the negotiations – it’s a great experience to get that insight!” 

The firm’s banking and finance practice acts on behalf of borrowers and lenders including some recognizable names such as Lloyds Bank, Metro Bank and HSBC. The team mostly advises on mid-market financings, whether it be acquisition finance, real estate finance or general corporate lending. During their time in the seat, trainees highlighted lots of drafting opportunities, from taking the first stab at ancillaries such as corporate authorities, board minutes and shareholder certificates, to stepping up to the plate on loan agreements.

“It’s really hands-on!” said one insider. Project management is a staple task too, and trainees are often tasked with keeping track of the conditions precedent checklist. While it was noted there isn’t as much client contact in this seat, rookies are regularly invited to meetings and correspond with clients during the signing processes. A particular highlight for one interviewee was “being in on the negotiations – it’s a great experience to get that insight!” 

The firm’s largest practice, commercial real estate,handles a broad range of work, including (but not limited to) portfolio management, leasing, property finance and property pension fund transactions. The team works with a variety of clients from those in the education, financial and social housing sectors to owner-managed businesses and developers. As a snapshot, this includes clients along the likes of Church Commissioners for England, Jesus College Oxford and the London Borough of Lewisham. The team recently represented Hollybrook, an urban regeneration specialist, in its acquisition and development of Transport House in Dagenham, valued at £38 million.

Here, trainees work closely with other departments such as planning, corporate and banking and finance. “The experience has helped me a lot going forward,” one source praised. Day-to-day trainees are involved in legal research, filing title registrations and plans through the Land Registry, and drafting lots of leases and licences. 

The planning and environmental practice advises on a whole host of matters encountered by developers, landowners and planning authorities. In general, the work is a combination of non-contentious and contentious matters across developments, environmental permitting, planning and applications, enforcements and injunctions. For instance, the team acted on behalf of Broxbourne Borough Council in connection to a section 106 agreement with Google on its first data centre project in England; the agreement detailed that heat from the data centre would be used to facilitate heating homes in the local area.

Typically, trainees get involved “in lots of drafting and research,” including section 106 agreements and deeds of variation, due diligence, legal research tasks and attending client meetings. The environmental side in particular is contentious – think disputes over waste and oil spills. And so, there is scope for rookies to be involved in drafting planning objections, witness statements, preparation for and even attending inquiries, too.  

The private client practice handles everything from wills, lasting powers of attorneys, trusts as well as probate. “While some firms might have a separate team, Birketts is full service which is nice, especially as a trainee to get that hands-on experience,” a trainee enthused. Clients include individuals, business owners, landowners and trustees. There’s plenty of client contact experience to be had in this seat as “you’re invited to the initial meetings with clients – there’s lots of in-person meetings,” insiders explained.

During these, rookies are often tasked with writing attendance notes and tackling the follow-up tasks. This often involves drafting or making amendments to wills, lasting powers of attorneys and trusts, and preparing the correspondence to accompany them under supervision. One source highlighted, “I was incredibly surprised how technical that area of the law is, particularly with the tax changes!” As for administrating estates this “involves a lot of fact-finding, and bringing all that information together about the estate.” Trainees were pleased with the level of responsibility available here. For those interested in the contentious side, there is also a seat available in the private wealth disputes team.  

Moving along to the commercial dispute resolution practice, trainees here handle everything from contractual claims, shareholder and partnership disputes, professional negligence, debt recovery and enforcement proceedings – “from the tens of thousands to millions of pounds." As such national and international corporations, even owner managed businesses and high net worth individuals, charities and public sector bodies make up the books. Rookies roll up their sleeves with legal research, case management, attending client meetings and taking notes, as well as drafting letters before action and instructions to counsel.

They also manage disclosure and review documents alongside assisting with court prep such as witness statements, defences and bundling. “I carried out witness interviews, drafted a defence and guided the client the process,” an insider recalled, “We achieved settlement, and the claimant withdrew and the parties walked away from the dispute – a result that the client was very happy with.” If things progress, there is scope for trainees to attend court as well as be involved in alternative dispute resolutions too.

Trainee Life 

“Law is stressful and everyone is busy, but people make time for you, and it makes you feel valued.” 

The culture at Birketts received a solid thumbs up: “There’s a great sense of community,” insiders enthused, “law is stressful and everyone is busy, but people make time for you, and it makes you feel valued. The culture comes from the top down.” Another highlighted, “Birketts encourages you to be the best version of a lawyer that you can be, always with the support of your colleagues.” 

