Ashurst - True Picture

Ashurst training contract review 2026

The Firm

In today’s world, it feels like there’s no choice but to be constantly connected to everyone (and everything). In fact you, the reader, are currently connected to the words appearing on your screen.

The thing that makes even the ability to read this possible, which often goes unnoticed, is one word: Projects. A lot of this work relate to the energy sector, but telecoms, road and rail infrastructure is big business too. This sort of work is, in a lot of cases, funded through public-private partnerships.

If there’s one firm that knows a thing or two about this, it’s Ashurst. In Chambers UK, the firm excels in this sphere of matters including domestic projects; telecommunications; transport(rail); infrastructure; energy & natural resources (oil and gas & renewables). But beyond that, the firm picks up marks in just shy of 50 departments, other notable nods go to mid-market banking & finance, competition law, construction, and real estate in the City.

With that in mind, our interviewees were drawn to the firm because it is “quite prestigious in the work it does and where it stands in the world.” It’s clearly having an impact long term too, as training principal Ruth Buchanan tells us, “People want to come here and stay, which is really special,” noting that what helps this is the firm is constantly “looking at the horizon and beyond, recognising that innovation is a continuous process.”

“The overall culture of the firm really stood out to me, everyone is super supportive here.”

But it's not just the global work of this international firm that brings in trainees, as one source enthused that “the overall culture of the firm really stood out to me, everyone is super supportive here.” Buchanan is keen to emphasise that support as well, revealing “we do it all from the ground up, trainees can be supervised by any level of the business, and we try and encourage the trainees to be involved in as much work as we can.”

The Seats

Trainees can put in three to four preferences per seat rotation, and we heard “you usually get one of those, if you don’t then you’re prioritised next time.” Of the options available, trainees must complete a finance seat and a transactional seat, and sources warned that “a lot of seats can be oversubscribed, so that’s not ideal.”

Both client and international secondments were on offer, but we heard the former have to be filled and are a priority for the firm. Client secondments usually consist of a placement at a bank, while the international offices up for grabs include Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Paris, Madrid, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.

The projects & energy transition group is one of Ashurst’s landmark practices and encompasses everything from project finance, development, M&A, energy and renewables, and public and private rail. “Every deal that I’ve worked on so far has been different,” beamed one newbie, “it’s a great team to be a part of.” As one of the larger groups at the firm, the team boasts eight or so trainees at any given moment and insiders noted the group is “growing all the time.”

In one of the firm’s longstanding matters, the team has been advising the Lobito Corridor project, the most geopolitically significant project currently being implemented across the world. Connecting the areas of South-East DRC to the port of Lobito with a 1,300km railway line, the firm has been advising on this project since 2022.

Interviewees couldn’t contain their excitement around the exposure they were getting, with one exclaiming “there is all sorts of work for me to test my skills at.” Typical trainee tasks include drafting of banking documents, email correspondence with clients, joining various calls, leading CP checklists, and incorporating comments. “I’ve been given more opportunities as the seat goes on,” one source explained, “it’s been great, and I’ve been trusted with a lot of things.”

The global markets team is broken down into a selection of sub-teams including debt capital markets, securitisation, corporate trusts, and derivatives. “Trainees are available to all subgroups,” one source revealed, “they really want to diversify your experience while you’re here.” That being said, if you wish to, you can “lean into where you’re allocated” and focus your work on one area.

For those interested in debt capital markets for example, the firm has advised Tritax Big Box REIT on its all-share acquisition of UK Commercial Property REIT Limited leading to the formation of the fourth largest UK REIT of its kind. The matter was valued at £6.3 billion.

Typical trainee tasks include running black lines, incorporating comments, drafting termination notices, keeping track of emails, bundling documents, copying cross changes, and FCA listings from the stock exchange. “They’re not afraid of letting trainees speak to clients on the phone either,” one interviewee was eager to relay. As the seat is a particularly technical one, don’t be dismayed if “so often you don’t have the answers” as the seat is “well-structured and has a big focus on skills building throughout.” Insiders were more than pleased with the balance of responsibility, as well as their growth during the seat, with one newbie laughing that “you barely know how the IT system works when you join, but now I’m sending off emails left, right and centre.”

“They want you to feel and act like a lawyer from day one.”

