Gateley Legal - True Picture

Gateley Legal training contract review 2025 

The Firm 

“Gateley’s strongest selling point is that it wants to look after employees, and make sure everyone is thriving and meeting their potential,” went one trainee’s glowing review of the firm. Indeed, Gateley being “a firm that promotes a culture where we want to see each other succeed” was the running theme of our interviews with trainees. That being said, the firm has plenty of other features that make it stand out from the crowd, one of which being the fact that it was the first to list on the London Stock Exchange back in 2015. Gateley’s unusual status as a listed firm, alongside its acquisition and integration of other businesses, appealed to our interviewees: “I liked that that Gateley was a PLC, as I thought it would be a bit different.” National training principal Stuart Evans confirms, “we’ve tried to differentiate ourselves from the market by offering more than just legal services. The cross-pollination between our legal and business services is something our trainees see as a real positive.” 

“… a firm that’s big enough that it matters, but small enough that I matter, too.” 

Though headquartered in Birmingham, Gateley has offices across the UK, and one in Dubai. According to Evans, “we’re geared up as national units across all our departments, pretty much, in terms of how we measure performance. It’s all geared towards cross-office working where possible.” The firm’s strong regional presence attracted many of our interviewees, one of whom mentioned that “location was a big draw for me. Gateley has a strong office presence in the regions, so you don’t just feel like you’re at an offshoot from London.” Meanwhile, another felt lucky to come across Gateley as “I wanted a firm that’s big enough that it matters, but small enough that I matter, too.” 

It's important to bear in mind that Gateley has a “very property-focused training contract.” This makes sense given that the firm places well in the Chambers UK guide’s real estate rankings across the country. For one trainee, “what drew me to the firm initially was that it’s very much focused on real estate, and that aligned with me and my interests.” However, the firm also scores highly in restructuring & insolvency and banking & finance in the Midlands, with additional recognition in corporate/M&A and employment in the East and West Midlands. 

The Seats 

All Gateley trainees must complete a contentious, corporate and property seat, meaning that the whole training contract is quite structured. One trainee initially “wasn’t that keen” on having such a structured experience but explained that, “now I’m in my fourth seat, I realise I actually needed all of those.” Available seats vary between offices, with larger offices predictably having more seats on offer. There’s no formal seat allocation process; instead, “everyone is asked their preferences, then you’re told where you’re going two weeks before you rotate.” Fortunately, we heard that “they take your opinions into account more in your second year. Everyone I know has got every seat that they wanted for their third and fourth.” Client secondments are also available across offices; opportunities include various London banks and a stint with Manchester City.

The residential development unit, or RDU, is “supposed to be a one-stop shop, all the way from land acquisitions to planning applications.” As a result, trainees here “get to see the whole process,” which can involve site visits, Land Registry applications, research, due diligence and putting reports together for clients. Insiders felt that it can be “a bit of a high-pressure seat as RDU is a big money-maker for the firm, and one of its biggest national departments.” For example, Gateley is advising the Langley Consortium on a £1.5 billion development on the outskirts of Birmingham, which will consist of 5,500 new homes, four new schools, a district centre and two local centres. Though the matters can be huge, responsibility for trainees is “handled really well. The firm likes to see what you can do, so trainees are trusted to handle matters as much as they can.” As the work is so localised, there’s not much collaboration between offices: “RDU is split across the country into acquisitions and site set-up, and each office has its own territory, so to speak.”  

“You’re a real part of every transaction…” 

Gateley’s corporate department seems to cover it all, from “traditional” M&A to private equity and beyond, with different offices having their own specialisms. The department is one of the largest at the firm, and “a lot more collaborative and fluid,” according to trainees. On one of its recent matters, the team helped Watches of Switzerland acquire the businesses and assets of 19 luxury watch showrooms, including five Ernest Jones boutiques. For trainees in the seat, “you’re a real part of every transaction, so you can build your confidence by dealing with clients and drafting slightly meatier documents as well.” Newbies still start off their seat with the classic corporate trainee tasks, such as drafting ancillary documents, creating due diligence reports and managing documents. This meant that sources felt they were a key part of “a lot of interesting matters.” 

