Farrer & Co LLP - True Picture

Farrer & Co training contract review 2025

The Firm 

There’s no getting past it, you can’t paint a proper picture of Farrer & Co without dropping some names. Throughout its 300-year history, the firm has advised the royal family on everything from estate management and defamation to their art collections. Yet while it may be best known for its work with ultra-high net worth clients, the firm’s reach extends even further. Farrer & Co provided, for example, legal advice to the British Olympic Association as part of the Association’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. Staff even raised funds for the Paralympian sailors Alexandra Rickham and Niki Berrell to buy the boat – named Tempest Slinger after the father and son who founded the firm - in which they won bronze.   

“Everyone was desperate to go to these big firms – money, money, deals, deals – I just didn’t have that gene.” 

Unsurprisingly, it was Farrer & Co’s private client offering that proved the main draw for the current crop of trainees at the firm: “Everyone was desperate to go to these big firms – money, money, deals, deals - I just didn’t have that gene,” one source told us. In stark contrast, lawyers from Farrer & Co “were talking about charities and museums, and the more personal side like family and employment. It was about helping people on a more personal basis.” This is something that graduate & solicitor apprentice manager Rebecca Reese echoes too: “There’s a unique twist to the work we do. We’re working with art collectors, tech startups, and family businesses, and that might be quite different to other firms.” Indeed, it is in some of these private client-adjacent practices that the firm bags its most impressive Chambers UK rankings, including top awards in areas like art & cultural property law, charities, education institutions and media & entertainment nationwide.  

The Seats 

The training contract at Farrer & Co is divided into six four-month seats (as opposed to the more common four six-month seats). According to senior graduate & solicitor apprentice advisor Claire Roche, the idea is that the structure “gives the trainees a broad training.” The qualification process begins in the fifth seat, and trainees will always spend their sixth and final seat in the department they are qualifying into. Of course, the shorter four-month seat structure means that trainees are “just peering into” a practice, the repeat seat “deepens our relationships in the team. It’s not a cliff edge, but a smooth journey into the team.” 

The current crop told us that there aren’t any compulsory seats, but “ideally, we sit in each one of the firm’s pillars to get an all-round experience.” These pillars are commercial, contentious, property and private client. We heard the “first seat is randomly allocated,” but a big plus at the firm was the option to list one “top choice seat” which is guaranteed at some stage during their training contract. 

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that private client is one of the largest departments at Farrer & Co, but trainees that had spent time in the seat were quick to highlight that the levels of client contact were high from the off. Work in the seat also happens to be particularly multijurisdictional, often revolving around work helping high net worth individuals manage their international assets. If it doesn’t already sound it, managing assets overseas can get pretty complicated legally speaking. One source described the department as “one of the hardest areas of law I’ve worked in. It’s extremely complicated - you’re spinning a lot of plates at once,” but this, we were told, was part of the fun. Senior lawyers “made an effort to explain the different areas” of the private client practice, as well as “what it would be like if you qualified there.” Trainees carried out research for partners, often looking into things like trustee powers. They also drafted wills, letters, and powers of attorney, and took attendance notes on meetings. We heard “the good thing about going to client meetings early is that the client is talking about what they want and you get to start helping the partner with the documents – it's a good way into more substantive work.” 

“…a really nice balance of chunky work and appropriate support.”   

The employment practice mixes contentious and advisory work for a range of organisations, but it’s best known for its work for elite educational institutions and senior executives. Within this broader educational focus is the firm’s safeguarding unit, which provides advice to schools. Farrer & Co’s work with schools underpins most of what happens in employment, but often involves lawyers from other teams like family. As such, an employment seat gives trainees the opportunity to work with a good mix of lawyers at the firm. Typical trainee tasks included proofreading, bundling and taking notes on calls, and progressed to writing advisory notes to clients and drafting employment contracts and settlement agreements. We heard there was “a really nice balance of chunky work and appropriate support.” As one interviewee put it: “Most of the time, you’re working one-on-one with the partner, so you feel like you’re part of a matter and part of a team.” Recent work highlights include advising a British school on its collaboration with Tutor Impact to open a new international boarding school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 

A seat in the aforementioned family department involves mostly contentious work, so trainees do a lot bundling, creating exhibits, collating photos to go alongside exhibits and reviewing documents – basically “the trainee clichés in litigation!” If the tasks don’t sound the most thrilling, we heard the clients themselves are “juicy” – we’re talking managing the family finances of business tycoons who’ve made hundreds of millions or even billions. One trainee found “the higher the value for private wealth litigation, the more interesting it is,” simply as a result of how the clients’ wealth is tied up in a range of different assets. The team frequently work on cases that are “innovative legally” and therefore set a precedent for future cases. For example, the team acted for a single father in a case concerning the legal guardianship of a child conceived via surrogacy.

