Howes Percival LLP - True Picture

Howes Percival training contract review 2026

The Firm 

Of all the famous two-letter acronyms, HP might just be the one that means the most. Depending on what angle you’re coming from, it could refer to a multi-billion-pound franchise about a boy wizard, a well-known tech company, a nationally beloved condiment, or even your hit points, if video games are what you’re into. For the legally minded, however, HP can only mean one thing: Howes Percival.

The firm picks up a whole host of top-tier rankings from the Chambers UK guide, including restructuring and insolvency and social housing in East Anglia. HP is also highly regarded for its work in SME-focused corporate/M&A in the East Midlands and in publishing-specific media and entertainment across the UK. It was exactly this range that was appealing to trainee interviewees, who were pleased to say, “HP has a really nice balance of work with a range of clients, from individuals to large corporations. It means you can get top work while still staying regional.”

Despite this, the firm is very much looking to grow, as training principal and property litigation partner Simon Murphy tells us, “we’re a mid-tier commercial law firm, but we’re growing. We’re one of the smaller firms in Cambridge, but we’re part of the big three in Norwich. We also had more than 20% financial growth this year, so we’re motoring on.” 

“HP chooses to showcase its work-life balance over fancy offices in high-scale towers.” 

HP’s balance of a national network with a cosier feel was also a big draw for many. Trainees are currently based in the East Midlands (Leicester, Northampton and Milton Keynes) or in East Anglia (Norwich and Cambridge), though the firm also has offices in Manchester and Oxford, the latter of which will offer seats in the future. However, “despite being a big firm with offices all around the country, big clients and big work,” a trainee explained, “you can tell HP has a homey feel and a strong sense of community. Even the website is more down-to-earth, and HP chooses to showcase its work-life balance over fancy offices in high-scale towers.”

Insiders clearly felt HP had struck the magic balance of exciting work without the expectations of a lifestyle firm and, for some, this positive atmosphere was visible from the get-go: “During the vacation scheme, associates and partners were happy to take time out of the day to chat with me and offer career advice. I didn’t expect such established partners to be so friendly and chatty, but it really is telling of the culture as a whole!” 

The Seats 

Newbies kick off their training contract with an automatically assigned seat which is decided based on business need and second-years’ preferences. Although there’s no prior consultation, it’s not a completely random selection: “My first seat wasn’t one that’s typically assigned as a first seat, but the training principal told the team I’d fit in well because of my personality and background. Even after one interview, the firm knew who I was and what I was capable of.” In fact, according to Hughes, the system: “is a good thing. It means quirkier, smaller departments like planning, for example, get trainees who haven’t thought about the practice and end up really liking it.”

The next three seats are assigned following discussions with the training principal, where trainees get a chance to discuss how their current seat is going, what their interests are, and what their top three preferences are for the next rotation. As is often the case, priority goes to more senior trainees, but the flexible training contract model meant our interviewees were generally happy with their options. More specifically, trainees can undertake seats across various offices but typically stay somewhat close to home. As you might expect, this is easier to manage if you’ve got a driving licence, but we heard that “they’ll consider local seats if someone can’t drive.” 

“… members of the team are happy to take time to walk you through tasks.” 

The corporate team sits under the wider corporate and banking umbrella, and recent expansion at the firm has seen a clearer distinction between the subgroups. Corporate is currently the larger of the two, and covers all sorts of restructuring deals, mergers and acquisitions. Recently, the team advised C Brewer & Sons on its high-value acquisition of The Paint Shed, which will see the company expand into Scotland. Work filters down to trainees from partners and, according to insiders, “you get to work with every single corporate partner in your office, which makes for an interesting dynamic.” Responsibility ramps up throughout the seat, starting off with more classic corporate trainee tasks like creating documents lists, drafting ancillary documents and assisting on due diligence.

Interviewees were pleased to say that “it gets more complicated, and by the end of my seat I was drafting disclosure lists, warranties and indemnities.” When documents don’t need to be turned around quickly, trainees “can still get involved in the core parts of a deal, and members of the team are happy to take time to walk you through tasks.” Client contact was a particular advantage of this seat, with sources relishing the opportunity to “be really hands-on, directly contacting them if we need more information or replies to due diligence questions.”  