The real estate work at the firm is divided between three groups: real estate general, construction and real estate planning. Clients are “such a varied mix” and include large developers, investment banks, private sector clients, and smaller individuals. “You’re involved at every level of a deal,” one rookie explained, “responsibility is verging on being the perfect balance if I’m honest!”

The general group takes on licenses to alter, new leases, and other classic matters you’d expect to pop up in a group of its kind. The firm represented Unibail-Rodamco-Westfiled in relation to their redevelopment of over 2,500,000 square feet in Croydon to create a new mixed-use town centre. The matter is valued at an estimated £1.4 billion.

Trainees got involved with tasks such as reports on title, closings of processes, dealing with the land registry, negotiating with the other side, due diligence, and drafting leases. “Real estate is really good because you’re trusted to run with things on the smaller matters,” conveyed one trainee, “it’s been a really valuable experience.” This sentiment was echoed across our interviewees who fed back that “they want you to feel and act like a lawyer from day one.”

Trainee Life

How hands-on supervisors can be varied from person to person, but trainees found value in both. “It’s been great for my development because there’s been a lot of feedback and ways to improve,” laid out one source with a particularly attentive supervisor. While on the other end of the spectrum, a junior noted “we have formal catchups every week, but they’re quite good at letting things be and I can reach out if I need to.” Although training sessions are present both in the form of a week of induction training and department specific training, insiders described the training contract as more “hands-on learning” through day-to-day tasks.

The “modern and clean” five-story office is located right by Spitalfields market which our sources relished thanks to its bustling food options and prime commuting prowess. On the third floor is the Exchange, a subsidised café that provides free lunch on Mondays and on Thursdays it converts into a bar where trainees are treated to two free drinks.

The office also sports a gym studio in the basement where trainees can take part in yoga and spin classes. There is an expectation to be in a minimum of three days, though the firm can be flexible on this, with one source highlighting “people are generous if you need to stay home for a specific reason.” A nice joining perk is that you get £250 for your IT needs at home.

Hours fluctuated by group and workload, but the firm looks after those that are burning the midnight oil (sometimes literally) as one newbie told us that “if you work after 7pm, you get some Uber Eats vouchers and you get an Uber home for free.” If trainees needed any other reason to tolerate the late nights, then the pay on offer would be it. “I assume I’m overpaid to be honest,” one source joked when talking about their recently increased compensation, “I don’t know how much higher it can really get.”

“You’re encouraged to get to know people and make connections.”

On the culture, sources were happy to report that everyone at the firm are “just generally good eggs,” in a welcoming environment where “you’re encouraged to get to know people and make connections.” We heard the trainee cohort is especially close with lunches and after work drinks being common within the group.

In addition to that, the firm hosts an annual trainee ball, as well as a Christmas social, bowling, table tennis, pickleball, and various sports teams. “They tend to recruit relatively normal people,” one junior said with a sigh of relief, “everyone is out to support each other and that makes a difference I think.”

Generally, the firm’s push for an inclusive workplace was positively remarked on, with insiders musing “it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. We come because it’s a socially inclusive environment and that encourages people with those traits to come here.” The diversity of the firm was also cited as being a “clear area that the firm is committed to improving.”

Pro bono work was also “prevalent” for our insiders, who told us that the firm “actually encourages pro bono across all levels.” Juniors got involved with legal advice clinics, asylum cases, and education work. “It’s massive and I’ll say it’s almost part of the culture of the firm,” one rookie divulged, “there’s something for everyone here.”

Qualification was said to be “fairly standardised,” leading to a level of transparency that juniors appreciated. Once the jobs list is released, the number of vacancies per department are not revealed to make sure that won’t impact trainees’ decision making.

After that, it’s broadly just a case of submitting a CV, and although we heard a group or two require a further stage, for the most part “we’re not heavy on interviews generally.” Insiders commented that a notable number of partners were once home-grown talent and that just served to encourage their career aspirations at the firm: “It’s a great place to work and it rewards you to stay here.” In 2025, the firm retained 30 or 38 qualifiers.

How to get an Ashurst training contract

Winter deadline: Friday, 12 September 2025 at 12 noon  

Summer deadline: Friday, 12 December 2025 at 12 noon 

Training contract deadline (March & September 2028, March 2029): Friday 27th March 2026 

Applications and interviews 

Around 3,000 candidates apply for the 40 training contracts Ashurst offers each year. The first step to landing the job is completing an online application form. This is the same for both vacation scheme and straight-to-training-contract applicants. Once submitted, you will receive an invitation to complete online psychometric testing.