“As a trainee, there’s a lot to grasp” in a seat in commercial & IP. In fact, it can throw up anything from data protection and commercial contracts to IP and copyright. What’s more, an awful lot of the work on offer is high-profile, often for big names in media and the arts. In one recent example, the firm advised the National Portrait Gallery on their high-profile joint acquisition with the Getty Museum in Los Angeles of Joshua Reynold’s Portrait of Mai (Omai). The deal generated a significant amount of media attention for the complex issues surrounding the cross-border acquisition of a famous work of art. The bread-and-butter for trainees in the seat is drafting publishing agreements and contracts and reviewing documents. One source enjoyed responding to subject access requests (SRAs), which is “interesting because there are so many rules” and fast-paced too - with “SRAs you’re live within an issue.”  

Trainee Life 

When asked about firm culture, one trainee said: “I would not change anything about it.” So, what prompted such high praise? A big part of it was that positives trickled down from the top: “Partners admire you speaking up, asking questions, being curious – I like that. They set a precedent for the rest of the firm.” Our sources thought that the firm “attracts really interesting people, not your stereotype lawyer, people who have passions outside of law.” Roche describes how this fits with the firm’s recruitment process: “There’s only about ten trainees in each year. They’re very carefully selected because we don’t want ten clones of each other, we want people who’ve got very different interests but complement each other.”  

“Farrer & Co is the perfect Venn diagram of pay, work/life balance and quality of work. If I went somewhere else, I would have to sacrifice one of those things.” 

One reason for this breadth of interests was because “we’re not worked to death!” In fact, a good work/life balance was a recurring theme in our research: “Farrer & Co is the perfect Venn diagram of pay, work/life balance and quality of work,” one trainee quipped, “if I went somewhere else, I would have to sacrifice one of those things.” Trainees are encouraged to volunteer at the Mary Ward legal clinic, especially since they can count up to 25 hours of pro bono towards their annual hours target. Trainees felt their salary was a “fair” reflection of the lifestyle the firm afforded.  

The firm frequently hosts organised social events, which we heard are “actually fun. People just want to spend time together and have fun.” Trainees play an active role, often being the ones to organise the events themselves or fundraisers during parties. There’s lots going on in the summer months, from barbecues to cricket matches and the firm makes use of its prime location on Lincoln’s Inn Fields to host its summer party on the green. What’s more, our sources felt being in a small cohort of ten or so trainees fostered close-knit friendships. 

“…sometimes I can’t believe little old me works here.” 

“The office is breathtaking,” one source gushed, “it gives me shivers sometimes walking into this old mansion, sometimes I can’t believe little old me works here.” The “meeting rooms for clients are incredible, with chandeliers like old stately homes.” That said, we heard the firm had “done a good job of modernising it” to construct an up-to-date working space. Although the firm’s hybrid working model involves being in the office twice per week, many of our interviewees felt that in reality, there was a “strong implication” that trainees should be in three or four days per week. That said, “it definitely doesn’t feel like there’s someone over your shoulder or that there’s a black mark if you can’t come in.” The general consensus among the trainees we spoke to was that being in the office was always the best option. As one put it: “I learn more and work better, I like the social life.” 

Interviewees found each department’s training programme useful for learning more about their particular practice areas. For example: “Private client had a really interesting one for trainees – ‘Trainee coffee on...’ – an hour talking about the main issues of private client.” One trainee said: “I appreciate how partners make themselves available to us to make sure we all have the same learning opportunities.” When it came to supervision, “you have that ability to set how you would like that relationship to best suit you.”  

Come qualification time, we heard appraisals are factored in quite heavily, alongside a written statement. This might sound scary, but sources reassured us that the process is actually fairly informal. Qualification starts early compared to other firms to allow time for that repeat seat. In 2024, Farrer & Co retained 8 of 10 qualifiers.