HP’s commercial property department spans landlord, tenant and developer work which, to put it simply, is “mainly buying, selling and transferring freehold or leasehold land. We advise clients on terms of their lease, on a sale or purchase, and provide general property advice.” Clients here include the Bank of Scotland, Norwich’s International Aviation Academy and Ford Retail. The team was also involved in securing a lease on Cambridge Science Park on behalf of computing company Raspberry Pi.

Trainees here get their own caseload, which means many are “able to see a sale through from start to finish.” Others mentioned that they were involved in plenty of late-stage matters, some were kept busy with title reviews, and many were swept up in classic trainee tasks like Stamp Duty Land Tax returns. Research and drafting were highlighted as key areas of the seat, but client contact was again another plus: “I’ve drafted letters of advice for clients who come to us with property questions,” said one, while another noted, “there are so many opportunities to join and observe negotiation meetings.” 

“Trainees are the first point of contact for new clients.” 

Commercial dispute resolutionis “one of those seats where you get involved in just about everything.” That ‘everything’ is essentially an assortment of business disputes, including professional negligence, contract disputes, shareholder litigation, debt, and supplies, goods and services. Ben’s Cookies and the University of Cambridge are just a couple of clients in the books, and the team has also been kept busy with a million-dollar cryptocurrency dispute on behalf of Danish company, Wonop.

We heard that client contact is a massive part of the seat as “trainees are the first point of contact for new clients. They call with whatever dispute they have, trainees pick up the phone, discuss the matter and advise on next steps and costs. The more you practice, the more you understand ballpark figures we can charge without having to ask your supervisor.” Aside from that, newbies help support the team by drafting letters, claim forms and instructions to counsel, bundling and undertaking research. There are plenty of opportunities to go to court, attend client meetings and, interestingly, “a few trainees have done some advocacy, so those chances exist if you want them.” 

For those itching for more contentious work, there’s also a seat in insolvency on offer, which is reportedly “very fast-paced and comes with a lot of responsibility.” Matters include personal insolvency, debt recovery, and work with insolvency practitioners. The Insolvency Service has instructed HP on various matters, including investigations into the failures of BHS and Ecohouse Developments. The team also represented the trustees in bankruptcy of an ex-solicitor who used to run his own firm. It’s a bit of a niche topic, so spending time getting to grips with all the quirks of insolvency is to be expected: “They didn’t mind if I asked loads of questions and needed a lot of help, and I always got plenty of feedback.”

Research, analysing evidence and preparing applications are a few examples of jobs that keep trainees busy, alongside drafting settlement agreements, orders and witness statements. Interviewees especially enjoyed the court side of the experience, noting, “I went quite a few times during my seat and got to see how my work played out in the courtroom. I’d never seen someone cross-examined before, so it was good to see it in real time.” 

Employment, meanwhile, covers both the contentious and non-contentious sides of the practice, with a mixture of litigation, advisory and corporate support work. For example, the team has advised on the employment aspects of Medigold Health’s acquisition of Health Management and has also represented Leicester Theatre Trust in breach of contract and discrimination claims. Trainees involved on advisory matters will help prepare training materials for clients and can also try drafting employment contracts and handbooks.

Tribunals are the main part of the contentious side of the job, and newbies here help put bundles together, prepare briefs to counsel and draft settlement agreements. Again, there are opportunities to attend such events in person, and we heard “it’s good to see the difference between civil court and an employment tribunal.” Aside from this, interviewees enjoyed the legal research that comes with the seat as “it’s such a vast area of law which is always changing.” 

Trainee Life 

Interviewees were glad that they didn’t need to compromise their time to get good training; a decent work-life balance is a typical feature of a TC at Howes Percival. “I think they do pride themselves on that,” a source revealed, “People don’t like you to stay behind unless you really have to, so will tell you to go home and finish tomorrow if it can wait.” While there are some busier periods when deadlines loom, most tend to finish between 5 and 6pm. This meant that the salary received praise from our sources, who noted, “my salary is similar to that of my friends at competing firms, and I don’t feel underpaid.” 

