Hill Dickinson LLP - True Picture

Hill Dickinson training contract review 2025

The Firm

There’s no getting past it, Hill Dickinson has been making waves in the maritime space from the very beginning. For all you pub quiz fanatics, an interesting snippet is that the firm represented White Star Line following the sinking of the Titanic, and Cunard when the Lusitania sank. But, before you panic, there’s more to life at Hill Dickinson than sinking ships – the firm also boasts prosperous business and healthcare streams too: “This last financial year was strong, marking yet another year of consecutive growth,” training principal Richard Capper tells us, “I’m proud of what we’ve achieved. Ten years ago, we were probably a ‘hidden gem’ where people didn’t really know what went on under the bonnet and underestimated us. Now, it can be demonstrated.”

Now for a lot of people at the firm, high-profile lateral hires are a sure-fire measure of success, and while that’s certainly true, here at Chambers Student we’re more interested in how these changes are felt at a trainee level. The current crop was clear too that it felt good to be part of an expanding firm. As one put it: “It’s up and coming! You get the sense you’re on the cutting-edge of the work.” Chambers UK agrees too, awarding the firm top-tier accolades in court of protection, healthcare, mental health and transport nationwide, as well as corporate M&A in the North West and family/matrimonial in Liverpool & surrounds. With international offices strategically located in key port locations in Piraeus, Monaco, Hong Kong and Singapore, the firm bags full marks for shipping finance and litigation across Asia and Europe in Chambers Global. Just when you think things couldn’t get any more impressive, Chambers High Net Worth awards top marks for HD’s yachts & superyachts work too!

As with many industries on the move, change is seemingly always in the offing. As Capper highlights, 2024 marked the end of Peter Jackson’s tenure as CEO: “Now, we have a dynamic new CEO in Craig Scott, who came into role on the 1st of May. It’s been an exceptionally good year.” This included the opening of a brand-new Birmingham office, and we heard the Manchester office will soon be relocating to the prominent business district St Michaels.

The Seats

At Hill Dickinson, trainees are sorted into a focused work stream – one of business, healthcare or marine. So, prior to joining, incomers submit seat preferences based on their chosen training contract route. Thereafter, at mid seat reviews trainees highlight their preferences for the rest: “It’s a conversation. You can speak freely about your experiences and what you want to do next.”  Secondment options may be limited, but we were told that healthcare rookies have a solid chance of “being seconded to an NHS Trust. It’s an opportunity to build relationships. You have a lot of faith placed in you, and you can get involved in complex work.”

“I was surprised how much of it was real law – you have a real sense of the work, digging through case law and coming up with novel ideas…”

Swimming up the marine stream, shipping is the largest practice in the group by a long shot. We heard that the department is “very popular. It’s the biggest marine department and it forms a real basis of the work here.” Dry shipping (commercial/contractual matters) and wet shipping (collisions at sea) are what work in the department is divided into, covering both the non-contentious and contentious side of the coin. In one recent matter, the team represented the owners of FMG Sydney over a collision with MSC Apollo, all the way to a high court trial at the Admiralty Court, where they were found entirely free of blame. The general consensus was that trainees found themselves working on contentious matters more often than not, which meant typical tasks in the seat tended to revolve around reviewing and drafting letters, instructing counsel and experts, bundling for court and arbitrations (with the possibility of attending court too). One told us: “I was surprised how much of it was real law – you have a real sense of the work, digging through case law and coming up with novel ideas – and that means the partners really listen.”

Another department that might crop up in the marine stream is yachts, where it’s all hands on deck in a team specialising in private client work: “It’s superyachts,” one told us, “so it’s exciting!” Strategically placed near yacht brokers, in the London St James office the team handles shipbuilding negotiations, construction contracts and international arbitrations. The latter can stem “from a dispute over a yacht being sold and having issues later on, or damage to a yacht when it’s chartered.” On the transactional side, trainees found themselves “drafting documentation for the sale or purchase, or something exciting like an NDA or a charter agreement.” As a guide: “You can see a deal from beginning to end, from the agreement to build with the shipyard right through to the transaction, with lots of back and forth with the other side.” Of course, with a client list packed to the rafters with high-net-worth individuals, there isn’t much by way of publishable names, but we heard “they are pretty serious people!”

