DWF - True Picture

Firm profile 

DWF is a global provider of integrated legal and business services. Our vision is to deliver integrated legal and business services on a global scale through our three offerings of Legal Services, Legal Operations and Business Services. We have approximately 4,000 people as well as offices and associations located across the globe. Our purpose is to deliver positive outcomes with our colleagues, clients and communities.

The legal market has changed profoundly in the last decade and the speed of change continues to increase. There is a clear and growing desire for legal services to be delivered in an easier and more efficient way. So we’ve listened to our clients and designed a range of services to meet these needs.

Our ability to seamlessly combine any number of these services to deliver bespoke solutions for our clients is our key differentiator. This Integrated Legal Management approach delivers greater operational efficiency, price certainty and transparency for our clients, without compromising on quality or service.

Main areas of work

The business has core strengths in finance & restructuring, insurance, real estate and dispute resolution, and in-depth industry expertise in eight core sectors, namely consumer; energy and natural resources; financial services; insurance; government and public sector; real estate; technology, media and communications; and transport. DWF is focused on delivering service excellence to all of its clients in the UK and internationally, which include major household names and FTSE listed companies.

Training opportunities

At DWF we use our values to help define and reinforce our culture and enable us to recruit, retain and develop the highest quality people. This is reflected in our training programme, where our trainees are made to feel part of the DWF team from the moment of offer. Once within the business, our trainees get a high level of responsibility and exposure to business development, innovation and CSR. Many DWF trainees also have the opportunity to complete a client secondment.

Vacation scheme

The DWF summer vacation scheme takes place in June for two weeks. If you are in your penultimate or final year of a law degree, final year of a non-law degree or a graduate of any discipline then you are eligible to apply. The business recruits its trainees through the vacation scheme, so it’s a good opportunity to get ahead and see why DWF is the right business for you.

The two-week vacation scheme gives you the chance to work with partners, associates and trainees across two different practice groups. You’ll work on live legal matters and will be given responsibility right from the start. This is combined with a variety of internal workshops and presentations, helping you understand DWF as a business.

Ethnic Minority and Social Mobility Programmes

Our Social Mobility and Ethnic Minority Programmes have been developed to provide individuals from diverse backgrounds with mentoring and skills sessions ahead of a two week paid work experience scheme.

The work experience will be for two weeks and will mirror a vacation scheme; candidates will have the opportunity to complete live legal work, work together on a group project and attend practice group presentations. There will also be the opportunity to attend social events to further build an internal network. While completing the work experience, candidates will have a trainee buddy and a supervisor in addition to their existing mentor.

Those on the programme will then be considered for a training contract.

Applications are now open:

DWF - AllHires

Other benefits
Pension, healthcare, childcare vouchers, season ticket loan, life assurance, retail vouchers and employee assistance programme.

Insight days and first-year opportunities
Our insight days are open to all first-year students, non-law students, graduates etc. Our application portal is now open and you can apply via our website. The deadline to apply for an insight day is 01 November 2024.

University law careers fairs 2024
Please see our website for the full list of law fairs that we are attending this year.

Events | DWF (dwfgroup.com)

Diversity, inclusion and wellbeing:

At DWF, we are proud of our reputation as a supportive and inclusive employer. We aim to be an employer of choice to talent across generations and life stages by providing interventions that advance social inclusion and enable our colleagues to balance their work lives while providing the development opportunities to enjoy fulfilling and rewarding careers. As a responsible business and force for good in society, we embed our culture and values at the heart of everything we do, recognising that our people not only want a great place to work, but take pride in creating it.

Our Global Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Group defines and executes our D&I Strategy. Executive Sponsors and more than 50 senior leaders, supported by our Affinity Networks and network of passionate Diversity Champions, deliver action plans in support of our new five year D&I Strategy which focuses on Gender, Race & Ethnicity, LGBT+, Disability, Mental Health.

Colleague networks strengthen our efforts to build and sustain a diverse and inclusive workplace. They bring colleagues together through events to raise awareness and understanding, often collaborating with our clients. The networks include: Out Front - our company wide LGBT+ network, This is Me - our Gender network and our Race and Ethnicity Network - focused on increasing Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic representation and promoting cultural diversity across the business.

Applications are now open: DWF - AllHires

Social media
Website: Early Careers | DWF Group
LinkedIn: (6) DWF (UK and Ireland): Overview | LinkedIn
Instagram: DWF_Graduate_Recruitment