Office attendance depends on both the team and where they are based, with Norwich trainees reportedly spending the most time working from the office. That said, “trainees across the board are encouraged to be in as much as possible as you learn a learn a lot by merging with your team.” Assigned desks mean that this isn’t too much of a chore, but trainees in Cambridge and Leicester have also been reaping the benefits of their recently refurbished offices, while the other offices should all be getting facelift in the next couple of years as well. As such, insiders noticed that “they’re really pushing the social side of things in Leicester now that the office is back open.”  

Across the firm, this includes things like casual after work outings, Thursday drinks at the pub next to the Norwich office, and a variety of business development events where, “even as a first-seater, I was told to speak to people about my life, not just law and work, and that’s made networking easier. They want trainees to make connections and meet the community.” There’s also an annual AGM for everyone across the firm to get together in one of HP’s offices, take part in fun activities and get to know each other. 

There are also a variety of events centred around diversity and inclusion. On the wellbeing side, there’s “something going on every two weeks or so, but they try to hold whole office events at least two to three times a year. At lunch, there are things like pilates and big group walks.” When it comes to representation, sources noted that HP generally matches the racial diversity of the cities in which it is located, meaning “there’s much more diversity in the Midlands offices than in Norwich and Cambridge.” Still, sources enjoyed a recent panel on immigration, where colleagues discussed their backgrounds in relation to the topic. Interviewees had also noticed a really supportive approach to Ramadan, noting “emails reminding us to be mindful of people fasting.”  

Gender representation was a particular strength, we heard, with sources anecdotally suggesting: “it feels really balanced.” HP also hosted various International Women’s Day events, such as an afternoon tea and fundraising for a local women’s charity and received praise from interviewees for its transparency on reducing the gender pay gap.

Howes Percival has also been rolling out its solicitor apprenticeship scheme and, according to Hughes, “We go to local schools to try to encourage candidates to come forward to us, and ask schools to recommend people for our programme. We’ve got a map showing the areas of underprivilege that surround our office network and deliberately target schools there.” 

“They’re investing in you as a person, not just a trainee…” 

For our interviewees, one of the highlights of their training contract experience was the culture. Despite being spread across multiple offices, we heard that the trainee cohort is quite tight knit. However, these good vibes are by no means restricted to the junior ranks: “I always thought a legal career would be a bit like Suits, where there’s a strict hierarchy and some not so nice people, but it’s been the complete opposite. Everyone’s lovely and though there are obviously different levels of seniority, everyone is still a team.”

This welcoming atmosphere has certainly helped in the context of training, which largely takes place on the job. As one source detailed, “everyone wants you to do your best. They’re investing in you as a person, not just a trainee, so they are genuinely interested in teaching you.” As such, supervision was a valued source of support for insiders, who reportedly “make time to talk to you and go through your work, yet also challenge you to make sure you’re not spoon-fed.” 

“A lot of the partners trained here!” 

Ahead of their final seat, trainees discuss qualification plans with the training principal, where they can mention any departments they would be interested in joining. So, when trainees receive the official jobs list, it “isn’t just a shot-in-the-dark email with ten positions available – it's jobs people have asked for.”

The process thereon is pretty straightforward: trainees express their interest in a role and then offers are made, with interviews only happening if more than one person wants the same job. In 2025, Howes Percival kept on 8 out of 10 trainees but, on a more long-term basis, trainees were keen to highlight how: “there are loads of people who have been working here for over 30 years. A lot of the partners trained here!”

How to get a Howes Percival training contract 

Application form 

The firm receives around 200 to 300 initial applications. The application form covers standard CV and experience questions, like 'why do you want to be a lawyer?' and 'why do you want to work for Howes Percival?' as well as a few designed to draw out a bit of your personality, like 'what's your best non-sporting achievement?' There's no specific question about local links, though we reckon mentioning things which tie you to the regions where the firm operates will do you no harm. 

Assessment day and interview 

The half-day assessment centre consists of three parts: a 30-minute written commercial test, a presentation and a one-hour interview. The written test is based on a commercial scenario in which you're asked to write a piece of advice to a client. 

