RPC - True Picture

RPC training contract review 2026

The Firm

There’s no disputing it, RPC deserves some ResPeCt on its name. As trainees were quick to point out, it is one of those firms that, while categorised as a city firm, is “frequently on the other side of bigger magic circle or US firms.” For the current cohort, this meant that it hit the sweet spot, not being “too stuffy or taking itself too seriously,” while still guaranteeing top quality work.

“…frequently on the other side of bigger magic circle or US firms without being too stuffy or taking itself too seriously.”

RPC is something of a specialist in insurance and disputes work, with top-tier Chambers UK rankings in the likes of professional negligence in London and banking litigation, defamation and contentious tax UK-wide. But don’t let the firm’s strength in these areas fool you into thinking that RPC is yet to break into the commercial space. The firm also boasts top acknowledgments across commercial contracts and media and entertainment publishing nationwide, as well as corporate M&A in London. Trainees are split between the offices in London and Bristol, with London taking on the majority, but the firm also offers seats in Hong Kong and Singapore, perfect for those looking to kickstart a cross-border career.

The Seats

Seat allocation at RPC differs depending on which office you are based in. Although trainees can put forward three preferences for seats they want to do, in London, trainees have to put down one insurance, one disputes and one corporate and commercial seat. There are also opportunities for a client secondment, to companies like Meta and Frasers Group, which can pop up at any point in the training contract. However, the firm’s two international secondments to Hong Kong (commercial) and Singapore (insurance) follow a slightly more fixed process. Here, trainees fill out an application form outlining a business case for them to go. 

As the largest disputes team at RPC, commercial and banking litigation, as you might expect, brings in some of the biggest names on the firm’s client list. Remember the Epic Games x Google dispute that has made headlines over the last couple of years? Well, RPC is conducting the defence in the claim that Google had abused its position in the Android app distribution market. While the scale of the clients is fairly consistent, the industries they come from vary. The group acts on disputes involving anything from audit firms to cryptocurrency providers.

Of course, on some of the high-profile cases: “the level of responsibility can vary; in these big cases you can be doing paralegal level work like copy and pasting, proof reading and printing,” but this can evolve over the course of the seat depending on the matter and your experience. On the banking side, the work often revolves around companies and financial institutions who have taken legal action against banks, but regardless of where in the practice trainees find themselves, the more typical tasks include preparing bundles for court and reviewing documents.

“You’re definitely jumping in at the deep end, but that busyness pays off…”

Professional and financial risk covers negligence cases of various kinds: “It’s an insurance seat, with trainees typically working on solicitor’s negligence, interacting with and giving feedback to both insurers and insured clients,” one insider explained, the value of which “can range from a few thousand to a few million.” The firm’s client list includes the likes of financial services provider Allianz.

Trainees told us that “you’re very involved in the matters as you get the opportunity to work directly with the claims handlers and insurers,” producing quarterly reports on their progress, drafting, research and bundling – “so the standard trainee fare.” We also heard that along with this, trainees get to go to mediations and “loads” of hearings in and out of London, so “there’s a lot going on. You’re definitely jumping in at the deep end, but that busyness pays off with the variety and the experience that you get.”

Another department that technically falls under the firm’s broader insurance offering is construction. The group’s work is focused on developers, which can mean defending them in claims related to issues in their developments. In one recent example, the firm represented McLaren Construction in defence of a claim arising from alleged defects in the floor slab of a commercial warehouse in North London.

As trainees, “you usually get to go to at least one mediation, which is like a game show – you get pictures of buildings that have gone horribly wrong!”but the day-to-day was typically spent instructing experts, “which is a lot of client contact with calls with those experts, making notes and trying to translate what’s going on.”

We heard that IP and technology is an especially popular seat at the firm. The team is slightly smaller in Bristol,but both offices split the stint into either an IP or a tech focus, with trainees allocated to either side, “but you can do a bit of both.”

The tech side tends to be larger, with larger teams needed to keep pace with the flow of tech clients: “It’s all hands on deck,” one told us, “trainees are supporting associates in their role more than anything, with a lot more admin on the tech side.” Trainees also help with filing correspondence, drafting witness statements and letters – again, “more on the administrative side for the bigger cases, but they’re always getting you involved to build your knowledge through mediations and hearings.”

The IP side involves “a lot more novel aspects like interrogating information and research,” typically for standard IP disputes. Clients in the practice include big brands like Coca-Cola, Sports Direct and the Women’s Super League. In one recent case, the firm advised cryptocurrency exchange Kraken in its defence against a passing off claim in the English High Court.

