Fox Williams LLP - True Picture

Fox Williams training contract review 2026

The Firm

If the process of securing a training contract was a game of bingo, you’d want to fill your bingo card with a set of experiences tailored to you. It’s likely you’ll want high quality practice areas, a strong culture, hands-on experience, a work-life balance, satisfying pay, and more. Admittedly, it’ll be hard to tick off everything on your card, though not impossible.

Enter Fox Williams, who insiders praised, first and foremost, for having “a lot of weight for such a small firm with expertise you’d only expect from somewhere bigger.” Training principal David Butler echoes this sentiment, reflecting, “I think we compare very well to our market competitors.” The previously mentioned specialist nature of Fox Williams is also something Butler heralds, with shoutouts to departments’ work in fashion, tech, and employment. The cherry on top? “We’re the lawyers to lots of other law firms, which is usually a good sign of our quality,” he adds.

“It’s been second to none in proper hands-on legal work.”

Our colleagues over at Chambers UK very much second the firm’s talent, featuring the firm for over ten department rankings, including for partnership, regulatory & commercial travel, corporate/M&A, employment, claimant group litigation, real estate, and financial services, for example.

“There’s lots of wide exposure to different kinds of work,” one source beamed, “it’s been second to none in proper hands-on legal work.” Butler also backs the firm’s culture and explains that for Fox Williams, the training contract is just the start of something long-term: “it may be a cliché – but we’re not just looking to hire for a training contract, we’re ultimately looking for future partners, so we hire around that.”

The Seats

Trainees can pick from the firms six departments when it comes to seat allocation. The departments on offer include real estate, employment, financial services, dispute resolution, corporate, and commerce and technology. Although some of our interviewees did not have a say in where they landed for their first seat, we did hear that times are a-changing: “they’ve started asking for your preference for that now, so long as there’s no business need for a trainee to be in a certain seat.”

Now, the process runs like this: Trainees ask for a first and second choice, and they will eventually get that first choice. Ultimately, fourth seaters nearing the end of their training contract get “first dibs” when it comes to selection time, but regardless, all our sources were happy with the seats they ended up in.

The employment group handles contentious and non-contentious work on both sides of the employer/employee coin. Sources noted it’s a “fast-moving area of work which keeps you busy,” highlighting the Labour government’s employment law updates as being just one of many reasons for this. Thankfully, this resulted in a diverse seat for our interviewees, who got to take a stab at a range of matters from “drafting a policy on eyesight testing for employees, to doing advisory work for people that are on long term sick leave.”

Juniors reported often getting to work on tribunals and investigations matters. “I absolutely loved it,” one source summarised, “you get such a good mix of experience.” The nitty gritty of the work trainees were involved in included disclosure, preparing bundles, advisory work, drafting settlement agreements, drafting members agreements, wrongful dismissal claims, particulars of claim, and research tasks. Newbies also get to prepare witness statements, which a junior relished: “it’s fun because you get to be part of piecing a story together.”

“I was fairly involved with managing the transactions behind the scenes.”

The corporate group covers everything you would expect from a department of its type including M&A, investment rounds, securities, advisory work, and public takeovers, for clients across the financial services, technology and professional services sectors. As an example, the firm recently represented medical communications agency Co-Lab Global on its sale to polk+ Assembly, a healthcare communications platform.

For trainees specifically, we heard the seat could be “quite technically complex,” which meant there was much to be learnt. As a result, sources noted that the responsibility they received here was a tad lower than that in their other seats. “That just comes with the territory,” they reasoned.

This doesn’t mean trainees are left to their own devices, however. Typically, they’re tasked with emailing clients, compiling documents for a deal, drafting board minutes, sending out DocuSigns, drafting ancillary documents and carrying out doc review, and project management. “I was fairly involved with managing the transactions behind the scenes,” one junior revealed, “it’s quite a busy seat usually.”

Described as the “broadest team in the firm,” the commerce and technology department encompasses everything from the realm of travel, IP, fintech, data protection and general commercial. Naturally, this leads to “very varied” work, with the firm serving clients along the likes of Superdry, SharkNinja and Superdrug. In one such example, the team defended Blockchain Game Partners against Ladbrokes Betting & Gaming in a High Court claim for trademark infringement.

On such matters, typical trainee tasks include drafting licensing and agency agreements, collecting evidence, preparing witness statements, submitting applications to the court, preparing terms and conditions, and research. “It was quite a research heavy seat,” one trainee noted on the latter task, “I did a lot of preparing general terms and conditions for clients and researching the requirements for their operations in different jurisdictions.”

Financial services is also a seat juniors are likely to find themselves in at one point or another and features three subsets including as banking, contentious, and regulatory. We hear trainees could work across all three groups and see such clients as fintech and banks. “It’s a super varied seat,” one newbie told us, “there’s a lot going on and its really cool work.”

The real estate team mainly represents corporate occupiers, landlords and retailers. In describing the sorts of clients this team comes across, one trainee quipped, “If they have a big building in London, trust that we’ll do the leases for them!” A recent example of the group’s work involves its representation of Africa Speciality Risks (ASR) in acquiring Part 3rd Floor, 88 Leadenhall Street from a US asset manager. The firm also advised ASR on the building’s refurbishment and plant overhaul.