How to get into Farrer & Co

APPLY HERE

Vacation scheme deadline (2024): 3 January 2025

Training contract deadline (2026): 30 March 2025

Solicitor apprenticeship deadline: 19 February 2025

Applications and interviews

Both those applying for the vacation scheme and those applying directly for a training contract are asked to answer a set of questions and produce a cover letter.

Senior graduate and solicitor apprentice adviser Claire Roche tells us the content and structure of the covering letter play an important part in the assessment process. “Ideally, we want the letter to be well constructed, matching their skills to our specific requirements and outlining what interests them in a career in law as well as what attracts them to Farrer & Co.”

Training Contracts

After completing a brief proofreading task, 40-50 training contract applicants make it through the first round and are invited to an interview with a partner and senior associate, which generally lasts around an hour. Recent trainees recalled the experience as “interesting and free-flowing,” with one telling us, “It felt like they were really trying to get to know me and were prepared to challenge me on certain points to see if I could back up my opinions.” Candidates are also asked to complete a written exercise.

Around 30 go on to a second interview, which takes place with two partners. Candidates are given a brief research task to complete at the beginning of the interview, before moving on to interview questions to allow interviewers to find out more about candidates and their ability to sustain a cogent argument. Second interviews usually last around an hour and a half.

Application tips from the firm

Vacation scheme

Once applications are in, the top 90-100 vacation scheme applicants who impress are invited to a virtual assessment day that involves a group and written exercises.

Farrer & Co hold three two-week vacation schemes, one in the spring and two in summer, taking on ten candidates at a time. Each vacation schemer is assigned a trainee buddy and a partner mini-interviewer, and sits with a different team each week. Our sources recalled that they’d been treated “just like trainees,” having drafted board minutes, conducted research and been taken to client meetings. Alongside such tasks, vac schemers are given a group case study to work on over the course of their visit.

To make the most of their vac scheme, Roche advises candidates to “show a real interest in the firm and a desire to work here. At the same time, remember that it’s also a chance for you to find out about us.”

Completing the vac scheme doesn’t automatically entitle candidates to a training contract interview but those who are granted one skip straight to the second interview round.

Application tips from the firm

Solicitor apprentices

This opportunity is open to individuals looking for an alternative to attending university.

Solicitor apprentices will work in the firm's London office in a variety of departments including Commercial, Contentious, Private Client, Property and Business Services.

At the end of this six-year apprenticeship, subject to satisfactory character and suitability, you will be a fully qualified solicitor, registered with the SRA.

All tuition fees will be paid, and you will earn a salary whilst you are training and gaining your qualification. In addition, all future apprentices at Farrer & Co are also eligible to receive a Starting Work Bonus to assist with either relocation costs, travel costs, lunch costs, or purchasing office attire ahead of receiving the first salary payment.

If your application is successful, you will be invited to participate in a virtual interview. Shortlisted candidates will then attend an in-person assessment morning (involving a group task, interview and short written exercise) before the firm selects its two solicitor apprentices. Adjustments are available, if required.

Application tips from the firm

How to wow

For the vacation scheme and training contract the firm asks for a minimum 2:1 degree and AAB at A levels (or equivalent) but will consider exceptional mitigating circumstances for academics below this. Beyond that, “when selecting our future lawyers, we look for ambition, commercial awareness, discretion, clear and agile thinkers, open-minded individuals, resilience and analytical ability,” according to Roche.

For apprentices the minimum academic requirements are five GCSEs, including Maths and English (Grade C/4 or above) and AAB at A Level (or equivalent qualifications) but the firm will consider mitigating circumstances for academics below this.

“As a firm we are bubbling with interesting and interested people who are real experts in their fields and we look after a hugely diverse range of clients, with often unique demands. We therefore need candidates to show intellectual curiosity, an ability to think on their feet and not to be fazed by the unknown,” says partner Bethan Waters. She adds, “We expect our trainees to get the basics right, so those who consider carefully the questions we ask them and provide thoughtful, focused answers will do well.” A respect for the firm’s history and its future ambitions is also key. “Ultimately we are looking for colleagues to whom we can entrust our clients and this very special firm.”