Mills & Reeve LLP - True Picture

Mills & Reeve training contract review 2025 

The Firm 

Mills & Reeve’s headquarters may be based in London, but it’s far from being a city slicker. In fact, only just this year did the firm welcome its inaugural cohort of London trainees. Outside of the capital, this congenial outfit’s got strongholds across Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester, Norwich and Oxford, slotting in comfortably within the leagues of the national players. Despite its already well-established presence up and down the country, Mills & Reeve aren’t ones to sit back either. As training principal Caroline Dean puts it, “We’re ambitious and looking for growth, and we use our sectors to help with that.” 

The firm’s certainly got a lot to show for itself with it comes to sectors. Chambers UKbestows the highest of praise on a smattering of practices across the firm’s offices. In East Anglia in particular, M&R gets three cheers for its agriculture & rural affairs, banking & finance, construction, corporate/M&A (£5 million and above), employment, IT, IP, litigation, planning, professional negligence, real estate and real estate litigation teams, while nationwide, it’s the firm’s education, healthcare and mental health (providers) work which takes the cake. M&R’s family/matrimonial practices are also noteworthy, receiving top-tier recognition across Cambridge, Leeds, London and Norwich, while the firm’s professional negligence teams in the Midlands and the North West are also some of the best. There’s still more on this front, but you’ll have to head over to chambers.com for the full picture – we’ve got a word count over here! 

“…somewhere that prioritised a good work-life balance…” 

With so many practices on offer, trainees cited an equally abundant number of reasons they were drawn to the firm. The most common reason we heard, however, was the promise of a more agreeable work-life balance. “I wanted to work somewhere that prioritised a good work-life balance and culture, and somewhere I could still have a life outside work,” said one interviewee. For those wanting to get as many fingers in as many pies as possible, the firm’s six-seat training contract structure was another key draw. 

The Seats 

With six four-month seats on offer, newbies are able to gain exposure to a number of departments throughout their two-year stint. The final seat of the training contract is usually spent with the department trainees hope to qualify into. Seat allocation for the rest of the training contract involves scheduled check-ins with the graduate recruitment team who will “ask how we’ve found the seat so far, what we’ve liked and not liked, and if we have any concerns.” 

Real estate is one of the seats on offer across the firm. Different offices have different focuses, however: Birmingham has a health and education sector focus; Norwich largely works on mixed-use development schemes, acting as property support on mergers and acquisitions run by the corporate team; while Norfolk’s got a knack for the management of leasehold properties “as a lot of the firm’s historic clients have been big local landowners.” To say the team’s got range would be a bit of an understatement; the group works with Trinity College Cambridge and the University of Salford in the education sector, and also recently advise the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom on the relocation of its headquarters to a new space in Manchester city centre. The tasks relating to this variety of matters can involve running the data room on bigger deals, or “producing notes to pre-empt the other side’s enquiries when it’s a really complicated techy site with various bits already built on.” Of course, there are also the standard drafting and research tasks. 

Employment was another seat trainees enjoyed, with interviewees explaining work here covers both the healthcare and education side of things, as well as more commercially focused work. As such, clients here include the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, the University of Sussex, and the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons. In a recent matter, the firm also dabbled in the entertainment industry, acting for Odeon Cinemas in an employment claim brought against them. 

As is apparent, the team deals with both contentious and non-contentious work, so there’s certainly plenty for trainees to get their teeth into. On the contentious side, responsibilities can include drafting responses, helping with disclosure, sitting on client calls and assisting with witness statements. On the more advisory side, interviewees spoke of getting stuck into a bit of contractual drafting involving policies and handbooks for employers. With big changes to employment law brought about by the new government, trainees also shared that there’d been plenty of advisory work to do assisting clients with navigating the changes. This often involved “lots of client calls with my supervisor to run through the changes and reforms,” one interviewee detailed.  

