Morrison Foerster - True Picture

Morrison Foerster training contract review 2026

The Firm

Meet one of us Chambers Student folk at a university law fair and we’ll all tell you the same thing: the most important thing is to find a firm that’s the right fit for you. And that doesn’t mean the same thing for everyone. At MoFo, or Morrison Foerster if your grandparents are asking, the appeal was clear from the get-go: “I was definitely looking for a US firm,” one trainee explained, “I preferred the structure of how they were operating in London with smaller trainee cohorts, and getting more responsibility early-on definitely appealed.”

The firm’s reputation for tech work is also something that attracts attention: “I’m sure other industries are interesting,” one trainee wisely observed, “but tech was interesting to me from day one.” Another agreed that “I was looking at law firms that worked with tech companies and in the tech space, and it was a huge draw that the firm were working with loads of global, big tech names.”

“I’m sure other industries are interesting, but tech was interesting to me from day one.”

The firm is recognised for its strength in areas like debt capital markets and IT and outsourcing by Chambers UK, as well as boasting a full range of rankings from Chambers USA: from intellectual property and litigation to government contracts and impact investing. Across the pond, there’s very little MoFo isn’t recognised for.

The Seats

First seaters at the firm are allocated according to business need, and for each subsequent rotation, they submit a form with four ranked choices and a rationale for their ranking: “They usually ask around two-thirds through your current seat,” one told us, “which is enough time for you to have figured out what you want to do next.” The firm offers regular secondments, and we heard that it’s also a common occurrence for trainees to do split seats at the firm thanks to its relatively small trainee intake.

If you’ve been keeping half an eye on the news, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that trainees in MoFo’s litigation department had been heavily involved in the firm’s work relating to the Post Office inquiry and its representation of Fujitsu.

At the trainee level, the kind of work includes “drafting inquiry forms, drafting or reviewing witness statements, document review and redaction review,” as well as “making outlines of all the key people in the case, monitoring appeals and updates in the press, and keeping track of it all.” We heard that trainees had been able to attend hearings in relation to their litigation matters.

On the other side of the coin, the corporate group at MoFo is where the firm’s tech sector focus really comes to the fore, with both private and public M&A for big tech clients the firm’s bread and butter. Trainees told us that they’d been doing “a lot of due diligence, reviewing documents that have been uploaded by the target and making comments on anything that could be at risk. I’ve also helped draft the due diligence report and acted as the project manager with the specialist teams, sending out relevant points, collating responses, asking questions and getting updates.”

The drafting opportunities in the seat, we heard, were a big part of the appeal: “I’ve been helping to draft the transaction documents, updating shareholder agreements and SPAs.” Sources were pleased with the variety of work on offer, as it gave them “good exposure to a wide variety of matters. The corporate team is one of the larger and busier teams at MoFo, and we do a lot of transactional work here with some very large clients.” In one recent deal, the firm advised SoftBank on its $1 billion investment into Wayve, a UK-based developer of embodied AI for autonomous vehicles.

“It really allows you to see just how important employment is – especially when companies are merging or one company is buying another!”

Trainees with experience in employment (which usually forms part of a split seat) told us that their work is split between advisory work, corporate support, and work on contentious matters. On the advisory side of things, the work involved “lots of opportunities to draft and update employment contracts, termination notice letters, maternity arrangement letters, policies, and honestly anything you could think of to do with employment!” When it came to corporate support, a source shared that they had been “doing due diligence and getting that employment point of view. It really allows you to see just how important employment is – especially when companies are merging or one company is buying another!”

Data privacy is another area that often forms part of a split seat, covering similar types of work to employment: “There’s M&A due diligence which has made up a large part in recent years, contentious work if there’s a data breach and an advisory aspect to do with the changing EU regulatory landscape in the UK.” The team has advised on the data protection aspects of several major M&A deals, including Alpine Investors recent acquisition of Digital Origin Holdings.A trainee with experience in data privacy shared that “every day was just a new challenge, and every day a new task! I’ve worked on research bits and advisory bits, working directly with a partner and with the teams in New York, Brussels and Amsterdam.”

National security and antitrust are combined within a split seat at MoFo. It’s another seat with a lot of work relating to the corporate deals the firm is working on, so trainees regularly work to support corporate dealmaking from a national security or antitrust angle. We heard that on the antitrust side, trainees were often involved in multijurisdictional analysis, “looking at where there may be issues, researching previous case decisions and how the EU had determined the scope of the market in similar situations, and helping to draft advice for clients over the options they could take and the various related risks.”

On the national security side of things, trainees were “preparing RFIs, attending diligence calls, reviewing the archives, filing the FTI filing in the UK, drafting them and having calls with the government to mitigate any deals and explain the complex organisations we do.”

