Macfarlanes LLP - True Picture

Macfarlanes training contract review 2026

The Firm

If you’re not already a legal sector expert, you might not be aware that it’s not that often that law firms will excel in both corporate and private client law. The two are very different and require different strengths. That said, never a firm to do things by halves, Macfarlanes has worked out a way to seamlessly balance its strengths in both. To cut to the chase, the firm bags top Chambers UK acknowledgements in private equity buyouts and investment funds UK-wide, alongside top rankings in banking and finance, tax and corporate M&A in London.

Despite the significance of the work, our interviewees were adamant that the firm’s small teams and tight-knit working structures ensure there’s no hiding for newcomers: “We emphasise taking on the proper work of solicitors,” training principal Jatinder Bains tells us, “not glorified photocopying or the mundane stuff,” and this was something echoed by the trainees: “The matters are huge, but you can still get really stuck in.”

“The matters are huge, but you can still get really stuck in.”

The Seats

When it comes to seat allocation, about a month and a half before their seats start, trainees select their top three practices from two different buckets. Those we spoke with were positive about the process, not only because most people had been allocated their dealbreaker seats, but also because it meant “you can evolve your interests as you go through the firm – it doesn’t advantage someone who is much more knowledgeable about the world of law, so it’s better for social mobility!” Being able to know what seat you’re joining a month before was also found to be helpful because “you can familiarise yourself with the practice before joining.”

Litigation is the biggest practice at Macfarlanes, and as such attracts plenty of household names including NatWest Markets and Dobbies Garden Centres. For trainees in the practice, “it’s an advisory seat,” generally composed more of admin than direct litigious work. That said, “you’re not posted to a particular area in litigation” so newbies can be working on a good spread of work across white collar crime, private client crime, corporate disputes, real estate litigation, and private client trust disputes, among others.

Trainees told us that there is some autonomy over this “because there are quite a few departments, so you could do something like tax litigation your entire seat,and if you’re unhappy with the work you’re doing they do try to cater for you.” In one recent case, the firm defended Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, in connection with litigation arising from the European Commission’s decision regarding one of the largest ever European Cartel cases. Starting out in the seat “you’re getting up to speed with the case, reading into the matter in your first week” and then moving on to more administrative tasks like filing correspondence, first drafts of a court form, taking minutes, sending weekly updates to the client and taking a look at drafts to the counterparty.

“…actually very crucial because if the documents don’t get signed, nothing happens!”

A corporate seat at Macfarlanes of course offers plenty of the corporate aficionados bread and butter – the likes of private and public M&A, private equity and capital markets work. But as is often forgot about when prospective trainees speak about these practices, there is a significant advisory component, particularly around regulation and potential regulatory issues. Here again, trainee tasks are a generally admin-focused, including the likes of drafting board minutes, letters and organising signings – “actually very crucial because if the documents don’t get signed, nothing happens! I definitely have a good amount of responsibility, I have got involved in negotiations and helped out my supervisor with SPAs.” In one deal, the firm advised A&O on its strategic partnership with leading mid-market private equity firm, Inflexion.

Banking and finance helps to make up the firm’s transactional practices and covers work on both the borrower and lender side. The team isn’t split into different kinds of finance, so “you don’t go straight into something like asset finance or leveraged finance - they encourage trainees and juniors to experience all aspects of the practice, so you get a good spread.” Insiders told us they felt “very much needed,” especially since trainees often run the deal from CP checklist right through to speaking to clients and leading client calls – “the team is very busy, but keen to nurture you wherever someone is willing to take more responsibility.” In one recent example, the firm advised the famous pub chain JD Wetherspoon on a refinancing with 13 banks including the likes of HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds as mandated lead arrangers.

As one of the firm’s headline practices, Macfarlanes’ private client practice falls across disputes, corporate and advisory work, and trainees can seek out work from any partner in the practice. As you might expect, the group represents high-net-worth individuals and family offices on wealth and succession planning, including administrative estate planning, charity work and tax work among others: “You get a lot of exposure to counsel,” one insider informed us, “so you’re attending consultations and doing a first draft of everything; first drafts on instruction to counsel, emails to and from clients and the other side, first drafts of will and tax advice, SPAs and loan agreements.”

“You’re running project management on various matters at once, pushing things along and tracking things…”

The firm’s real estate group covers transactional, commercial, and private client property work, “involving some bigger corporate transactions and some big apartment blocks,” but also on “a lot of buying, selling and lettings of multimillion-pound properties in the likes of Mayfair.” Bigger corporate transactions have included things like advising Investec bank on the real estate elements of a corporate carve-out, with the company selling its wealth and investments business to Rathbones before taking a stake in the company after the deal’s completion.

For trainees, deals like this mean “a lot of heavy work,” which is “generally administrative, but there is a lot of client facing work too and it gives you a good understanding of how real estate works.” The seat usually requires you to manage two or three big matters, supplemented by a number of smaller cases: “You’re running project management on various matters at once, pushing things along and tracking things like land registry applications.” On smaller leases, “you’re pushing them along directly with a client and counterparty, with supervision from a senior.” This also includes drafting leases and first reviews of comments, and “there is also good interplay with the tax and private client teams.”

Trainee Life

Trainees spend their seats working around Macfarlanes’ “uni campus-like” London office, which is split across four buildings. Inside, we heard the office is choc-a-bloc with perks like a free barista (“they remember your name and order!”) a gym with free classes (“with gym staff who help keep you on track!”), and free cabs home after 10pm.If that wasn’t enough, we heard that the real highlight was, in a sense, the people they met along the way! We heard that the trainee cohort “feels like you’re all in the same class” with quite a few socials, both informal and formal.