While media teams might fall under the more ‘niche’ practices at other firms, that’s not the case at RPC. The team works with some of the most high-profile names you can think of, from Google and Youtube to Vinted and Warner Music. The team also advises Jet2 Holidays on all its advertising and marketing campaigns (for all you Jess Glynne lovers out there). In fact, advertising and marketing is something of a speciality for the team, and the firm even co-authors the legal textbook ‘Advertising Law and Regulation’ published by Bloomsbury.

Shouting out Chambers UK, one trainee told us “it’s no surprise it’s a Band 1 practice – the quality of work is amazing, and really interesting.” Even more beneficial at the junior level, however, “you’re the only trainee, so you get a lot of exposure. You’re prepping bundles, taking attendance notes, costing budgets for upcoming hearings, liaising with counsel, and prepping documents for barristers, so there’s variety.” We heard that most of the team is defendant-focused.

Trainee Life

RPC’s trainees were buzzing about both the firm’s offices. The London office’s location, we heard, “is lovely because it looks over St Katharine’s Docks, slightly outside of the city,” while the Bristol office received praise for being “right by Bristol market, so you can get hungry watching people eating food!” When it comes to home working, “they want everyone in” so trainees usually go in multiple times a week.

Additionally, our interviewees felt that the benefits of going into the office made it well worth the trek, particularly with the open plan system making it easier to interact with senior associates and partners. “Work doesn’t necessarily come from a supervisor because there’s a resource management team,” one told us,but trainees are given a partner and senior associate as supervisors in their groups: “They take more of a pastoral role, so you can chat through any issues with them. Honestly, most of the time meetings turn into general chatter!”

“…it looks over St Katharine’s Docks, slightly outside of the city.”

Although most of the learning is done on the job, for more formal, structured training, RPC operates an online learning platform called AmP (Ambition for our people) where trainees can pick up online lessons and modules to support their practice understanding. In Bristol “everyone is expected to do ten one-hour modules on insurance lawbecause insurance is big here, and you just fit them in where you can.” Some practices also put on live webinars going through the basics of the work, and the firm has brought in external counsel to hold talks.

“The general vibe depends on the team you’re in,” one interviewee told us, explaining that while “some teams are really friendly, some aren’t quite as social. So, it really depends.” At any rate, our sources were, for the most part, very positive about the approachability of partners and the “overall very chatty, very friendly, very welcoming” environment. “Everyone congregates in the big central kitchen to chat, so there’s a nice communal feel.”

There are also firmwide socials like the annual summer party, as well as Thank You Thursdays and Well-Done Wednesdays, where they bring in caterers and drinks for people to socialise. Trainees told us that “there’s no pressure to go to things if you don’t want to,” but we heard that paralegals and trainee cohorts alike are very close, which gave newbies incentive to show up. RPC provides a budget for trainees each year to incentivise socials, with the funds to put on events through the year.

“…you’re not twiddling your thumbs or crushed under the weight of work.”

Salary was something that trainees were generally satisfied with, but that opinion did depend heavily on the practice. Overall, “starting at 9am and finishing at 7.30-8pm with a couple of weekends is not uncommon,” so not too taxing for city law, and “and they do think of your work-life balance, so they frequently check in and check if you have time.” Our interviewees were glad that “you’re not twiddling your thumbs or crushed under the weight of work,” but again, “hours vary massively by team.”

We were given the impression that insurance teams tended to have a good balance, but that things can get quite hectic with the commercial teams. Insiders have the benefit of salaries rising to £85k in insurance and £95k in disputes, corporate and commercial teams in London (£60k in Bristol) when they qualify. Most of the trainees we spoke with felt “it’s a hands-off, no micro-managing” culture, and as such, staying through to NQ level was a goal for them.

Of course, before becoming NQs trainees must pass through RPC’s rigorous qualification process. Trainees must write an application form for each team they want to apply for – “you have to write around 1,000 words for each application, answering three questions, so it’s kind of like a TC application again.” This is followed by a timed assessment for each team you’re interested in, and finally, an interview.

“Some of the interviews and assessments are really technical, so you have to revise,” one trainee told us, “the retention rate has previously been low, so we’re encouraged to apply to more than one team.” Insiders generally weren’t over the moon about the process, but nevertheless they were all keen to stay at the firm, and usually for the long term. In 2025, RPC retained 14 of 18 qualifiers.