“It’s the gateway to touching on everything business related.”

We heard the business stream was a common route, particularly among trainees in Liverpool and Manchester. Within this stream, a stint in corporate is standard: “It’s the gateway to touching on everything business related,” one trainee told us. The corporate practice encompasses M&A, private equity, capital markets, venture capital and funds work: “You get to do a bit of everything.” In the energy sector, the firm advised AIM-listed Reabold on the £32 million sale of its investee company, Corallian Energy Limited to Shell UK. To give you an idea of the firm’s North-west strength, the team also recently advised property developer Downing on the £344 million sale of student accommodation assets to IQ Student Accommodation, a Blackstone portfolio company. Trainee tasks included preparing and having a first go at ancillary docs such as board minutes and shareholders purchase agreements, as well as due diligence involving “speaking to different people across teams at the firm.” One happily recalled that “there’s been loads of client contact. You’re often taking notes on calls, but they don’t expect you to just be a trainee, I’ve had the opportunity to answer questions on client calls.”

Another of the departments to fall under the business stream is real estate. Dealing with commercial and residential properties, the team (and seats) can be roughly sorted into three: litigation, finance and core transactional. “For transactions, you’re drafting lease negotiations, marking up licenses, working on title reports, replying to enquiries and raising them” one source outlined. “Generally, you help move the deal along as well, by chasing and calling people, which is quite fun,” another added.Here the firm works with a host of recognizable names including The Works, Domino’s Pizza, Iceland Foods, and Lloyds Bank. In Liverpool, the team advised Legacie Baltic Limited on its £60 million loan as part of the transformation of the Heap Rice Mill into apartments, with an underground spa and museum. For those we spoke to, the big selling point of the seat was the chance to “see the buildings you’re working on!”

“It’s the leading practice, with high profile clients and panel appointments.”

It probably won’t come as a huge surprise that health litigation falls under the health stream, handling employer, public liability and clinical negligence claims into the hundreds of thousands to millions of pounds against local GPs and hospital trusts: “It’s the leading practice, with high profile clients and panel appointments,” working for both the NHS and the independent health sector. The kinds of cases Hill Dickinson works on offer generate plenty of media attention. In one recent example, the firm acted on behalf of NHS Resolution following the conviction of a neonatal nurse for multiple murders. The team is resolving the associated civil claims. In the seat, trainees tackle their own pre-litigation files and commission expert reports: “For example, it could be to do with the misdiagnosis of a fracture, where we get in touch with an orthopaedic expert to get advice. Then we draft the legal advice based on that.” When it comes to more complex cases, “we assist with associates and partners on their files, joining conferences with barristers, sitting in on mediations and settlement agreements.”

The same is true over in healthcare & public law, where NHS England and local trusts fill the books. Here, the practice consists of regulatory and judicial review, coroner’s inquests and court of protection work. The latter of which “involves assisting with Section 21 and welfare matters, and more complex serious medical treatment cases.” In one recent case, the team acted for Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust in an application around whether it was in the best interest for a young woman to receive dialysis for end stage renal failure, in circumstances where the individual had learning difficulties that would make it difficult to tolerate such treatment. Insiders emphasised that “we get loads of opportunities to observe advocacy by attending hearings.” Across the board, trainees recalled rolling up their sleeves “preparing witness statements and reviewing medical disclosure to pick out issues to make our motions on.”

Trainee Life

Something that’s proved a general rule across all our research over the last few years is that the people you work with shape your experience, and at Hill Dickinson it’s no different. In fact, the firm’s culture was one of the first things trainees highlighted: “It’s genuinely fantastic and lovely, I’ve never met a friendlier bunch of people. No one is scary, you can walk into anyone’s office. Everyone is approachable and invested in your learning.” One told us that “the people are such a big thing for me, it feels like I’m at work with my friends.” Beyond supervisors and buddy mentorship, sources agreed that “you don’t feel like you have just one person, but support coming from multiple people.”

“I’ve never met a friendlier bunch of people.”

