Druces LLP - True Picture

Druces Training Contract Review 2026

The Firm

We’ve all heard The Rolling Stones’ seminal track You Can’t Always Get What You Want. While it’s a road trip essential, Mick Jagger clearly hasn’t come across Druces’ training contract, which guarantees time in every single department! This breadth of experience is a major draw for applicants, particularly given Druces’ smaller city-firm setting, which offers plenty of hands-on work.

“We get a really broad perspective of what being a lawyer entails…”

As one trainee explained: “We get a really broad perspective of what being a lawyer entails, acting for both public and private companies.” It’s not the reserve of small-scale work either: “I had read about the deals they had completed and could see the calibre of the work they were doing.” Druces’ strengths encompass areas like private client and renewable energy, and the firm bags a Chambers UK ranking in capital markets: AIM nationwide. As one trainee put it, it’s a sure-fire way to know you’re “in the right place.”

The Seats

On arrival, newcomers are handed a ‘trainee handbook’ mapping out their entire seat rotation from day one. This level of transparency was praised by one insider as “very organised compared to other firms.” The seats follow a 4x6 structure, covering Druces’ core practice areas: corporate, litigation, real estate, and private wealth.

While trainees don’t get to choose the order of their seats, one explained that “it’s aligned to suit everyone as well as business needs.” With just four trainees in total — two joining in March and two in September — each trainee rotates through departments individually, ensuring exposure to every practice area without direct overlap with members of their cohort.

While our interviewees had not taken part in a client secondment, we were told they have happened historically but are not guaranteed – “it is more of a potential, based on client needs at the time.” International secondments are not offered at trainee level but are frequently offered to senior members of the firm in banking and finance.

One insider described their time in the real estate department as “proof that I chose the right firm.” Our sources praised the amount of responsibility from the get-go, and as one put it: “The small trainee intake means the responsibility is greater, but in my opinion, there is no better way to learn.” The work mainly focuses on commercial property transactions, although there is still scope to get involved in residential transactions as well.

Trainees can expect to get involved with drafting leases, licences and deeds of variation as well as assisting on acquisition deals, residential conveyancing and real estate finance work. We were also told there is even an element of Islamic finance, leading trainees to feel they were able to “get to grips with the different points of law and commercial terms.” Recent work from Druces real estate team includes its involvement in the largest mixed-use development in a London borough since the 1940s!

Flagged as one of the seats with the broadest range was Druce’s corporate team. Work in this department includes (but is not limited to) capital markets, restructuring and M&A, with one insider noting that: “The workload is higher, but you can pick up a variety of different work.” Within the capital markets space, AIM (the Alternative Investment Market) is something of a focus, with the group advising issuers, brokers and management teams on the likes of IPOs and secondary fundraisings on public company transactions.

Sources once again attested to the high level of responsibility but emphasised that “assistance is always at hand.” Typical trainee tasks include drafting general meeting chairman scripts, liaising with clients to supply documents in capital markets transactions, and drafting company house forms. There is also potential to get experience with banking in this seat, with one trainee telling us that they assisted with refinancing, drafting ancillary documents and loan agreements. Notable work from Druces’ corporate team includes advising Kavango Resources (a Southern Africa-focused metal exploration company) in connection with a £3m fundraising as well as MAST Energy Developments on a £5m fundraising.

“There’s still deadlines, but you’re less likely to have to do late nights.”

A seat in private wealth is “different to the others,” according to this year’s cohort, due to the “more personal” nature of the work. Trainees felt they “got to know the client more” than in the other departments and were tasked with liaising with banks and insurance companies, drafting wills and even handling their own probate matters - adding a contentious element to the seat.

Those we spoke to appreciated the fact this seat felt different to the rest, commenting that “it keeps things interesting” and gave them “a lot of exposure.” Insiders shared that there is a consistent stream of work: “There’s still deadlines, but you’re less likely to have to do late nights.” Druces private wealth work has hit the headlines over the years, notably in the Eade v Hogg case in which the team successfully acted on behalf of an unnamed widow in the claim for the construction/rectification of her late husband’s will.

