Michelmores LLP - True Picture

Michelmores training contract review 2025

The Firm

If you want to be a London-based lawyer you're spoilt for choice. But it isn’t for everyone: “I wasn’t at all drawn to the London legal life,” one trainee at Michelmores told us. “That said, I didn’t want something only based regionally either.” The solution? A firm with a growing presence in the capital that hasn’t come at the expense of its regional roots. Enter Michelmores. The firm’s “challenger status” in London was a big part of the draw for many of the current crop: “I like that Michelmores has a status as a challenger firm – they are taking on the big boys in the capital!” But its “well-established name in the South West” is also as relevant as ever.As training principal Alexandra Watson puts it: “We’re a regional firm with a significant and growing presence in Bristol, London and Cheltenham. We continue to deliver high-quality work for both national and international clients.”

“I like that Michelmores has a status as a challenger firm – they are taking on the big boys in the capital!”

The rolling hills, cathedrals and stunning coastline of the West Country certainly offers a departure from the hustle and bustle of London Town, and it houses the vast majority of the firm’s trainees, with the bulk split between Exeter and Bristol. Michelmores’ London office takes only a handful each year, but there is scope for trainees in Bristol and Exeter to get a taste of London too. Chambers UK has Michelmores top of the class for infrastructure across the UK, alongside top-tier nods in corporate M&A, litigation and agriculture & rural affairs.

The Seats

Practice areas at Michelmores – referred to internally as ‘departments’ – are split into three distinct categories: private client, real estate, and business. Trainees submit three seat preferences each rotation, along with a few lines explaining their choices. The training principal and HR department will then allocate seats a month before they start. While a first choice can never be guaranteed, “you can definitely flag it up if you have a particular area of interest coming into the training contract.” As one trainee put it: “Communicate things clearly and you will get the seats you want!”Secondments are available to another of the firm’s UK offices. For South West trainees getting a taste of London life, the firm hosts a flat (a 15-minute walk from the Liverpool Street office) where trainees can live rent-free. As one trainee confirmed: “You can come up for six months – all bills covered.”

Michelmores’ corporate offering covers both the buyer and seller sides of corporate transactions. The trainees we spoke to talked about work drafting “shareholder agreements, ancillary documents, board minutes, company house filings, SPAs and helping on things like option schemes.” One newbie noted that the seat “really helped me understand whether I wanted to be a contentious or transactional lawyer.” So what can you expect from the transactional side of the coin at Michelmores? According to our sources, a “fast-paced and demanding” environment with a “degree of unpredictability.” The firm’s clients include premiership rugby club Exeter Chiefs, clothing brand Seasalt, and Planet First. We also heard the group works closely with an external platform made up of angel investors called Mainstream. As one trainee explained: “We take applications from startup businesses and entrepreneurs with a business plan” before “inviting them to events that are held every few months to initiate investment and to act as a networking facility for investors in the South West.”

Michelmores’ real estate team is split into two branches – transactional and SPREE (Specialised Real Estate and Engineering). The latter covers “a broad area” within the realm of “construction, planning, environment and property litigation.” The transactional side includes private property and landed estates, which means working on the buying and selling of high net worth residential properties. In short, “country houses and big mansions!” For the current crop, it also meant “working for landlords and managing lease portfolios.” The rest of the work in the seat is made up of “typical landlord/tenant commercial property work, interesting environmental work, BNG credits and residential development.” Typical trainee tasks included “planning permission applications, drafting, land registry filings, and looking at stamp duty and land tax.” Commercial clients of the team include national brands such as Holland & Barrett in addition to local companies. One recent matter saw the firm act for Cornwall-based St Austell Brewery on its acquisition of Bath Pub Company, alongside the sale of a portfolio of 17 pub premises.

“…lots of client contact with very little admin work.”

Real estate isn’t the only department at Michelmores where trainees will brush shoulders with high net worth individuals. As one source explained, “so does our family team.” Michelmores’ family department covers the likes of “divorce, and the associated financial proceedings surrounding children, prenuptial agreements and co-habitation agreements.” Of course, at such a sensitive time in clients’ lives it does come with a word of warning: “You get to see everything, which is interesting but sometimes distressing.” Work in the seat consisted of attending client meetings, helping to draft witness statements and preparing bundles for court. The current cohort described it as a “real mix,” but the main selling point was “lots of client contact with very little admin work,” including conferences with counsel and the odd hearing.

Trainees highlighted that commercial and regulatory disputes at Michelmores often throws up defamation work – with clients ranging from American businessmen and Russian farmers right through to local “chaps” in Exeter. The bread and butter of the seat, however, is commercial litigation, involving “standard contracts, company disputes, public law disputes, professional negligence, financial services insurance and fraud.”

Trainee Life

London-quality work but without the intense hours? We’ll have a bit of that. Work-life balance was heavily praised by our interviewees, and while some late nights were required on particular matters, logging on at 9am and an empty office at 6pm seemed the norm. As one trainee confirmed: “I was told to go home and get a life – and it was only 6pm!” Asked for their thoughts on salary relative to those hours, trainees couldn’t find any complaints. Described as “competitive” and “generous,” the general consensus was that “it’s good pay for the hours. We don’t do those nine-midnight hours that some of the larger firms do.”

“I was told to go home and get a life – and it was only 6pm!”

When it comes to remote working, trainees are expected to be in three days a week with Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays being the most popular, though it’s likely each team will organise their very own anchor day in which team members are expected to be present. If ever an incentive was needed to push for greater office attendance, the office spaces themselves were described by newbies as “overwhelmingly positive” and “great places to work.” Exeter remains the firm’s largest office, situated “just off the M5” and therefore “well located for commuters.” The “brand new” Bristol office is located inside a Grade A building at 10 Victoria Street, with the London location having recently expanded into a “really beautiful office.”