The presentation is on a topic you'll be given on the day and tends to be fairly light-hearted – again, it is supposed to draw out something of your personality. In the past, applicants have been asked which book, film and CD they'd take with them to a desert island and (in another year) what three people, dead or alive, they'd invite to their ideal dinner party. (If you are asked that latter question, be honest, don't just name three famous lawyers unless you have a really good reason to.) 

The interview is with the Training Principal and a member of the People Team and is a more serious affair, though don't be afraid to showcase your personality. Expect to be asked about a typical array of competencies – strengths and weaknesses, analysis and decision-making, teamwork, initiative – as well as commercial awareness questions: for instance, 'what makes a law firm successful?' There are some scenario-based questions too, but also some more easy-going ones like 'what single item could you not live without?' (Don't say: mobile phone.) 

Vacation scheme 

HP's vac scheme lasts just a week and consists of students spending a single day in five different departments. They shadow a trainee or other junior lawyers and mix attending court and meetings with some real work and a number of set tasks. On one afternoon, there is an assessed group exercise, and some (though not all) participants will be invited back for a final training contract interview. 

The firm runs schemes in the summer in Leicester, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Cambridge and Norwich, with three to six places on each. 

Trainee Profile 

Among the trainees there were graduates from institutions in the regions where the firm works – Leicester and UEA – as well as individuals from places further afield like Sheffield, Birmingham and Queen Mary, London. 

Links to the local region are a common denominator among trainees. Nearly all our interviewees had either grown up in the East Midlands or East Anglia or been to uni there. Many continue to cultivate these local connections during their training through involvement with local charity fund-raising and business development.

Interview with Simon Murphy, Training Principal

The Firm 

Chambers Student: How would you describe the firm? How would you describe its position in the market? 

Simon Murphy: We’re a mid-tier commercial law firm, but we’re growing. We’re one of the smaller firms in Cambridge, but we’re part of the big three in Norwich. We also had more than 20% growth this year, so we’re motoring on.

CS: Are there any highlights from the last year you think it would be helpful for our readers to know about?  

Murphy: The Oxford office is one of our newer offices and has been open for about a year and a half now. It’s growing really well, our clients are integrated, and we’re welcoming more partners to that office. One of our trainees currently works from the Oxford office a few days a week, and we’re considering introducing a full-time Oxford seat in the next rotation. We’ve also rejigged our Cambridge office and refitted our Leicester space. It's really energised the place – people are coming back to the office and creating a nice, buzzy atmosphere!

CS: How do trainees get to know colleagues in other bases, and how does the firm encourage this sort of interaction?  

Murphy: We absolutely do encourage other seats in other offices. Some people are desperate to do it, while some absolutely do not want to. We try and encourage them to work in a different office. Teams are generally cross-office anyway, so trainees will be used to doing work for partners and solicitors that are based elsewhere. We also have an annual trainee party, and in the summer we all get together on a Zoom call for some soft skills training sessions.

CS: Have there been any updates on the CSR side of things, eg, charity work and community involvement?  

Murphy: We do loads of charity stuff and everyone is allowed to take one charity day off every year. One of the apprentices in the Cambridge office where I work is on the charity committee and has really spearheaded a lot on that front. We’ve been supporting Relate, and have done things like bake sales, Halloween nights and quizzes to raise money. That said, Cambridge is the only office that hasn’t done any exercise-related ones so far, so we sound quite lazy! Across the firm, however, we often do a lot of walking and running events. Gordon, one of our partners, did a charity walk dressed as a seagull because he got attacked by a seagull in the Norwich office car park!

CS: How has the solicitor apprenticeship programme been going so far? 

Murphy: It’s been going really well and we're planning to expand the programme. One of the challenges for me as training principal is to work out the right balance between teams that have traditional trainees as well as apprentices as some don’t want them at the same time, but a mix of the two can work. We really support it as a firm: once you’ve finished your six-year apprenticeship you’re in a miles more advanced state than you might have been if you had done a two-year training contract after university like I did. That obviously doesn't mean that trainees aren’t good when they qualify, but the apprenticeship scheme isn’t right for everyone. You need a really mature head to join a law firm as a school leaver, especially if it’s a smaller office, so it certainly wouldn’t suit all 18-year-olds. I would not have been mature enough to have coped with the jealousy of friends doing fun things while I was working!