Over in the regulatory, public and commercial disputes department (or just commercial disputes for short!), matters relate to healthcare, government, projects and procurement. “As the title suggests, there’s lots of different things encompassed within one seat,” an insider highlighted, “In our office, the team is relatively small so you’re doing quite a lot of stuff for other offices too. It’s a really broad spectrum of work.” So broad, in fact, that clients here range from the Education Authority of Northern Ireland to Tate & Lyle Sugars. Typical trainee tasks on matters involve things like drafting witness statements and helping to prepare court documents. Newbies are also regularly responsible for taking attendance notes, “which is really important as you’re often attending meetings with various parties involved, and you need to keep a record of who said what!” Work here ranges from being research-based to client facing, involving meetings with clients to discuss strategies and sending letters of advice. 

Mills & Reeve’s insurance seat was described by interviewees as “a bit of a niche area.” The work here is contentious, “so you’re dealing with insurers, and they also represent all of their insured clients… and we represent both!” a trainee unpacked, “It’s a really, really unique seat in that you’re reporting to two clients instead of just one.” Tasks here include giving instructions to counsel, liaising with counsel before hearings, preparing bundles for hearings and doing disclosure work to ensure that the team meets any court deadlines. A source also shared they’d written a few reports: “After we’d found out something about the case or had a hearing, we had to report back to the client, the insurer and the insured on merits and costs, what we expect costs will be and whether we think we should mediate or settle…” Trainees also shared that they’d be able to attend court for mediations, participate in case management conferences and join application hearings. 

“…a real effort to get all trainees involved in the big sexy deals…” 

Over in the firm’s corporate team, the department carries out a wide range of mid-market work, including M&A, venture capital, funds, private equity and capital markets matters. This variety was clearly a hit among our sources, who appreciated that “you can take work from across the team, so one day you’re doing funds work, the next you’re doing venture capital – I could pick up work from anywhere!” Working on these different matters often included drafting tasks, with a trainee sharing that they “would draft all ancillary documents for a transaction – shareholder resolutions, board minutes and the forms you have to file at Companies House.” Newbies are also tasked with drafting emails of advice to clients, as well as joining client calls and taking on a few project management tasks. Interviewees were big fans of this level of involvement. “It can be quite easy to leave the trainee at home manning DocuSign,” one laughed, “There’s a real effort to get all trainees involved in the big sexy deals that are going on – you’re not just confined to the little bits that make partners’ and senior associates’ lives easier!” Speaking of big deals, the firm recently advised Vox Ventures on a $6.2 million investment in Flash Pack Travel, a travel company specialising in trips for solo travellers.  

Trainee Life 

Now, we often hear a lot about work-life balance here at Chambers Student. Trainees at Mills & Reeve felt they’d balanced the scales well when it came to matters of work and life, and they came with the examples to prove it. Hours were described as “very manageable,” insiders explaining that it’s rare for them to be in the office later than 6.30pm: “There are times I’ve been in the office at 7pm during my real estate seat, and my supervisor or a partner would say ‘What are you still doing here? Go home!’”  

“…Mars bar curling, throwing paper plates or pinging elastic bands at a bullseye target.” 

Interviewees were also eager to note the firm’s well-balanced social calendar, too. Alongside a number of social events and sports teams to get involved with, the firm hosted their own mini-Olympics events, inspired by Paris 2024. “It’s a firmwide competition where the offices compete against one another, but they’re strange events like Mars bar curling, throwing paper plates or pinging elastic bands at a bullseye target,” an insider laughed. There’s a leaderboard for the competition across the offices, and at the time of our interviews, we heard things were “getting quite competitive…” 

It's safe to say this competitive streak doesn’t weave itself into the usual fabric of the firm’s culture. “I was thoroughly amazed when I started that the firm 100% lives up to the image it portrays – and it portrays an image of being really supportive and approachable,” an interviewee gushed. Sources attributed this culture, in part, to the open plan layout of the firm’s offices: “I often just sit next to a partner and can turn to them and ask them any questions.” As for in-office time, the firm’s hybrid working policy asks trainees to be in 50% of the time over a two-week period. While some teams like real estate and employment were reportedly in more regularly, trainees were content with the approach: “People are trusted to do what works for them!” 