Trainees get an annual budget for summer and Christmas activitiesand there are a good number of events within teams and office wide as well. While there’s “not much social interaction with partners” and “some departments are more demanding,” all our interviewees were positive about their interactions with fee-earners across the firm: “The associates and partners seem to actually enjoy their job,” one trainee told us, admitting that “they really like to talk about the work, so they’re sometimes too friendly! But it is a great place to train.”

“90% of the training is just people taking the time to explain tasks, give you feedback, and answer questions.”

For training purposes, trainees are expected to be in the office at least four days a week, with people generally working from home on Fridays. As a result, it is pretty quiet on Fridays but “there is generally good coverage from other people coming in,” and even partners have to be in the office Monday to Thursday to ensure trainees have seniors they can interact with in person. To ensure trainees have a direct ear for questions, the firm provides them with a primary supervisor“who gives you work,” and a secondary supervisor who is more pastoral.

“Every trainee is generally sat with one or two supervisors - senior associate, counsel or partner,” one insider told us, explaining that “it’s to learn from osmosis; how they are talking on the phone, how they approach clients etc. Just being inside the room, we learn a lot, and if you have questions you can ask them directly to a supervisor in person.” In this regard, “90% of the training is just people taking the time to explain tasks, give you feedback and answer questions.”

However, Macfarlanes does also offer formal training: “Each department has its own structured training programme for the specific areas of knowledge you need,” delivered primarily by partners, “which is very nice because they have the highest level of knowledge and it shows their commitment to training!” On top of that, newbies also get more general training sessions on things like drafting and speaking with confidence.

Macfarlanes' pretty comprehensive training programme is all geared towards qualification which brings with it a “pretty healthy” salary jump from £61k for second years to £140k as an NQ. Trainees start on £56k, and interviewees felt “that’s fair for the level of knowledge and experience you bring.”  Come qualification time, trainees can apply to as many departments as they want – though they encourage you to apply to two.

Trainees had mixed feelings about the process as, even though the department has to run a formal interview process, this can range from technical and written assessments to discussions over lunch. “It can be hidden behind coffees with associates, NQs, partners,” one insider mused; “I like that each department picks trainees by its own criteria, but that does come with a little mysticism…” In 2025, the firm retained 24 of 28 qualifiers.

How to get a Training Contract at Macfarlanes

Vacation Scheme deadline (2026): 5 December 2025

First Year Insight Scheme deadline (2026): 5 December 2025

Training Programme deadline (2028): 26 June 2026

Events

Macfarlanes hosts its annual flagship events: a virtual practice area open day, a Q&A with their Senior Partner and a dinner with their Senior Partner. In addition, the firm works closely with its target universities and publications, so we recommend keeping a close eye on the firm's website to find out more.   

 “We want students to have the opportunity to meet everyone from our future trainees to our Senior Partner,” says Macfarlanes Early Careers team.

Applications

Vacation scheme hopefuls can apply online. The firm typically receives over 2,500 applications each year. Macfarlanes looks for a predicted 2:1 degree result or above but doesn’t have a minimum A level requirement. If you have extenuating circumstances which mean that you do not meet these requirements, you can still apply and detail these circumstances in your application form. You can also arrange a call with the Early Careers team to discuss further.

The firm advises applicants to “make sure you can talk about us and what we do – in order to stand out you need to show a detailed and specific interest in Macfarlanes.”  

You will then be required to complete an initial online assessment after submitting your application form. The assessment has been designed following consultations with individuals across the firm and is therefore tailored to Macfarlanes and the skills associated with success. You will work through a series of scenarios from various practice areas, designed to test your situational judgement and critical reasoning. It also offers a small insight into life as a Trainee, helping you determine whether a legal career at Macfarlanes is right for you.

If successful, you will be invited to complete a second stage online assessment. The second assessment is a job simulation, where you will join a fictional project team working on a fictional event. You will respond to realistic situations similar to those faced by our trainees, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate your potential in a setting that closely reflects life at the firm.

Vacation Scheme

Around 50% of trainees will have completed a vacation scheme with the firm. There are two schemes – one in spring and one in summer – and each last two weeks. There are around 65 places in total across the two schemes, with pay that matches the London living wage.  

Typical vacation scheme tasks include research, drafting and sitting in on meetings with clients or counsel. “We want students to feel what it's like to be a Trainee,” say Early Careers. Students sit in two different practice areas but also complete a mock transaction alongside practice area sessions. Recent social highlights include mini golf, darts, a networking lunch with the partners and a dinner on the penultimate night.  

Vacation scheme participants have the chance to be assessed for a training programme during their vacation scheme.

Training Programme

“I’ve been told that our application process is tougher than other firms,” revealed Jat Bains. To impress during the application process, Bains said it’s important to demonstrate certain traits: “Obviously we’re looking for brain power, but we also want people who work well with others and who are resilient to the demands of clients. Applicants need to demonstrate commerciality, ambition and a desire to work within the firm.”  

Macfarlanes receives another 1,900 applications from candidates gunning directly for its Training Programme.  It's worth noting that Macfarlanes recruits on a rolling basis to ensure we get the best talent. “We open applications early and screen on a rolling basis to find, recruit and train talented people from all backgrounds” says Aisling Barnes, Senior Early Careers Manager.

The training programme assessment day consists of a partner interview, plus two ‘application blind’ assessments: a written exercise and a business case study.

The interview covers the applicant’s motivation for a career in law at Macfarlanes and a discussion around their application. The other two assessments have been designed to test critical thinking, problem solving, commerciality and communication – both verbal and written.

Those who are concerned about a lack of legal experience can be reassured that the firm sees the value in all types of work experience. “Our application process isn’t a case of who you know or how many internships you’ve done, it’s about personal attributes,” says Training Principal, Jat Bains.