The Training Contract  

CS: How would you describe the training environment/culture that you have aimed to create at the firm?  

Murphy: We want to be really inclusive and friendly, so much so that everyone is empowered to talk to everyone from day one. We want people to ask questions, have an opinion and expect that opinion to matter. We don't want to be hierarchical, and I think that we have managed to provide that environment. After all, we don't have any doors, so everyone sits in the same place and trainees are invited to team meetings and networking events from the get-go. That doesn't mean you have to be the most gregarious person; we have a good mix of introverts and extroverts here.

CS: How is the firm considering AI in relation to the trainee experience? How quickly is it affecting the way in which trainees work? 

Murphy: At the moment, we have a ban on using AI with any client data. However, I recently went to a partner meeting where the Chairman and board of the firm confirmed that they have a plan to relax that quite quickly so we can embrace AI as a firm. It’s coming, so we need to get on with it and embrace it. Some of it is very good and will make our jobs really worthwhile. However, we need to make sure that our trainees are using it in a safe way, learning how to use it to make their job quicker while spotting errors. We've also got to think about how to train our future trainees if AI is going to do the basic bits of their job for them. I would ordinarily give a trainee the first draft of a letter of advice or a section of a letter introducing a client to mediation. Now you can just ask AI to do those things at the click of a button which is brilliant, but we need to think about how to teach our future lawyers how to do that drafting themselves. They’ll need those skills for the harder things even if AI can handle the basic parts.

CS: What’s the current set up with remote working for trainees? Is there a set number of days where trainees are expected to come into the office?  

Murphy: We don’t have an official policy but encourage people to locate for their diary. In some offices, the expectation is to be there at least four days a week. However, in a smaller office or team where the partner is often not there, it’s silly to ask a trainee to go to the office so much. We think it’s better if people are in three to four days a week, as long as they don’t have to travel really far.

Applications & Recruitment  

CS: What sort of person thrives at the firm? How can a candidate really impress at interview? 

Murphy: There really isn't a Howes Percival type. We quite like the fact that trainees are different and have different personalities, experiences and backgrounds. I suspect the ones that really shine are the ones who go the extra mile. They answer when they hear the phone ringing. If an urgent client email comes in while you’re not in, even if they know nothing about it, they’ll ask if they can help or find someone who can deal with it. First seat trainees who haven’t worked as paralegals are plonked into their first seat, and that’s what we like. It means quirkier, smaller departments (like planning, for example) get trainees who haven’t thought about it and end up really liking it. We think if we gave them the choice for their first seat they would all choose corporate or employment. That setup would stop our generational expansion, so we quite like plonking them! A good trainee is someone who will approach their six months in a really positive way, even if they realise it isn’t for them. They learn as much as they can from it and are enthusiastic regardless.

CS: How can a candidate really impress at interview? 

Murphy: We find that a lot of candidates are really brilliant at interview. You can tell who is and isn’t prepared. We don’t ask trick questions and probably ask about 19 out of the 20 most common training contract interview questions. We take most of our trainees from the vacation scheme, so the interview is not the be all and end all. If you’re good at the work and gel with the team, a poor interview wouldn't stop you from getting a training contract with us.

CS: Does the firm have any set recruitment targets around diversity? 

Murphy: We really push for diversity and use RARE Recruitment in our application process to assess educational outperformance based on ethnicity and socioeconomic backgrounds. We also work with local schools; teachers highlight potential candidates for our solicitor apprenticeship even if they have never really thought of law as an option. We have a map showing the areas of underprivilege surrounding our office network and have deliberately targeted schools in those areas. It’s a slow process but has been going quite well. 

CS: And finally, do you have any advice for those thinking about pursuing a career in law? Either at your firm or more generally? 

Murphy: I think it's a really fulfilling career. Even somebody in a specialist team like me (a property litigator) has a very different client roster day to day. One day you might go to court to deal with someone stalking a neighbour in a cannabis psychosis, and the next you’ll be dealing with black letter law on a high-value client for a PLC corporate client.