For one interviewee, bankingwas “a very nice unifying seat as it taught me a lot of skills that I could use in other seats.” We heard the banking team is “often brought in last-minute” to handle the financial side of corporate deals. For instance, the team recently advised Franchise Brands on its approximately £200 million acquisition of Pirtek Europe. There are also a whole host of household names in the books, such as HSBC, Santander and Lloyds Bank. Beyond this, trainees get to work on real estate and debt finance matters, as partners have a variety of specialisms: “You really do get it all, and get to work with such a wide range of banks and clients.” Insiders also praised the broader team for “knowing what we’re all doing every day and making sure that pockets of capacity can get filled. They’re ultra-organised in banking.” Additionally, trainees are invited to client events and get to work with their colleagues in other offices. 

“It’s the kind of work that really makes you feel like a lawyer.” 

Trainees in construction do both contentious and non-contentious work so, “depending on your skillset and areas of interest, you can get involved across everything the team does.” A lot of the contentious work is essentially “dealing with the fallout from Grenfell,” meaning the team gets involved in remedial works contracts and fire safety-related issues. Interestingly, the department works for all of the top ten housebuilders in the UK, and 18 of the top 20. One source felt that “it’s the kind of work that really makes you feel like a lawyer. When we’re suing someone, I get to write that letter!” Another trainee working on a contentious case mentioned, “I’ve been involved at every single stage. I get real responsibility when it comes to the day-to-day handling of matters, so I feel like I’ve been an active participant throughout.” On the transactional side, trainees help draft, negotiate and review contracts, and also advise clients and handle admin. Sources praised the variety of available tasks for trainees, and likened the split between contentious and transactional work to being “almost like English versus maths. Corporate is like maths as everything has to be right, but drafting a witness statement requires a completely different approach. Either way, I’m happy!” 

Interviewees were quick to emphasise the high level of responsibility and client contact on offer in real estate: “I was trusted to progress my own transactions by the end of the seat.” The matters are quite varied, and include refinancings, commercial leases, and telecoms leases, which are particularly common in the Leeds office. In London, on the other hand, the team advised on the underlease of a commercial glasshouse facility and reservoir site to a UK supplier of fresh produce to supermarkets – that’s certainly a tasteof variety! Trainees on real estate matters typically liaise with banks and are invited to meet clients. Partners have all sorts of specialisms, meaning that trainees can have varying experiences of the seat depending on their supervisor. One insider who sat with multiple supervisors even went so far as to say that this variation “made it feel like a different seat!” 

Trainee Life 

Insiders found that “the hours are really, really good, and work-life balance is prioritised at Gateley,” with trainees generally logging off between 5.30 and 7pm. Some later nights can be expected when matters heat up – particularly in banking, we heard, which can have “intense” busy periods – but this comes with “no pressure to work on annual leave. They take the wellbeing of trainees very seriously, so there’s no expectation for you to bring your laptop on holiday in case they need you.” Trainees did feel that their salarywas slightly lower than other regional firms but said that “it’s fair for the work-life balance.” 

“You can get to know other juniors who aren’t trainees.” 

Although any firm can say its culture is unique, Gateley can indeed make a strong case for this due to the integration of its subsidiary businesses, which often work alongside lawyers in the firm’s offices. These businesses “bring different personalities with them and I think that helps. There are different people here, not just lawyers bouncing off each other.” Another trainee appreciated how these businesses provide an opportunity to “meet lots of people, and you can get to know other juniors who aren’t trainees. It’s great to see they’re expanding the business and client offering.” 