Another of the split seat options pairs capital markets with tax. It might be intimidating to imagine splitting your time between two teams, but a trainee assured us that “while there’s a lot of work, it felt like there was oversight from both teams over what I was doing for each, so I never felt like I was being overwhelmed or bombarded. I think it was well-managed.” Sources shared that tasks varied with each side of the work: “On the capital markets side, it tended to be more process-driven work, so things like getting companies house documents for companies on particular deals, or going through and proof-reading MPAs.”

In contrast, “on the tax side it tended to be more research-based tasks, so the tax partner would email me and give me an outline of something happening on a deal and ask me to look into some legislation and apply it to what’s going on in the context of a deal.” In one recent matter, the firm’s capital markets team advised pizza giant Dominos in a private placement of Senior Notes worth £100 million.

Trainee Life

Trainees were happy to brag about how nice the firm’s London office is, which was fair given that it’s “right in the heart of the city in the Scalpel building, so it’s got glass walls all around and has great views!” Sources were positive about sharing offices with their supervisors, and were impressed by the location, as “right next door we have the Leadenhall Market, which is really nice for lunch or impromptu after-work drinks.”

Trainees are expected to be in the office from Tuesday to Thursday, and we heard that “pretty much everyone works from home on Mondays and Fridays.” This can vary depending on department and business need, and an interviewee explained that “in corporate, it’s quite common if there’s a deal that you’d be in every day of the week, but that’s something the entire deal team would do, it’s not just the trainees in the office, so it would feel like a normal working day.”

For a number of the current cohort, the culture at MoFo was something that drew trainees to the firm: “It’s very non-hierarchical,” explained one, “it’s quite a small office so you work at any stage directly with the partners. It doesn’t feel like I have to go to a junior and then a senior associate, I can just go and knock on the partner’s door and everyone’s very friendly and keen to help.” Trainees also felt supported because: “at the junior level, associates are very keen to spend time going through a piece of work with you to give you feedback, so there’s a culture of trying to help people improve.”

Formal training at MoFo begins with a month-long orientation, which involves talks from different practice areas alongside the soft skills like public speaking, “which was quite cool, an expert came in to do that.” Some departments like corporate and litigation host mandatory training sessions every fortnight, as well as occasional webinars hosted from offices in the US.

The social side of things got great reviews from our interviewees, who shared that the firm’s social committee organise regular events in addition to the more typical Christmas and summer parties. Examples included an Easter egg hunt, pizza on Valentines’ Day, a bao bun evening, and ordering in food for some sports matches too.

“…you can genuinely see the diversity in the office and the people it employs.”

DEI was a hot topic, with trainees sharing that “DEI-wise, MoFo is really strong. That’s one of the things that attracted me, and you can genuinely see the diversity in the office and the people it employs.” There are a number of affinity groups for those at the firm too: “MoFo Together is the ethnic minority affinity group, and then there’s MoFo Proud, MoFo Women, one for social mobility, and one for parents and caregivers too.” Anyone can get involved in these groups, and they host regular events for celebrations including Eid and Chinese New Year.

Trainees told us that average hours at the firm were between 9.30am and 7.30pm. If they’d had to work later than this, we heard lawyers were often going home to log back on again and finish their work. “When it’s busier, it’s inevitable you’ll have to do slightly later hours, maybe working until 10pm or 11pm,” explained one trainee, “and I don’t want to say it’s rare, but it only happens when it absolutely has to. This is not the kind of firm that glorifies working late at all.” Trainees also felt supported when the later hours began to creep in: “You’re never going to be alone, so I’ve never felt isolated, and my supervisors have always been on call and ready to check anything through.” Further comfort is perhaps found in the salary this lot are compensated. For first years receive £60,000, rising to £65,000 in their second year. Trainees can also look forward to an eyewatering $225,000 upon qualification.

Pro bono-wise, trainees were regularly working with Z2K on disability benefits appeals, to give just one example. “As the trainee, you’re the one on the call leading it,” explained a source, “you draft the submissions to court and attend the hearings, and though you have to be supervised, you’re the one running the case.”

Come qualification time, a jobs list is released, before trainees then prepare an application for up to two teams they’d be interested in qualifying into; the firm is hiring on business need, so that’s the primary focus. Some departments have additional interview or assessment measures, whilst others base their decision solely on the opinions of partners in the group.

“The training principal Trevor is absolutely fantastic,” one told us, “and there was very much an open-door policy when anyone had a concern or query. Even if we couldn’t get the answer we wanted, we could discuss it, which I think was super important.” In 2025, the firm did not disclose the number of qualifiers.

