Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates - True Picture

Skadden training contract review 2025

The Firm

Here at Chambers Student, we like to dive deep into firms to understand what makes them a catch for prospective trainees. When we asked interviewees what they were looking for when they were fishing for firms, many were baited by the cohort's size at Skadden: “I didn’t want to be a small fish in a big pond, I wanted work above my paygrade,” one trainee told us. And, with up to 15 trainees joining each year (moving up to 20 in coming cohorts) and around 200 lawyers, the promise of “lean teams on deals” was a big part of the draw. Despite its smaller size here in London (as is common for US firms,) it’s impossible to ignore the firm's global credentials, with 21 offices spread across four continents (North America, South America, Asia and Europe.)

“I didn’t want to be a small fish in a big pond, I wanted work above my paygrade.”

In simple terms, Skadden’s great strength is its transactional offering. The firm bags a top Chambers Global  ranking in multijurisdictional M&A, along with strong rankings for its London-based practices in corporate M&A and banking & finance, as well as private equity and insurance rankings nationwide. In fact, the firm boasts over 100 Chambers rankings from all over the world, complimented by a top-tier international arbitration practice in London. Unsurprisingly, the sheer scope of the firm’s work drew trainees from far and wide: “I liked the mix of transatlantic work, and with lean teams, I knew I would get better access to great work.”

The Seats

When they first join, trainees rank the 13 seats available to them. Given its prestige, “you have to do a seat in corporate as it is the powerhouse of the firm.” Trainees felt their preferences were mostly respected but noted that second-year trainees are generally prioritised, a natural process for most firms. International secondments are based on business need, but recent jet-setters had been to the firm’s big New York office, along with Hong Kong and Brussels. Secondees found the process to be “fairly individualised” consisting of open conversations with partners and continued support from HR long after they had arrived in their temporary international base.

As one source put it: “Corporate is the bread and butter of what Skadden does!” The large corporate group covers M&A, capital markets and private equity work (right at the top of the market too, according to Chambers UK). “People can do anything, but as a trainee, you tend to get more experience in the work that comes from above you” explained one junior. On the M&A side, work covers public and private work, not only in the UK but cross border in the US too. According to trainees in the seat, the day to day can consist of things like “project management - which is super common but allows us to have exposure to the deals and be trusted with details,” or “drafting non-disclosure docs and research for the best provisions.” Examples of the typical Skadden merger work includes advising the UK-based EG Group on its £2.27 billion merger with Asda and, from across the pond, Danaher Corp on its $5.7 billion acquisition of Abcam, a service that provides life sciences research solutions. But more broadly, “there is a lot of research work because Skadden has interesting clients who are doing things that have never been done before, making the work rarer, which is cool to me as a trainee.”

“Skadden has interesting clients who are doing things that have never been done before, making the work rarer, which is cool to me as a trainee.”

Within the broad corporate sphere, private equity is another seat where trainees can cut their teeth in the corporate world. “It is a growing team, and you can tell that the partners are hungry to have that constant deal work, so there is never a dull moment,” one told us. Recent examples include advising I Squared Capital on its acquisition of Arriva (transport giant) from German railway company Deutsche Bahn AG. The team also advised Hg on its longstanding investment into IRIS Software by Leonard Green & Partners (an LA based private equity firm). Daily life in PE is said to be filled with a lot of email communication with the client and initial drafts for documents: “Don’t get me wrong, my emails and work are reviewed, but I am not just siloed after my first draft. I am heavily involved.” While some felt they were flexing on friends at other firms (“my friends at other firms say: ‘You do that?!’ when I tell them what I am up to!”), the more typical trainee tasks were still a part of the private equity experience: “Project management is important, so you can produce work stream updates and client updates.”  Responsibility seekers were thrilled to report that “I felt like I got my hand on all sorts of tasks of a junior associate standard.”