Each office has its own distinct vibe, too. Birmingham was recently refurbished, and the Manchester office is currently under renovation because “they’re taking pains to try and make sure people enjoy coming into the office.” Gateley trainees are expected in the office four days a week, and there are plenty of social events waiting for them when they do go in. There’s a social club or committee in each office, and Birmingham’s Brum Club has a whole range of “drinks trolleys, Valentine’s crepes, Lunar New Year noodles, and a big event every year. There have been barbecues and rounders tournaments!” 

All trainees are encouraged to take part in their office’s CSR committee as a way to get involved in office life and meet people outside of their teams. They are also allocated two days off per year to do volunteering “of any kind. It could be with our office charity, a bigger charity, litter picking, or anything.” Diversity & inclusion has been a big focus at the firm as well, especially considering, “we’ve just had a new D&I officer start and she’s really pushing it. She’s heading up all of the initiatives across all of the community groups.” These include the firm’s LGBTQ+ group, Pride, Unity for cultural heritage and ethnic diversity, and Agility for people with more diverse medical issues. 

All seats start off with one-week of induction training, which is run by dedicated professional support lawyers in larger teams. Smaller teams, meanwhile, “are a bit more hands-off, and you get some materials to read.” There’s also specific soft skills training for newbies, which covers topics such as self-confidence and management. A recent drafting workshop was “absolutely fantastic” according to insiders, as it was “helpful to see the basics of drafting laid out by someone who’s been doing it for 30 years.” 

Trainees were generally happy with their supervisors as well, and relationships can vary depending on the team and person. For instance, some receive assignments directly from and work closely with their supervisors, while others interact primarily through social events and appraisals. These are reportedly “more of a chat and catch-up to see how you’re getting on and how you can improve. Most of the time it’s really positive as any potential issues are raised before the reviews take place.” 

“In an industry that can be quite scary, this is just a really nice place to be.” 

Interviewees emphasised the importance of communicating interest in qualifying into a particular department throughout the training contract, since NQ openings are decided based on interest and business need. The jobs list comes out in spring, and then qualifiers apply for roles and interview. Insiders said that the process is “generally pretty seamless, provided you have those conversations with supervisors early on.” Gateley kept on 21 out of 25 qualifying trainees in 2024, and insiders were also optimistic about their long-term prospects at the firm: “I can definitely see myself staying at Gateley for 10 more years at the very least. I can’t imagine working anywhere else as the culture, work-life balance and people suit me so well. In an industry that can be quite scary, this is just a really nice place to be.” 

How to get a Gateley training contract

APPLY HERE 

Training contract deadline: 31 January 2025

Vac scheme deadline:  31 January 2025

Application and assessments

Aspiring Gateley trainees should apply for vacancies by completing an application form via the firm's website. This lets them specify the office where they would like to be based. 

Vacation scheme applicants who make the shortlist are then invited to attend a half-day assessment over Easter. This involves some group and individual exercises, plus an interview with HR and a partner. This interview covers the candidate's application form and the reasons why they're interested in the firm. During the scheme, students complete a presentation exercise and undergo another interview. 

Vacation scheme 

Vacation schemes take place in June and July. Schemes are run in the Leeds, Manchester, Reading, Birmingham and Nottingham offices. Each summer placement lasts one week. 

Vacation schemers spend their visit in a single department where they “tackle genuine work rather than irrelevant tasks,” recent trainees told us. As one reported: “I drafted a letter to a client and later found out the team had included part of my work in the final version.” Vacation schemers also attend presentations from other departments to get a sense of what's happening across the firm. 

Trainee profile

They have no set A-Level or undergraduate degree requirements. Relevant work experience is desirable but not required. According to our sources, networking and business development are “a huge part of the job.” As such, candidates need a decent level of commercial awareness and familiarity with how the firm runs from a business point of view. 

Finally, an eagerness to get stuck in – to legal work or CSR initiatives alike – is necessary. Check out Gateley's Talking Trainees blog for more advice on how to stand out.