How to get a Morrison Foerster training contract

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Vacation scheme deadline (2025):  5 January 2026

Training contract deadline (2025):  5 January 2026 (MoFo only recruits through its vacation scheme)

Online application form

Morrison Foerster (MoFo) only recruits trainees through its vacation scheme and asks candidates to apply by completing an online application form on the careers section of the MoFo website. A 2:1 degree and AAB at A-Level are a must at this stage; however, the firm will take mitigating circumstances into consideration.

Any work experience is a plus, but not a requirement.  The Attorney Recruiting Team tells us, “[In applications] Detail your achievements and experiences; even from a non-law perspective as there are number of transferable skills you can relate to the law. For example, with hospitality experience comes client service and time management skills. Aside from strong attention to detail, a key skill for any aspiring lawyer, a candidate can stand out by really getting to know the Firm, studying our values, our core practice areas and sectors, and demonstrating that they’re interested in those areas and why.”

There’s not a set type of person MoFo’s on the hunt for but the team shares, “We’re looking for enthusiasm, but also someone who is innovative. Lots of our clients are from the technology, artificial intelligence and life sciences industries – so someone who can mirror that entrepreneurial and enthusiastic spirit that our clients have.”

Interviews

Around 50 out of the hundreds of applicants are invited to a first-round interview between January and February. The initial interview takes place with a member of the recruiting team and two associates and covers the ‘why law’ and ‘why MoFo’ questions as well as competency-based questions. There is also a legal question for those who have already studied law, or a question designed to ascertain commercial awareness or legal knowledge obtained if law has not yet been studied.

Around 30 aspiring recruits progress to attend a two-stage second interview in February to March with a member of MoFo’s graduate committee, another partner or of counsel, recruiting manager and one current trainee. Firstly, candidates are tasked with creating a five to 10minute presentation on a non-legal topic based on current affairs. For example, in previous years, candidates have been invited to take a position on the future of cryptocurrency, the challenges associated with electric vehicles, or the regulation of artificial intelligence. Interviewees are then asked a series of questions on their presentation.

Training Principal, Trevor James, says: “We don’t have a one-size-fits-all approach. The best interviewees come prepared and have great answers to those follow-up questions. They don’t have to agree with the interviewer, we like them to have their own point of view. It can actually be quite good if the interviewer disagrees as it allows you to show that you can hold your own. So, be prepared but not too prepared.”

Candidates then get a short break. The second part of the process involves reviewing a legal case study and discussing it with two other associates. “It’s really a conversation about how they’d approach the scenario based on the questions,” the team clarifies, reassuring us that “non-law students shouldn’t worry as questions are designed so they can also be approached from a commercial perspective.”

“By the end of it, candidates will have met eight to nine people across different seniority levels, practice areas and routes into the profession giving them the opportunity to get to know the Firm, our values and culture in more detail,” they tell us. “If successful, they then get an offer for the vacation scheme.”

The vacation scheme

Usually, up to 14 candidates make it onto either of the firm’s two fortnight-long vacation schemes in June and July. “They will sit in two departments, one per week. We try to give exposure to both transactional and contentious practices, so candidates get a sense of their synergies and how we operate as an office,” the team details. “It’s an opportunity to get involved and witness client work, to shadow your supervisor on client calls and assist other lawyers on tasks which might be drafting or research based.”

As one trainee recalled, “I was proofreading, listening to client calls, researching and writing articles.” With benchmark assessments, students are also set an assessed research project at the start of the scheme, alongside some other quicker turnaround tasks, which assesses their ability to balance deadlines and evaluates different skill sets.

Throughout the fortnight, recruiters are keen to see students building relationships across the whole office, demonstrating their initiative, showcasing their technical ability and enjoying themselves. Feedback on performance in tasks and interactions with the team during the vacation scheme forms the basis of training contract offers. So, keep in mind who you are speaking to throughout the scheme!

Pro Bono Initiatives at MoFo

At Morrison Foerster, pro bono work is part of the firm’s DNA. MoFo’s dedicated pro bono team and its London Pro Bono Committee provide frequent opportunities for London trainees and associates to work on both domestic and international matters, ranging from providing direct services to low-income individuals, to counselling nonprofit organisations, to advising at law clinics. During 2024, MoFo lawyers devoted 66,615 hours to representing pro bono clients.

Attorneys in the London office partner with a variety of organisations on pro bono projects, such as Advocates for International Development, TrustLaw, JUSTICE, PILnet, Asylum Aid, Zacchaeus 2000 Trust (Z2K), The Chancery Lane Project, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Nature Conservancy, Prime Advocates, and the Public International Law & Policy Group.