In turn the firm’s inclusion efforts were highly praised: “The firm is actively trying to promote it, I’m grateful for that,” trainees agreed. There are a variety of employee-led networks available to lawyers including EMBRACE (the DEI committee), B-Proud (LGBTQ+), Different Minds (neurodiversity), one catered towards parents and carers, and another for social mobility. These networks host events and socials to raise money for various charities – for example, EMBRACE recently hosted a multi-cuisine potluck. “Everyone comes together and feels heard,” an insider praised, “if there isn’t a network that fits, you’re encourage to set one up. Inclusion is front of mind.”  

Trainees can also get involved in pro bono and CSR. “It’s certainly encouraged and 50 hours of it count towards your creditable hours,” sources were pleased to point out. As each office has its own offerings, newbies have an induction discussing their interests and what they can potentially get involved in. There are also opportunities for trainees to get involved with local legal clinics, such as Anglia Ruskin University Law Centre and the Suffolk Law Centre. “Here, you are distributed a case and provide free advice – it’s a really good experience for trainees,” an insider highlighted.  

The social calendar varies from office to office, though there is an annual firmwide summer party: “The last theme was Club Tropicana – bright colours and things like that – it was great to get everyone together with live music and drinks!” a trainee enthused. Each office has its own charity of the year, for example Cambridge’s is the Concrete Rose, and so, there are a lot of events centred around that, including quizzes, dinners, and wine and cheese nights: “There are a lot of events raising money for good causes.”

Each office also has its own sports and social committee too, organising games against other offices and firms, including rounders and cricket matches. Typically, offices host an end of the month social as well. Amongst the trainees themselves, “We put something in the diary when we fancy doing something; we make an effort to get together,” sources told us.  

Trainees are expected to be in the office five days a week. “All the offices have undergone refurbishment” and while some were described as “swankier” than others, “they’re all really nice” sources agreed. As for the in-office requirement, sources recognised that “you learn more by being in and being able to ask those small silly quick questions.” As a result, rookies were pleased with the level of support available to them.

Most sit near their supervisors and have regular catch ups. “We go over the training records, and what work I need to be doing moving forward – the level of difficulty increases at time goes by, so it’s great for your learning,” we heard. Newbies receive formal feedback at mid-and-end of seat reviews. There is a variety of training on offer as well, from access to an online platform, team sessions and quarterly trainee meet-ups hosted in one of the offices. From updates, soft skills and technical training, topics covered include grammar, challenging interactions, handling competing deadlines to overviews on how to do discovery, due diligence and completions. 

“Birketts gives me that work-life balance.” 

As for the hours, the standout view from trainees was that, put simply, “Birketts gives me that work-life balance.” In practice, trainees reported an average working day spanning from 9am to 5pm, though some practices are subject to ebbs and flows, with busier period sometimes pushing finish times to 6 or 7pm.

That said, sources made clear that if things aren’t pressing: “usually people tell you to go home and carry on tomorrow.” Given the expansion and trajectory of the firm some felt that compensation “is slightly beneath where it should be,” but on the whole sources agreed that they are fairly well compensated particularly when “weighing up the hours expected and the work life balance on offer.” 

Eventually the time comes for the qualification process to kick off. More often than not, “you know where you want to go and will have had those conversations with the relevant teams that you’re interested in qualifying into,” sources noted. In May, a jobs list is released and candidates submit an application expressing interest. If more than one rookie is interested in a position, interviews are held.

All in all, qualifiers felt positive about their future at the firm: “I can see myself here for the foreseeable; there are lots of baby Birketts’ who have stayed here for their entire career and ex-City lawyers who have joined.” In 2025, the firm kept on 25 out of 28 qualifiers.

How to get a Birketts training contract  

"The majority of Birketts trainees have been recruited following successful completion of our summer vacation scheme," says Amy Barden, Early Careers Manager. The firm describes this as a great opportunity to see the day-to-day activities of the firm, and start building relationships as well as gaining legal experience. The 2025 scheme saw successful candidates complete three mini-seats, participate in a mock trial or negotiation exercise, in addition to a Q&A session and other social activities.  

As the firm receives over 600 vacation scheme applications per year, it is crucial that applicants can demonstrate the qualities that it looks for. The firm suggests applicants detail any work experience that they have and think about the skills and qualities they have that are transferable and relevant to being a trainee solicitor, for example customer service, reliability, time management, creativity, working alone and/or as part of a team. The firm has the same application for internal and external candidates to ensure fairness and they have also introduced an online assessment to help identify future potential. 

Interviews 

Those who are invited to interview will deliver a ten-minute presentation on a non-law subject of their choice, followed by an interview to discuss the candidate’s application further, and explore their commercial awareness in addition to approach and attitude. The firm recruits individuals that it thinks will not only be able to provide expert legal advice, but also offer great levels of service to its clients, and be friendly and approachable.  

In 2025, the firm expanded its vacation scheme to its new Bristol office.