Those who impress are invited to an assessment centre, which takes place virtually and lasts approximately one hour.  The candidates are given documents to read through and have to respond to a scenario. There may be a lot of reading material, but remember that part of the task is to see how well people manage their time. 

The next stage is an invitation to attend the office where you will have the opportunity to quiz current trainees, have an office tour and complete an interview with a member of the early careers team and an Associate/Senior Associate.  The interview includes competency-based questions, scenario questions and tests your commercial acumen.  However, if you are a direct training contract applicant, the next stage will be an interview with two partners focusing on behavioural and scenario-based questions and also includes a commercial case study. 

Vacation scheme  

Ashurst runs two vac schemes annually: a week-long placement that takes place in December; and one three-week placement over the summer. The winter scheme is designed for finalists and graduates from all degree disciplines; the summer scheme is aimed at final year students and graduates of all degree disciplines, as well as penultimate year law students. 

The only major difference between the winter and summer scheme is that participants on the former only sample one department during their visit, while summer schemers try out two. Both placements include presentations from lawyers across various practice areas, networking sessions with trainees and numerous social and team building events. 

Vac schemers undergo a training contract interview at the end or following their placement. This is conducted by two partners and takes the same format as the final interview direct training contract applicants complete on their interview day. 

How to wow 

Ashurst requests a 2:1 degree (predicted or already achieved) from prospective trainees. The firm also uses a contextual recruitment plug-in, which enables it to calibrate disadvantage and to measure out performance. The competencies the firm looks for are: analytical ability, commercial instinct, communication skills, teamwork/interpersonal skills, flexibility, determination and drive. Think you tick all the boxes? Then please do complete your application by the relevant deadline. 

Prior work experience tends to stand candidates in good stead, and this doesn't necessarily have to be in the legal sector. Any type of experience that has helped someone develop the skills needed to be an effective lawyer will be appreciated.

Interview with Ashurst training principal, Ruth Buchanan

The Firm

Chambers Student: How would you describe the firm? How would you describe its position in the market?

Ruth Buchanan: Obviously, I’m biased as I’ve been here nearly 20 years! It’s a very competitive market, and there’s lots of great firms out there but one consistent point you’ll hear about Ashurst is around our open and collaborative culture and environment. That's spot on: people want to come here and stay, which is really special. The other standout point, and one that is very topical, is the innovation piece, and how we're continuing to leverage cutting-edge technology, GenAI and innovative approaches to better serve our clients and our people. For example, in June 2024, we rolled out Harvey globally. There's no hiding from these technological advancements, especially in a rapidly changing modern world! We're looking at the horizon and beyond, recognising that innovation is a continuous process. It's exciting to see and it’s definitely an exciting part of a trainee's legal career now.

The Training Contract

CS: How would you describe the training environment/culture that you have aimed to create at the firm?

RB: I think one of the things we hear through feedback is we have smaller cohorts than magic circle firms and they value that because they get to know their cohort really well, and you get more access to more client-focused work as the cohort is smaller. We do it all from the ground up, trainees can be supervised by any level of the business and we try and encourage the trainees to be involved in as much work as we can. We have a three day a week model at the firm, and we’ve found that people value that time with each other. When they move team to team they have specific training in addition to their induction training, so you’re not too dropped in the deep end!

Applications & Recruitment

CS: What sort of person thrives at the firm? How can a candidate really impress at interview?

RB: Look, the process of becoming a trainee is tough and I have every respect for the people applying – it's not easy! The people that perform best are the ones that are well prepared. We’re not testing for legal skill, we’re seeing if they’re commercially aware, if they have a grasp of what’s going on in the world and how that may affect the legal world. Be prepared to answer the questions you’re being asked as well. My top tip is to listen and also not come across like you’re reciting a prepared speech. 

CS: And finally, do you have any advice for those thinking about pursuing a career in law? Either at your firm or more generally?

RB: Don’t give up! It is challenging, but once you get through that application process then the moves within law are quite straightforward. It’s an intense process and feels overwhelming but what I say to the trainees who have a set idea of what they want their career to be is it’s so important to keep an open mind, there’s always great opportunities. Also, definitely do a secondment if you can, doing a client secondment was one of the best things I’ve done in my career. For long term career wise, the client secondment is critical.