On the contentious side of the coin, litigation & arbitration provides trainees with an opportunity to “get involved in top of the market work, so it is so fun to be a part of those matters.” Recent matters include the representation of five trustees in a complex multijurisdictional case before the Bermuda, Hong Kong and US courts. The firm also represented a tech company in a litigation matter with Meta over the alleged scraping of Facebook data. We heard that legal research and document review was a big part of trainee life, as well as drafting pleadings, court correspondence and billing and budget expectations so “the responsibility in this team is no joke.” Due to lean teams, trainees benefitted from the exposure of sitting next to an associate: “While some work may be too senior for trainees to be involved in, I still had a lot of exposure and support whilst doing the groundwork for those matters.”

“It’s Skadden. You get responsibility early on.”

Another seat option that sources were quick to highlight was investment management. Despite being a comparatively smaller team, trainees were happy with the benefits that came with it: “With any deal or matter, trainees work directly with the associate and partner responsible for it.” One of the teams' partners Greg Norman got a shoutout for his support, with a trainee telling us that “despite it being a complex area of law, I learnt things very quickly through his mentorship.” When it came to workload, the general consensus was that “It’s Skadden. You get responsibility early on.” Typical tasks included project management, first drafts of transaction documents and sorting signature packs. Others enjoyed liaising with local counsel and writing letters and/or emails to clients. Recent work that has cropped up in investment management included representing B-Flexion Fund Management and Kedge Capital Fund Management on the $450 million sale of a portfolio of secondary interests.

Speaking of smaller teams making a big impact, Skadden’s IT, IP, technology & cybersecurity team was a standout. Like investment management, size matters here: “The small size of the team means trainees get really stuck into things,” one trainee explained. We heard your standard due diligence tasks are part and parcel of life in the seat, but there was plenty more on offer besides. As one pointed out: “I was drafting IP assignment agreements and privacy notes.” Trainees were eager to tell us about the level of innovation in the group, particularly around Skadden’s focus on AI initiatives: “Skadden represents some big technology companies, so it is exciting to look at what is and isn’t acceptable as they move into the AI sector.”

Trainee Life

Of course, “you don’t join a firm like Skadden under the pretence that you are going to be working a 9-5” explained one trainee. During quiet periods, trainees could finish between 5pm and 6pm but we heard that in busier periods that can reach the early hours of the morning. That said, the general consensus was that extra hours were “greatly appreciated” by teams: “People do feel bad if you have to work late, but everyone is in the same boat closing the deal, so you aren’t left alone as a trainee to handle everything.”  Trainees were quick to note that weekends are respected, and “I am not chained to my desk, I can go home and log back on if needed.” The firm's current remote  working policy is that trainees are in the office four days a week with Friday as the day most work from home.  Talking money, “Skadden’s salary is certainly on the upper end of both trainee and NQ salaries, so you can’t knock it for that!” The firm’s benefits such as health insurance and gym allowance also kept the trainees happy (and healthy).

“We are learning from some of the best people in the field.”

When it came to training, “you are thrown in the deep end and definitely not mollycoddled.” But this was appreciated by the cohort: “It sets you up well for when you become an associate.” That’s not to say that trainees aren’t supported either. Practice group training in seats like private equity consisted of weekly sessions around navigating the deal process and other technical skills in transactions. As one trainee told us: “Even something as simple as email training shows that the firm is eager to build up the best candidates for qualification from the bottom up!” Supervision had also been a positive experience for the majority of our interviewees. One highlighted: “I have got along so well with my supervisors that I would now consider them my friends,” while another noted: “I asked a question in the late evening once and my supervisor took the time to answer which I appreciated.” Alongside regular feedback sessions, “we are learning from some of the best people in the field.”

“I did think that when I started a training contract, I would have no social life for the next two years! Boy was I wrong!” noted one newbie. The current cohort mentioned everything from coffee chats, after work drinks and networking breakfasts to annual summer and Christmas parties. The firm’s affinity group events were highlighted as another social avenue: “There was recently a LBGTQ+ quiz which was really fun and well attended!” Interviewees stated that the firm hires intentionally to maintain that Skadden culture. One told us: “The firm loves someone who has a good story and comes from a diverse background,” whilst another said: “Skadden wants people who can take responsibility for what they are working on.” Ultimately, “you are working with team-orientated and career driven people.” And, with the four day in office working policy, in-person collaboration is said to be key.