The training sessions on offer were also flagged by the current cohort. Throughout the two years, trainees are brought to different offices for a dedicated trainee training programme which covers “soft skills such as communication and negotiation, confidence, and working with different types of people.” Individual practices also run their own training sessions: “In health, we have our own in-house barrister who runs advocacy and clinical negligence training” for example. On top of which, trainees have access to a catalogue of online resources.

Trainees are expected to be in the office four days a week, so it’s a good thing the office spaces were highly rated. Hill Dickinson’s Leeds office recently relocated to a brand-new office in the city centre, and Liverpool and London have both benefitted from upgrades: “We now have sound-proof breakout pods and a brand-new social space, it’s been a great addition. I always make the effort to grab a coffee and chat with people.” The Manchester office received a couple of grumbles - “it’s the running joke ‘welcome to the ugly office’ as the others are so new,” one quipped, but “we’ll soon be moving to the new St Michaels building; it’s going to be gorgeous with a rooftop!”

As for diversity & inclusion efforts, “everybody is encouraged to join a networking group and to contribute ideas around how we can improve on environmental sustainability, gender, religious and LGBT inclusivity.” Sources mentioned that “people come from all walks of life here.” Many also highlighted the optional company-wide fast for Ramadan. What’s more, each year there’s a friendly trainee charity fundraising challenge for the Christmas carol concert with bake sales, quizzes, bingo events, rounders tournaments and peak challenges. The Liverpool trainees, we heard, are giving everyone a run for their money with a sky dive!

We heard that trainees were pretty pleased with the firm’s recent salary increase: “It’s a good amount, it puts us much more in line with other mid-market firms.” In London, the first-year salary has increased to £43k, with the going regional rate now at £30k. One added: “Historically, it might not be the best paying, but you don’t work all hours of the day.” The general consensus was that trainees worked 9am to 5:30/6:30pm on average. However, as is often the way with transactional work, we heard hours can be longer as deadlines approach.

Come qualification time, “it’s not a backdoor, back-room deal. All the jobs are advertised on the basis that they have availability to take a qualifier to fill the slot.” The process beings at the end of the third seat with the job list. Candidates submit their CV, which is sometimes followed by a written task or presentation, depending on the number of applicants or department. One thing is for sure: “They make it clear they want to keep us and for us to stay.” In 2024, the firm retained 14 out of 16qualifiers.

How to get a Hill Dickinson training contract 

• Insight day deadline (2025): 31 January 2025 
• Training contract deadline (2027): 31 January 2025
• Open Day deadline (2024):  31 October 2024

Applications and assessments 

Hill Dickinson has (up to) 25 training contracts available for 2027. If you want to bag yourself a place on the insight scheme or get a training contract, then in addition to a written application, you'll have to go through what training partner Richard Capper describes as an "extended selfie." He's referring to the online assessment which is followed by answering questions via a video interview. 

Candidates are then invited to an assessment day, which involves group activities, a written exercise and interview. The written test could involve drafting a document or a letter to a client and aims to test analytical skills as well as spelling and grammar. 

Successful candidates are then invited to a summer insight day and/or final partner interview, depending on the application route they have chosen.

When it comes to the interview it seems the firm is mostly concerned with ensuring candidates really want to work for Hill Dickinson: “It’s important for them to be able to present a convincing case, with evidence, as to why exactly they’re applying here,” Capper stresses. Other questions revolve around situational judgement, business development and commercial awareness. 

Insight days

The firm offers insight days across its UK offices to give students the opportunity to see what life is really like at Hill Dickinson. The scheme also gives students the opportunity to be considered for a training contract, and learn more about the sector that they are interested in. Students get to hear first-hand accounts of the trainee experience, in addition to information from the trainee committee and wider business, and how this contributes to the firm's culture. 

The ideal candidate 

Instead of having minimum academic requirements, the firm uses a contextual recruitment system, to allow it to consider candidates achievements in the context in which they were gained. The team read each application in full and consider any relevant extenuating circumstances that the system may not allow for. 

“We usually recruit slightly more law grads than non-law (about 60/40),” Capper adds, “though you don’t need a law degree and experience in a commercial firm to work here. Any work experience is useful provided it’s informed your decision to apply, and this allows us to recruit an interesting and diverse mix of individuals.”