Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP - True Picture

After global work for sovereign states and international arbitration? That’s the fun that awaits you at Curtis’ cosy London location.

Curtis training contract review 2025

The Firm



If you’re looking for a training contract experience that gives you the chance to get involved in a wide variety of work without the restriction of only spending six months in a seat you Love (Actually), it could be About Time you got to know Curtis – that's Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle by the way, not rom-com-writer Richard Curtis – just to be clear!

Over in the US, law firm life starts at the associate level, with juniors joining as fully qualified lawyers in their practice area of choice, with no seat rotation, using what’s often a free-market work allocation system that leaves them responsible for finding their own matters to work on. Unlike other US exports in London, Curtis has taken this approach and brought it across the pond with them, creating a non-rotational training contract. With typically only two trainees taken on each year, Curtis is an exclusive firm with high expectations. Put simply, prospective trainees should expect to get stuck in from the word go.

“I wanted disputes, I wanted international work, and a public law element was great!”

Curtis has 19 offices globally, only three of which are in the States. From Beijing to Brussels, Riyadh to Rome, Curtis is nothing if not international. As such, while the London office is relatively small, the work isn’t. Interestingly, the firm does relatively little domestic English law work for UK corporate clients, with the emphasis very much on their global practice. In fact, the firm bags top Chambers Global rankings for their international trade/WTO work in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as being recognised as a global market leader for public international law and international arbitration - both areas that London trainees can jump on. Uniting the trainees we spoke to were common interests – “I wanted disputes, I wanted international, and a public law element was great!”

The Seats



The beauty of a non-rotational training contract is that trainees can get experience in as many departments as possible. In an almost pick-and-mix kind of way, they can work simultaneously across matters with different departments. We heard that work allocation happens quite naturally. As one source put it: “It could just be someone passing by your office and saying ‘are you busy?’” It’s not all about the trainees doing the legwork either, with sources sharing that “partners will come over and chat about your background and your interests, what matters they’ve got on, and they’re keen to get you involved.”

The lack of a hard seat structure at the firm also means that trainees can tailor their training contracts more than the four-seat system can often allow: “I think if you’re interested in something in particular, it might be a good firm for that. You can voice a bit more and it’s taken into consideration.” Trainees can also stay on matters for longer, so “you find you’re a bit more useful to the team. You’re on a matter for more than six months so you can see it through for longer and gain experience.” International secondments aren’t typically on offer at Curtis, but the firm does offer a summer programme in New York which trainees can get involved with.

“...multi-jurisdictional, with quite high-value, complex matters, and you’ll deal with a lot of experts in these cases."

As one of Curtis’s key focuses, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that arbitration work was popular amongst trainees. With the chance to get involved in both investor-state and commercial arbitration, sources shared that work in the department is “multi-jurisdictional, with quite high-value, complex matters, and you’ll deal with a lot of experts in these cases.” In the investor-state arbitration space, the firm are known for working with states and the entities owned by them. Recent clients have included the likes of Kuwait, Cyprus, Argentina, Kazakhstan, India, Libya, and The Dominican Republic. Trainees spoke very highly of their experiences with the arbitration team, who “tried to involve me at every stage they could, so simply for training purposes you take part in all types of meeting – internally to discuss strategy with the partners or barristers, the case management conference, tribunals, or negotiations with the other side.” Trainee tasks in the department can included “legal research, writing legal summaries of case law, and drafting as well, which has been great,” one told us, “Then obviously a lot of organising folders and helping in terms of the preparation and case management as well.” On the commercial arbitration side of things, the firm has recently been representing Antrix Corporate in court proceedings that relate to arbitration brought by foreign investors in telecommunications arising out of India’s decision to cancel licenses in the industry, the matter value for which exceeds $550 million.

We heard there were plenty of funds matters for trainees to get involved with at Curtis too, often revolving around things like establishing a fund in the UK. In these kinds of projects, trainee work includes “bits of research and helping with getting the documents ready.” We heard that trainee tasks in the group can range in complexity depending on the value of a matter: “Depending on how much it’s worth and how complicated it is, it ranged from proofreading and bits of research, right through to preparing first drafts and being quite involved with the client, so a real range.” Sources told us that the firm work with a lot of high-net-worth individuals in the funds space. As one trainee explained: “At the beginning I would say you do a lot of admin stuff, so you create a spreadsheet, make sure everything’s submitted on time and there’s a lot of document management involved.” But there is the chance for progression here too, as “sooner or later you will get to do some drafting, so where there’s an LLC agreement required, you’ll do some of the drafting. You’re just introduced to a small section of the agreement and they’ll take it from there and see what else they have to teach you.”

Where trainees were involved in litigation, most spoke of sanctions and a number of matters regarding the enforcement of arbitral awards in front of UK courts. Tasks were described as being similar to those in arbitration, but “more case management work, it feels a bit more about civil procedure and the organization of a matter.” There’s the chance to get your hands on a bit of different drafting experience too, as “my drafting has been more the kind of drafting you need to do for applications, rather than the big submissions we would do in arbitration. I’ve drafted a few witness statements which has been really good, assisted on drafting skeleton arguments, and quite a lot of legal research.”