Pro bono is an integral part of Skadden, with lawyers in the London office spending 15,000 hours on pro bono work in 2023. “This is a massive encouragement to do pro bono work” noted one trainee. The wide variety on offer got a thumbs up from the juniors too, with nods to the firms housing, immigration and family work.  “I attend family court once a month to give court instructions and advice in front of the judge,” one trainee explained, “navigating the family court system is hard, so it helped me develop my skills.” On the often underrepresented transactional side, we heard about work with charities where trainees support them in writing up start up contracts: “It is amazing for young lawyers to stand on their feet and advocate, which is rare in billable work.”

As qualification looms, qualifying trainees will have already been communicating with teams about availability: “You make an effort by reaching out to the heads of department to show interest and understand if there is a place for you,” remembered one qualifier. The process kicks with a declaration of preference alongside a 300-word summary explaining their choice. The process was described as “individualised” due to the smaller cohort: “Partners are going to remember who you are.” Popular qualification destinations vary year on year. The cohort were encouraged by the firm’s retention rate: “It is so high, and everyone typically got their first choice. We only lost trainees if they went elsewhere but Skadden did try to accommodate.” The firm did not disclose its 2024 retention figures.

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Vacation scheme and training contract deadline:  1 December 2024

Scope of recruitment

Future trainees at Skadden need a strong academic record including the standard 2:1 degree, but training principal Danny Tricot is quick to tell us “we don't only hire on the basis of candidates being clever. We also want to see that they are ambitious, motivated self-starters. We typically operate in small groups, so we need people who are happy to be treated like an associate from day one.” He goes on to say, “they also need to work well with others – somebody you'd be happy to work late with on a transaction.” We're told that although the lion's share of applications generally come from a couple of handfuls of universities (among them Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, LSE and King's), this shouldn’t put off those from other universities applying as there is still a wide diversity of backgrounds at the firm. The firm does not accept direct training contract applications; all applicants must come in via the vacation scheme.

Application process

Applications begin with an online form. “Candidates should really tailor their answers,” says Tricot, “we need to get a sense of who you are and why Skadden is the place for you – we can tell when you've applied to 50 other firms with the same copy/paste responses.” He also advises detailing why certain points are relevant. “We often hear about various awards and competitions, but instead of just naming them and saying you came first, tell us what inspired you. Frankly, I don't mind if you didn’t come first – it's about explaining what you drew from it.”

Previous legal work experience “isn't crucial” to land a spot, though Tricot says he is “a bit disappointed” when candidates don't have any work experience at all. “Put everything you've done down on your CV, even if it's shop work or working in a restaurant – that shows you've got a strong work ethic.”

Written exercise and interview

From a total of 1,500+ applicants, up to 250 are invited to the firm's written exercise.

Following from this exercise, the top 120 candidates are invited to complete an interview with two lawyers “In this interview, we want to get an idea of what kind of person you are,” says Tricot, “so we tend to talk about what's on your application form and why you think Skadden is for you.”

Passing these steps is a prerequisite for getting on the vacation scheme.

Vacation schemes

The firm invites 70 candidates to attend Skadden's spring or summer vacation scheme. Each last two weeks, with candidates splitting their time between two departments. Vacation schemers “are treated like trainees, and the work they produce will often be used,” says Tricot. “It's all about giving them an accurate picture of what it's like behind the desk.” Current trainees gave the experience two thumbs-up: “I saw a big difference between Skadden's scheme and the others I went on, where it felt like they were trying to pull the wool over my eyes with cocktails and canapés,” said one. “At Skadden, they treat you like adults from the get-go and don't try to sell you a fairytale. For example, I told a couple of associates I was worried about the hours I'd be expected to do, and they all went straight away to print out their time sheets to show me the reality.”

Candidates also undergo an interview with two partners during the vacation scheme. This is accompanied by a presentation on a current affairs issue. Typically, Skadden offers around 20 training contracts per year, and successful candidates can expect to hear back shortly after their vacation scheme.