The London office is a member of the Collaborative Plan for Pro Bono in the UK, a law firm-led initiative to promote pro bono work, in which members commit to strive for an average of 25 pro bono hours per attorney, per year in their UK offices. Last year, lawyers from the London office averaged 71 pro bono hours per attorney. Examples of work the London-based lawyers have undertaken include:

▪ Collaborating on disability benefit appeals with Z2K, a London-wide charity working to combat poverty. Since the partnership began in early 2018, numerous members of the London office — including partners, associates, trainees, and paralegals — have worked on cases for low-income, disabled clients who were receiving disability benefits that were inadequate to cover their needs. To date, the firm has taken on over 100 individual cases, with a success rate of over 90% for those cases that have gone to hearing.

▪ Working with Not Beyond Redemption to help mothers who are in prison, or who have left prison, and need legal assistance to maintain their relationships with their children.

▪ Assisting APPEAL, a charity and law practice that fights miscarriages of justice and advocates for reform of the criminal justice system, in overturning the life sentence of an individual who was wrongfully convicted.

▪ Advising Social Finance, a not-for profit organisation that partners with the government, the social sector, and the financial community to find better ways to tackle social problems. MoFo has worked with Social Finance on various projects, including structuring a development impact bond focused on decreasing infant mortality in Cameroon.

▪ Supporting the Kenya office of the Center for Reproductive Rights in a variety of ways to assist it in its mission of advancing reproductive rights and maternal health in Kenya.

ESG at MoFo

Morrison Foerster is a founding member of Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy and has dedicated millions of dollars in pro bono legal services to this organization. Additionally, in 2023, Morrison Foerster announced its partnership with A4ID Sustainable Development Goal Legal Initiative Platform, which addresses Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13: Climate Action, via a Legal Guide. This Legal Guide covers how legal professionals can increase their expertise with respect to climate-related topics, play a role in addressing climate justice, advise their clients with respect to climate change, and advance measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change.

From an operational perspective, Morrison Foerster has also committed to addressing climate change through meaningful action. In 2024, the Firm’s near-term science-based target to reduce absolute scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 46.55% by 2030 from a 2019 base year was officially validated by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi). To support this goal, the firm is implementing strategies to improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions from business travel, and collect supplier-specific data. To further reduce the Firm’s Scope 2 emissions, Morrison Foerster procured 100% renewable electricity for its U.S. offices in 2025 and is committed to maintaining this achievement annually. The Firm is also exploring opportunities to extend this progress to key international offices in Europe and Asia.

Morrison Foerster has an Environmental Sustainability (ES) Committee, comprised of attorneys and business professionals, that drives the Firm’s sustainability efforts across three levels: the Steering Committee, the Firmwide Committee, and local Office Committees. Together, they identify office-specific initiatives, develop firmwide guidance, and report progress annually to the Board of Directors. Several board members focus their legal practice on ESG-related matters, reflecting leadership-level engagement.

The firm’s improved and revised firmwide environmental sustainability strategy, launched at the beginning of 2025, is centered on five key focus areas and aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This strategy reflects MoFo’s commitment to continuous improvement, regulatory readiness, and supporting clients in meeting their own ESG goals. Key initiatives include:

• Climate Impact & EnergyMoFo are expanding renewable electricity procurement to key international offices, improving office energy efficiency, and continuing to track and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the firm’s science-based target.
• Waste Management & Resource EfficiencyMoFo’s firmwide waste and materials strategy includes phasing out single-use plastics by 2025, expanding composting and recycling programs, and reducing paper consumption through digital workflows and smarter print practices.
• Sustainable Procurement & Supply ChainMoFo are strengthening sustainable purchasing practices and building on supplier engagement efforts—including emissions data collection and vendor assessments—to improve value chain transparency.
• Environmental Governance & ReportingThe Environmental Sustainability Committee oversees strategy implementation and progress tracking, respond to client ESG requests, report through CDP and EcoVadis, and will reassess the firm’s Climate Risk and Opportunity Assessment in 2025 to align with upcoming climate disclosure regulations.
• Employee & Client EngagementMoFo is launching a firmwide calendar of sustainability events and expanding local initiatives across global offices. The Firm’s ESG + Sustainability team and sustainability-focused pro bono work support broader stewardship goals.

Morrison Foerster’s London office continues to lead by example in operational sustainability. The office implemented targeted energy-saving measures—including motion-activated lighting and adjusted building systems—to reduce consumption and improve efficiency. Efforts to minimize waste were also expanded, including reducing plastic use in catering operations and exploring packaging reductions with its stationery supplier. To further support paper efficiency, the office plans to launch a full office cleanup where gently used supplies are collected and redistributed across floors. London also demonstrates a strong participation in the firm’s commuting survey, with most travel via public transport, reflecting a well-established culture of low-emissions commuting.

These initiatives reflect Morrison Foerster’s ongoing commitment to reduce its environmental impact while fostering a culture of sustainability firmwide. You can review the Environmental Sustainability Committee Annual Report where you’ll find more detailed information on the Firm’s environmental sustainability activities and initiatives.