Juniors were pleased that the seat meant they “got to work closely with partners and work on residential matters” and were exposed to a variety of tasks. These included drafting leases, running SAT (Sales and Agreement to Transfer) decks, land registry work, SDLT (Stamp Duty Land Tax) calculations, emailing clients and drafting ancillary documents.

Due to the nature of the matters, newbies explained that the seat “has a lot of set tasks because each transaction follows a similar structure.” Luckily for our sources, the amount they were involved in those transactions increased over time with one insider explaining, “The more you do, the more that they give you work to help move the transaction along.”

Trainee Life

While on the job training clearly plays a major role in the development of trainees, the firm also hosts a range of formal training sessions. The consistency of these varies between departments, with the corporate and employment groups in particular receiving shoutouts from sources for being the most consistent with sessions. At the start of every seat, partners will also give newbies a broad overview of the kinds of work that the group does and the context of the team within the firm.

Similarly, supervision styles vary from partner to partner, and trainees noted it’s very much dependant on what you make of the relationship. But overall, we heard supervisors were “hands-on without being overbearing.” Formal catchups occur monthly, but there’s “always at least one extra pair of eyes” on everything you do.

Located in Moorgate, opposite Finsbury Gardens, juniors praised the office for its ideal transport links and the fact it’s “a lively place to be in the heart of the city.” Newbies also noted it’s a great place for “meeting clients and blowing off steam.” Split across two floors, the one floor is comprised of private offices while the other is open plan: “It’s a really nice green space, and it’s open and bright.”

In terms of in-office perks, trainees can munch on free fruit and a breakfast bar every day and are provided a free lunch on Tuesdays. There is a free gym in the building, however we heard that “it’s fairly small and can get quite busy in there.” The firm has an expectation of three days of office attendance per week, and there were no qualms from sources in response: “I like coming in, I think it’s easier to learn that way.”

“A generally friendly atmosphere, with people who are approachable at all levels.”

Reported hours varied amongst our insiders, with some noting 6.30pm finishes were the average. Others mentioned regular 9pm logoffs, with the occasional 11pm finish. Luckily, the salary proved to be somewhat of a sweetener to those hours, with one source highlighting, “It went up this year – I think we’re paid pretty well!”

When asked about the culture of the firm, one newbie headlined, “It’s probably the strongest part of the firm.” This was largely attributed to the flat hierarchy and close-knit trainee cohort, with one junior describing it as “a generally friendly atmosphere, with people who are approachable at all levels.” Being part of a growing firm was a positive experience for our interviewees, but there were those that did signal this could result in a cultural shift: “I do think we’re growing quite quickly, and that can lead to things changing and it being more difficult to get to know people.”

Still, the firm’s social and charity committee will ensure there are plenty of social events to get involved with to meet and greet employees across the office. Previous events included bowling, theatre trips, a Seven Sisters hike, quiz nights, pizza making classes, and even a Jack the Ripper guided tour. “The firm pays for the events, and then we can donate to their charity of choice for the year,” one newbie explained, “so, we get to see each other outside of work quite a lot!” Outside of the committee, the firm has various sports teams, a book club, and the occasional after-work drinks to get involved with.

Qualification was hailed for being an easy process: a few months before the end of the contract, trainees speak with HR and a jobs list is revealed. At that point, our interviewees made their intentions known to the departments they were interested in (a maximum of two) and decisions were made not too long after. “I know them, and they know me,” one junior astutely put it, “so it makes sense that they should know if they want me or not!”

The only complicating factor is if multiple sources go for the same role, an interview takes place. Clearly, the firm is eager for its trainees to succeed, as one rookie highlighted, “I know the managing partner will come and congratulate us all individually when we qualify!” In 2025, Fox’s managing partner had the honoured task of congratulating (and retaining) 5 out of 5 qualifiers.

How to get a Fox Williams training contract   

Training contract application window: December 2025 –  January 2026 

Training Contract Application 

Applications for Fox Williams' training contract runs from the beginning of December through to late January, with applicants required to complete three competency questions to progress. Legal experience is not essential, but the firm does like to see applicants with applicable rounded experience and varied interests. Applicants are also expected to have received at least a 2:1 at degree level and the equivalent of ABB or above at A-Level. 

Vacation Scheme 

The firm’s vacation scheme is part of the training contract application; applicants who are selected from the assessments after the initial application are invited to the vacation scheme. Typically, 10-15 applicants attend a one week in-person vacation scheme in summer, or three days in spring/autumn.. Those invited on the scheme are tested on presentation skills, and are given written and technical questions to answer as well as a partner interview. Much of the scheme also incorporates various interactive learning sessions about the firm’s partners, sectors, and what it is like to be a lawyer at the firm.

Trainee Profile 

Fox Williams prides itself on the opportunities trainees are given for “close work with partners, high profile work, and client contact from the start – it’s a city firm with great culture from top to bottom.” Partner, Mary Elliott, tells us, “we really believe in autonomy of career – people who may not completely know where they want their career to go but are open to opportunities.” A combination of varied opportunity and flexible autonomy is key to developing a keen legal eye, but trainees must also bring character to the table. Elliott stresses that “here we expect trainees to be thinking, “how can I do the best job? What can I get out of it?” It’s having that confidence to do what you’re told to do but also to see what you’re going to get out of it and what you can give to the client.” Ultimately, applicants should consider that “this is a profession, it’s a career and not just a job – it is academic, practical, and relationship led.”