Hogan Lovells - True Picture

Hogan Lovells training contract review 2026

The Firm

The ‘special relationship’ between the UK and the US was a phrase first popularised by Winston Churchill way back in 1946, but over at Chambers Student we’d argue that the ‘special relationship’ only really hit its stride from 2010 onwards. Why? Because that’s when US firm Hogan & Hartston and UK’s Lovells merged to create the transatlantic powerhouse Hogan Lovells.

As a result of the union, the firm takes the best qualities of both nations: “It has an exciting client base,” one trainee told us, “I wanted to do important work that had a big impact on businesses in the city.” But context is important, and others were quick to highlight the fact that: “it’s quite a British culture and people are very relaxed and open to answering questions.”

“I wanted to do important work that had a big impact on businesses in the city.”

It's a sentiment echoed by training principal Victor Fornasier too, who highlights the positive atmosphere it creates: “By and large, we want it to be a place that people enjoy working. We aim to foster collaboration in both a working relationship sense and in a business development sense.” Insiders felt the firm was committed to developing them while also fostering a welcoming atmosphere: “They take a vested interest in both your professional and personal life.”

The generative impact this has had on the firm’s full-service work speaks for itself. A quick look at our sister site Chambers UK and you’ll see Hogan Lovells ranking in over 50 departments. This includes standouts in banking and finance, commercial and corporate litigation, real estate litigation, data protection and information law, financial services, fraud, product liability, life sciences and more.

The Seats

Hogan Lovells’ seat allocation process originally involved submitting preferences for all seats during their first six months, but that has since changed and those we spoke to were delighted that the firm had responded in this way: “I think this way makes more sense,” explained one, “as we develop over the course of the contract, we can make more informed choices.”

Trainees attend a practice area fair halfway through each seat and then put in preferences for where they’d like to end up next. No seats are mandatory, but trainees can expect to do a stint in a finance seat and either a disputes, corporate or global regulatory seat. The firm is also entering its second year of apprenticeships, something Fornasier is especially passionate about: “They've not gone to university, and this is another avenue to help people qualify into the profession.”

For those in their third or fourth seat, secondment opportunities come knocking in both the form of a client placement (usually at a bank) and deployment to one of HL’s overseas offices. “There’s a good number of options,” enthused one trainee, “they’re really popular as well.” The locations on offer include New York, Hong Kong, Dubai, Washington, Frankfurt, Singapore and Paris.

Pro bono is also incentivised for trainees, especially through HL BaSE (business and social enterprise) – a programme which assigns a sustainable business client to trainees that they can work with from the ground up. “It was great experience because I was dealing with a client from day one,” relayed one source, “it’s amazing exposure and helps you build that client relationship.”

“They want to hear from everyone in the team no matter their level.”

The firm’s marquee litigation practice is comprised of several subgroups including complex commercial litigation, patent litigation, commercial litigation and financial services investigations, and product litigation and regulation. This means juniors get to work across matters such as contentious insolvency work, training clients on anti-corruption, and work for telecom companies. Trainees in this group, especially those doing it early on in their training contract, pointed out that the department is focused on providing experience over responsibility: “I got a huge amount of exposure on what your career will look like going forward; you’re just more closely supervised.”

Other insiders backed this up, pointing to the fact that: “it’s quite a good seat to do first, as you’re hand is held a bit more and you're not expected to run things straight away.” Don’t misread that as getting off lightly though; juniors could expect to try their hands at document review, bundling, research, drafting of letters and applications, preparing agendas, note-taking and keeping trackers up to date. Insiders also took the time to praise their colleagues and superiors for successfully ushering them into the team culture: “They’ve been fantastic and helped everyone perform at a high level. They want to hear from everyone in the team, no matter their level.”

“…you start to learn and eventually the concepts and mechanisms will start to click for you.”

The firm’s finance department is also made up of several subgroups, ranging from financial services regulatory to real estate finance, project finance, investment funds, debt capital markets, M&A, and more. “I was a bit clueless at first, as is to be expected,” confessed one insider, “but they knew that. So you start to learn and eventually the concepts and mechanisms will start to click for you.” We did hear that given the more technical aspects featured in these groups, training was part and parcel for all trainees: “There’s lots of great overview, it helps you just keep swimming.”

Insiders reported working on both borrower and lender side work with banks being a common feature of the firm’s client list. The work could often be international in scope as well, so bilingual trainees can expect to put that to good use. Research tasks were common amongst sources, with one telling us that “I’m really nerdy, so I loved it! Getting to grips with legislation and stuff like that.” Other tasks include drafting director’s certificates, minutes, checklists, attending client calls and running red lines. In one recent deal, the firm wrapped a sale of a prime residential mortgage portfolio to NatWest from Metro Bank, worth £2.5 billion.

The specifics of the work that trainees got up to in international arbitration was expectedly hush hush, with one newbie explaining that: “I can’t talk much about it, it’s all really confidential!” What we did glean is that big businesses and government organisations were common sources of work for the team. As the name of the department may suggest, clients are often international in scope (think India, Ukraine, Slovakia, etc.) and that is reflected in the size of the group - “the team is one of the largest in the firm.”