The culture at Michelmores was described as “genuinely very encouraging and collaborative” by trainees, something they put down to the absence of comments like: “I’m so busy, please go away and stop talking to me!” from more senior lawyers. “I’m quite sensitive to changes in culture,” one told us. “If it was super competitive I’d really struggle! The openness and approachability combined with supportiveness is great.” This translates to the social scene at the firm too, with events like quizzes and office get-togethers, right through to clay pigeon shooting, mini-golf and horse trekking! There are also football, netball and cycling teams on offer. The Michelmores ball is traditionally held annually at Winslade Manor (google it!), whilst monthly Thirsty Thursdays are hosted to give the whole firm the chance to catch up somewhere in town over drinks.

Inclusivity is “definitely on the firm’s agenda,” with trainees quick to highlight how Michelmores had been putting this into practice – from an LGBTQ+ society to events for Black History Month: “We recently had comms go out regarding Ramadan and annual leave requests for Eid,” along with the provision of a multi-faith prayer room. Interviewees noted the importance of the firm’s mental health initiatives, heavily utilised particularly as the dreaded darker months of the year approach. But supervisors are there as a point of call at all times, as well as being on hand for “regular feedback, coffees, and weekly catch-ups” in order for trainees to “utilise the knowledge they have” and deepen the training contract experience.

On top of team-specific and firm-wide onboarding training, the firm hosts ‘Elevate knowledge sessions’ – knowledge-sharing sessions open to all trainees, apprentices, graduates and NQs regardless of department. Everyone is encouraged to attend, and they usually consist of discussions about recent cases and major news points, in addition to work-tailored workshops related to research, negotiating, drafting and reviewing documents. Alongside these sessions, we also heard of LinkedIn masterclasses on offer, and Michelmores invites external organisation Leading Minds to deliver sessions on things like adopting a growth mindset, stress management and building softer personal skills. As a part of the firm’s pro bono work, each office is paired with a charity partner, such as Fear Free in Exeter – a charity offering support for victims of domestic violence and abuse in the South West – and St Peter’s Hospice in Bristol, an organisation that provides care and support for those living in the city with life-limiting illnesses.

When it comes to qualification, “conversations will start fairly early,” before a job list is released, where trainees can apply with a CV. While more than one applicant for any given position will necessitate an interview, but “you can qualify into a seat you’ve never done before.” The general consensus was that it was a “straightforward” process, where the firm was open and transparent about trainees expressing a particular interest, aiding with applications, and informing trainees on their offers. The firm retained 7 of 8 qualifiers in 2024.

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Spring Assessment Day deadline: 31 January 2025

• Summer Assessment Day deadline 2 June 2025
• Vacation scheme deadline (2023): 17 February 2025
• All applications open: 30 September 2024

Initial screening 

Michelmores offers up to twelve training contracts per year. Trainees will join the firm in either its Exeter or Bristol office. Trainees will also have the opportunity to complete a 6-month seat in the London office if having chosen to do so.

Those who pass the initial screening are the ones who demonstrate “a real passion for law and Michelmores through their general knowledge and previous work experience, whether that be legal or non-legal” partner Benn Richards tells us. 

Many of the firm's trainees have links to the South West, though Benn Richards assures us this isn't a prerequisite: “We are looking for candidates who are committed to a career at Michelmores and there are opportunities for our trainees to qualify into our Exeter, Bristol and London offices.” He goes on to tell us: “We're full service, so we're consciously trying to maintain a diverse trainee intake with lots of different backgrounds and strengths who can add to our culture, help us grow and want to build a career with us.” 

Vacation scheme 

Michelmores “probably leans slightly towards favouring people who come from the vacation scheme,” Benn Richards reveals. “That's because we have a longer amount of time to see what a candidate is really like and they have longer to find out about us.” 

The firm usually receives around 400 applications for its vacation scheme and invites around 250 to video interview & the psychometric testing phase with Amberjack. Those who pass this stage are invited to an interview with HR. “At this stage, we want candidates to relax and show us who they are and why they're passionate about law,” Benn Richards says. “We also like it when candidates can demonstrate a strong work ethic.” (So don't relax too much.) 

Following this, recruiters choose the vac schemers – there are typically 20 spots in total, however this isn't a fixed number. The firm runs two paid week-long schemes during the summer. You'll be paid the Real Living Wage during your time with the firm. Candidates spend their visit in a single team, shadowing various team members and completing real legal tasks. Throughout the week, candidates complete a group presentation and this will be presented back on the last day. “A lot of people treat this like some kind of 'Apprentice'-style task, but we're actually looking for much more subtle leadership qualities,” confides Benn Richards. “We want people who speak with authority and can persuade others to see their point of view and overall enjoy working collaboratively.” 

During the week, vac schemers complete a scenario and strength-based interview with a member of HR and a partner, this is an opportunity for the firm to find out more about you, your strengths and natural tendencies as well as look for your commercial awareness and problem solving skills. “You need to be prepared, of course,” says Benn Richards, “but we don't intend it to be particularly intense.” The firm's current trainees backed this up, with one telling us: “Mine was just an expansion on my initial application; there wasn't anything out of the ordinary.” Benn Richards has this advice for impressing: “Find out which partner will be interviewing you and then tailor your answers to that person's practice area – it'll show that you treat their work seriously. Or tailor your questions to the assessors, again showing you've done your research.” 

Direct applications

Michelmores generally receives 400 direct applications for a training contract. This involves the same online application and video interview. From here, successful applicants are invited to attend an assessment day. The assessment days include a group task, written exercise, an article discussion with a partner on a commercial topic and a strength and scenario-based interview with a partner and a member of HR that focuses on a candidate's commercial awareness and ability to match certain competencies.