Moving onto the topics of supervision and training, interviewees were keen to note, “The supervision’s great, and it feels like they’ve put a lot of emphasis on developing junior lawyers’ technical skills.” As well as offering practical help with tasks, “supervisors will always contextualise things and put them into perspective in the deal, so you understand why you’ve done the documents,” a trainee explained. As is becoming a bit of a running theme at Mills & Reeve, trainees praised the range of different lawyers they’d had the opportunity to work with: “When you’re working with all of these really good lawyers and observing their styles, you take on a lot of those tips for yourself.” As well as a supervisor in each seat, each of the firm’s offices has a trainee principal and a training principal. The latter is responsible for overseeing training, while the former acts as pastoral support for trainees. 

Salary was another plus point for trainees at Mills & Reeve, who were content with the amount they were receiving in relation to the hours they were working. While it was acknowledged that salaries were slightly higher in certain cities, sources agreed that in relation to the cost of living, it all made sense.  

“…get to grips with what your NQ role is going to look like.” 

As for qualification, a jobs list is released in March detailing the available NQ positions by department and office. Trainees then have a week to apply for the jobs they’re interested in by sending an email to the graduate recruitment ream. An interview is only required in cases where there are a number of people interested in the same position. Sources were appreciative of the fact that the process kicks off a little earlier than at other firms, meaning trainees are able to spend their final seat in the department they’re going to qualify into. “It helps you get to grips with what your NQ role is going to look like,” we heard. And it seems to certainly help with retention too: in 2024, the firm retained 23 of their 25 qualifying trainees.

How to get a Mills & Reeve training contract

Vacation scheme deadline (2025): 1 January 2025 (opens 7 October 2024)  

Applications   

Mills & Reeve offers around 30 training contracts a year and recruits all its trainees via the summer vacation scheme.    

Over 2,000 candidates usually apply for roughly 60 vacation scheme spaces. The graduate recruitment team tell us that the firm is looking for applicants who are driven, and have a positive attitude, an agile approach and the potential to be an excellent future lawyer.   

The firm uses the Rare Contextual Recruitment System in its application process to identify high-achieving candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds. It has also worked with recruitment firm Amberjack to redesign its selection process, to ensure it recruits diverse trainees with the key competencies to be excellent future lawyers. 

Assessments and interviews   

Candidates submit a basic online application form and then take an online blended assessment via Amberjack. The online blended assessment explores applicants’ motivations for joining Mills & Reeve, their thinking style and abilities to embrace change and creatively problem-solve. They will be asked a mix of situational judgement questions, verbal and numerical reasoning questions and one long answer question. 

Although the firm does not recruit on a rolling basis, candidates will be invited to take the assessment within two weeks of applying so are advised to not submit their application until they are ready to take the assessment.  

Around 120 candidates are invited to an assessment centre, which consists of a welcome talk, group exercise, written exercise, individual presentation and an interview. There is also an opportunity to meet some of the firm's current trainees over lunch to learn more about the role and the firm.  Following the assessment centre, the firm makes its vacation scheme offers. It will then select its future trainees from those who attend the summer vacation scheme.  

Summer placements   

The firm runs summer vacation schemes and offers training contracts in 6 out of its 7 offices – Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, London, Manchester, and Norwich.  

Each vacation scheme lasts two weeks and candidates receive £400 a week for participating (£450 if in London). Over the course of the fortnight, they sit in four departments, receiving “a good flavour of the range of things you might do as a trainee,” according to sources.   

During their visit, vac schemers undertake a mix of live work and set tasks. “Everything I did was constructive, decent work,” recalled a current trainee, while another recounted how “they really invested in me by taking me along to client meetings and getting me involved – when I came back two years later the partners remembered me!”   

Each vac scheme features a handful of social events and candidates are encouraged to socialise with current trainees to get a feel for the firm and its lawyers. A recent vac schemer shared: “I had an amazing week! The work was challenging and interesting. Everyone I met at Mills & Reeve was genuinely warm and welcoming, and I finished the scheme feeling very excited for my future career in law.”  

There are no more formal assessments during or at the end of the vac scheme and the firm makes training contract offers following a candidate’s performance on the vac scheme. The graduate recruitment team advise approaching the vac scheme as an opportunity to show that you’re willing to learn and make the most of the opportunity you’ve been given. They don’t expect anyone to know the law inside out, so are really looking for enthusiasm, a good attitude and the core competencies to be an excellent future lawyer.