Trainee Life



Trainees were excited to tell us about the move of their London office in August. Though the move was only to a different floor of the same building, interviewees were excited about the prospect of “more light and a larger kitchen, more areas to socialise and speak to people, and a really nice environment to work in.” The cross-border nature of the firm’s work can mean that working hours are extended slightly, so that you’re “available for the London team and also the partners overseas.” As one source explained: “A quiet week is just working 9.30-6pm and having a lunch break every day, but I don’t think I’ve had a week like that.” A busy week, we heard, can involve an early start followed by a “9/10/11pm finish.” Trainees didn’t feel pushed beyond reason though, as “once they sense you do generally work hard and commit to things when you can, people do respect that. If you don’t have capacity, they listen to that and take that on board.”

“…you can have challenging, interesting conversations and can learn from everyone else.”

When it came to culture, the firm was described as an international and intellectual place: “People are very curious, and I think everyone is very clever as well. It feels like you can have challenging, interesting conversations and can learn from everyone else. I enjoy the intellectually stimulating environment, and the international environment.” With only a few trainees taken on each year, “I think in terms of the access you have to more senior partners, it’s probably less formal in terms of hierarchy than in other firms, so you can have informal chats and you have access to more senior partners and that’s really good.” Though the firm was described as perhaps less social than others in the city, we did heard that there have been “more social events recently, which really helps the bonding of everyone with each other in the firm.”

The firm’s women’s initiative brings women across the firm together once a month, and we heard that “it’s more about the qualifications and experience you have than where you actually come from, which I really appreciate.” Regularly working with the most senior partners at the firm, we heard that trainees “have access to experience from someone who has been in the industry for 20, 30, or even 40 years and that’s the best supervision you can get.” We heard that the firm also has regular fortnightly training sessions where “people in the London office get together and an associate or a partner, sometimes with a trainee, will do some kind of presentation on one of that person’s areas of expertise, just as a refresher on it.”

Trainees were generally content with the salary they were getting at the firm. Qualification felt guaranteed for our interviewees as “the expectation is that you stay at the firm so that’s really good. As soon as you get your training contract, they only take two or three trainees a year, so they really invest in you and want you to carry on.” As another explained: “It’s not this process of reapplying for a job you find in other firms and they’ve had 100% retention at the firm for many years.” A track record the firm continues, as this year it retained all of its qualifiers.

Making the Mosle of pro bono…

“We haven’t done loads of pro bono work previously,” one trainee told us, “but recently a trainee had started getting involved in a public clinic. They brought it to the training principal and within a couple of weeks, they had a massive set up and were doing a bunch of things. It was well supported.”

How to get a Curtis training contract  



 

  • Opening dates for training contract applications (2026): 15 April 2024
  • Training contract deadline (2026):  31st January 2025
  • In order to apply, please send your CV and a covering letter to recruitmentlondon@curtis.com for the attention of Sophie Joy Zoghbi.

Applications  

Curtis receives around 250 applications for its training contract each year, with prospective trainees submitting a CV and covering letter to the firm’s recruitment email address. For those candidates that stand out, there are what the firm describes as ‘several rounds’ of interviews, which include interviews with both associates and partners. But what is it that candidates who want to stand out should look to demonstrate?  

Trainee profile  

The firm seeks applicants with consistently strong academic records, and expect at least an AAB at A-Level and a 2:1 or higher at degree level. This is not to say that intellect alone will secure you a training contract however, as the team at Curtis look for candidates with people skills, energy, and an ability to get on with others. Given the firm’s reputation for international work, prospective trainees would benefit from having a multinational outlook, and speaking another language is an advantage. 

 

Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP

99 Gresham Street,
London,
EC2V 7NG
Website www.curtis.com

Firm profile



Curtis is one of the longest established international firms in either London or New York. It was one of the first US firms to open in Mexico City in 1985 and remains the only US-headquartered law firm licensed to practice in Oman. In London since the mid 1970s, the firm operates out of 19 offices across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. The firm is well known for representing state-owned energy companies and governments around the world, but also has many institutional, corporate, multinational, HNW and private clients. Curtis has a full service offering in most of its offices, as well as highly regarded international practices, such as international arbitration, international trade and investment funds. Our core practices in London are in international dispute resolution (arbitration and litigation) and international transactional work (whether corporate, infrastructure or finance).

Main areas of work



Curtis’ core practices in London are: international dispute resolution (arbitration and litigation) and international transactional work (infrastructure, finance or corporate/commercial law). The latter includes M&A; private placements; public offerings; venture capital and private equity; fund formation; joint ventures; infrastructure projects; and debt finance.

Training opportunities



Curtis provides an international and dynamic environment. Applicants will need energy, enthusiasm and an ability to get on well with people of all kinds, as well as excellent academics. A proactive approach is a plus, as are languages and a willingness to travel. Curtis’ London office is small, friendly, diverse and internationally minded. As a key hub for the firm’s European and African activities, many of our overseas partners and colleagues visit regularly. Instead of a traditional four seat method, we offer flexible but non-rotational training. This allows for a highly tailored approach that plays to individual interests and talents.

Other benefits



The range of benefits includes private health care, travel season ticket loan, enhanced pension and income protection, life cover and an employee assistance programme. 

Open days and first-year opportunities



On an ad hoc basis by emailing recruitmentlondon@curtis.com

This Firm's Rankings in
UK Guide, 2024

Ranked Departments

More from Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP:

 

Listen to the On Tour with Curtis career podcast to hear about life in the London office and the international scope of a Curtis traineeship. What it’s like to be a lawyer in a unique firm, which combines a storied tradition and international outlook with entrepreneurial smarts.  Search “On Tour with Curtis” wherever you get your podcasts. 

 

Visit the firm’s London Trainee webpage.

Follow Curtis on LinkedIn and X

 

Website: www.curtis.com