“The distinguishing factor between this seat and others is that you are treated like a qualified lawyer from the beginning.”

Druce’s litigation team is split between commercial litigation and property litigation. Those we spoke to described it as offering “a good exposure to handling my own cases as well as having a variety of work.” Tasks given to trainees in this department include drafting letters, liaising with counsel, and drafting court forms and witness statements. One trainee said the quality of work in the seat “set me up to be a lawyer. The distinguishing factor between this seat and others is that you are treated like a qualified lawyer from the beginning.”

Due to the fast-pace and the high level of responsibility, members of the litigation team are expected to be in the office five days a week. Despite having the most contact hours, trainees agreed with the reasoning behind it due to the number of physical files and time spent in court. We were told that “there is a lot of collaboration in the litigation team so it’s good to be able to bounce off one another in preparation for trial.”

Trainee Life

The initial recruitment process was “really good – they never tried to catch me out and it all ran smoothly.” They felt this was a testament to the “friendly and supportive”culture at Druces. We were told that partners were approachable and unintimidating, and that “people stay here – a lot of the senior partners have been here for over 20 years so that gave me a good indication of the type of firm it is.”

Outside of legal duties, there is a social committee that organises firm-wide events such as the annual Christmas and summer parties. On a smaller scale, individual departments will organise dinners and lunches to celebrate deals or to welcome the newcomers to the team. While some of our interviewees said the social life “could be improved,” there was also acknowledgment that “how often you socialise is a personal preference.” We were also told that there is “no social divide between trainees and partners” and that the senior members of staff will often get involved with gatherings and celebrations.

All our sources spoke highly of the supervision andtraining at Druces. As well as having formal mid and end-of-seat reviews, most supervisors are happy to give consistent informal feedback throughout the seat and are “really good at checking in.” We were told that while “some like a weekly check-in” and “others will do it as and when,” they are always willing to help and provide helpful feedback.

In terms of training, these are often department-wide rather than aimed specifically at trainees. Interviewees told us that “all sessions are available to everyone from partner to the legal assistants” and that they “enjoyed learning alongside the partners.”

For the first few weeks of life in a new seat, trainees are expected in the office five days a week, although there is flexibility to reduce this to four as time goes on. Trainees reported that average hours were between 9am and 6/6.30pm: “Sometimes you’ll have to stay late to meet deadlines or for urgent things, but they do honour your contracted hours generally speaking.”

In terms of salary, trainees noted that the pay was “slightly lower than average” but that it is “fair relative to the work/life balance,” acknowledging they “don’t do late nights” like most other city firms. The firm told us that salaries are reviewed and benchmarked against peer firms as part of their annual salary review.

When it comes to qualification, we were told Druces generally has high retention rates and that “most people qualify into the seat they want.” While business needs are a factor, and the firm “could be more transparent about the process,” trainees feel that the talent team do try to accommodate their needs and that it is a “nice and informal” process. In 2025 the firm did not disclose the number of qualifiers.

How to get a Druces training contract

Training contract deadline: 16 May

Applications and assessment

Druces receives over 100 applications for its two training contract vacancies each year, made up of an application form and covering letter. The recruitment process takes shape in two stages of interviews, alongside an assessment that forms part of the second stage. The first interview is with the head of HR and an associate or senior associate, before successful candidates are asked to complete an assessment and return for an interview with the training principal and another partner. Each interview involves answering questions about your education and work experience, as well as your motivations and ambitions for pursuing a career in law. The idea, according to Druces, is to give the interviewing team and the candidates a chance to get to know each other better.

Trainee profile and experience

So, what is it that Druces are looking for in successful candidates? Any experience that enables a candidate to pick up a variety of skills relevant to the job, whether that’s legal experience as a paralegal or legal assistant, or something else. Druces are keen to stress that this sort of experience can be acquired through most work environments, but the important bit is that candidates should be able to express these transferrable skills in writing and in person. Similarly, any sort of environment where candidates can demonstrate they have worked well within a team and can explain how they were able to contribute is also a desirable feature on any application form.