We heard juniors could get stuck in with drafting witness statements, document review, admin, bundles, compiling exhibits, research tasks, project management, and disclosure tasks. We also heard that responsibility ramps up the more trust you gain, with some trainees reporting getting to go to court once they had proven themselves.

We heard that the real estate department requires trainees to be on their toes at all times, as they’re faced with a substantial caseload: “I have a lot of different matters all going on at the same time,” one source revealed, “each will take me an hour a day to keep them going and I prefer that kind of energy.” The firm has a number of big clients that use HL for all their real estate needs, and that means juniors will get a taste of almost everything under the real estate banner.

This broad practice allows trainees to “do a deep dive into what that client is trying to achieve overall and get a grasp of the bigger picture.” Typical tasks include helping out with land registry, drafting transactional documents, and working on leases, asset management, sales, licences and more. The firm continues to advise the Crown Estate on all its offshore wind work, including multi-billion-pound windfarms that will help push the UK towards its net zero objective in time for 2050.

Trainee Life

How hands-on supervisors are with trainees generally depends on whether they’re the ones assigning work, with interviewees reporting a mix of contact time: “It depends on the seat,” explained one source, “but they’ve all been really willing to help and answer my questions.” That sentiment carried across our interviews, and it’s something that evolves over time. As trainees become more senior, “they don’t want to spoon feed you. They let you get on with things.”

Mentorship comes in a couple of different forms, such as the optional partner mentor scheme and a buddy system that saw our sources have a second-year trainee in their practice group assigned to them: “Now I’m the buddy of someone just starting out, so I can give back.” Sources experienced varied training sessions during their induction and are now treated to structured sessions within each seat, a fact that our insiders praised: “I feel I know how to do everything, and I’ve been well prepared for the tasks I’ve been given.”

“…we had a revamp to our cafeteria, including vegan and veggie options and an improved salad bar!”

The London office came in for particular praise, in large part due to the extra incentives on offer there including “the gym, which is a huge perk. It’s completely free and on site.” That’s not all either, we heard about onsite dry cleaning, sleeping pods, a weekly free lunch and music rooms to name just a few bonus features. The subsidised cafeteria was also praised for its constant improvements. As one put it, “we had a revamp to our cafeteria including vegan and veggie options and an improved salad bar!” Great news for those hungry for more than just justice!

The firm operates on a general three days in the office policy with most of our sources working between 9.30am and 6/7pm. The longer hours popped up for those doing transactional seats, but current trainees weren’t too worried, especially with “one of the best trainee salaries in the city.”

The general consensus was that the culture at Hogan Lovells steers clear of many of the US firm stereotypes: “You really don’t feel there’s much of a hierarchy, everyone is very approachable and collaborative.” There’s also a plethora of events and activities on offer that go towards socialising at the firm including departmental Christmas parties, a firm wide summer party, pub quizzes, book clubs, sports teams, charity runs and trips to the pub. “They make you feel welcome early on,” one told us, “I feel very comfortable being myself and you’re not just a cog in the machine.”

Along those same lines, we heard the firm takes mental health seriously with an onsite counsellor and a private GP service. In terms of inclusivity, there are a number of employment networks, such as the multicultural, Pride and social mobility networks.

Trainees were grateful that come qualification season, the firm didn’t keep them in the dark: “Towards the end of your third seat, they explain all the things you need to do. Generally speaking, it’s the same across the board.” This transparency helped keep things more relaxed, and those we spoke to explained that most departments hold a single interview (with its formality depending on the competitiveness of the seat).

The depth of homegrown partners was a huge source of optimism for insiders: “My whole team basically started here as trainees. It’s like a little family tree!” In 2025, the firm did not disclose the number of qualifiers.

How to get a Hogan Lovells training contract

Applications 

Each year, the firm receives around 5,000 training contract applications. At the initial application stage, candidates submit an online application form with competency questions, as well as a Watson Glaser test. Applicants who find success at this stage are those who can demonstrate a real interest in the firm, transferrable skills from (legal or non-legal) work experience, and strong commercial awareness skills.  

For the direct training contract, about 40 candidates are invited to an assessment centre. This consists of two interviews, one of which is situational, while the other is technical. The situational interview assesses how candidates would respond to a tricky situation as a trainee solicitor, such as dealing with clients or working to a conflicting deadline. Meanwhile, the technical interview involves a case study exercise, and tests applicants’ commercial awareness, technical skills and general motivation for a career in commercial law.  

The vac scheme 

Hogan Lovells holds three vacation schemes throughout the year: a two-week scheme in winter, and two three-week schemes during the summer. There are 25 spots available per scheme, and the firm receives around 2,000 applications for each one. 

Vac schemers largely get involved in live work, such as drafting documents, attending client meetings, researching cases, or even going to court! The shorter, winter scheme comes with one seat allocation, while summer vac schemers rotate across two teams. Participants also work on a group presentation task and attend various workshops and events. Each vacation scheme wraps up with an interview for a training contract. 

Open days and other opportunities 

The firm also offers open days, which consist of workshops and networking opportunities to find out more about the firm and its culture. There is also a First Year Insight Scheme for those looking to get a head start on deciding their legal career, which provides an introduction to the firm’s practice areas. Students on this scheme also take part in case studies and workshops and, of course, there are plenty of networking opportunities on offer here, too.