Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP - True Picture

Firm profile

With approximately 1,100 lawyers across the US, Europe and Asia, Weil operates according to the “one firm” principle, allowing it to bring the right mix of firm wide skill and local market presence to deliver coordinated legal advice to help its clients achieve their sophisticated goals and objectives.  

Established in 1996, Weil’s London office is the largest of its European offices and the hub of its European practice. The office is a leading player in the UK legal market and is consistently regarded as one of the most successful London offices of a US-based law firm. The firm supports a varied client base of European, US and global private equity houses, corporates and financial institutions on domestic and cross-border matters.  

Weil’s strategy is focused on long-term investment in recruiting and retaining exceptional talent at all levels. The firm’s people celebrate diversity and inclusion, and its award-winning pro bono programme is deeply ingrained in the firm’s culture.

Main areas of work

Weil provides clients with legal expertise at the highest level across its key practices of Private Equity and M&A, Funds, Finance, Structured Finance, Restructuring and Disputes & Investigations, and has been involved in some of the most significant, high-profile and prestigious mandates across all its legal specialisms. The majority of the firm’s work involves multidisciplinary teams across the specialist fields of Competition, Corporate Governance and Compliance, Employment, Intellectual Property, Management Incentives, Pensions, Real Estate, Tax and Technology, leveraging the expertise of its full service capabilities for its clients.

Diversity, equity & inclusion

Equality for all has been at our core since the firm was founded. We honour this commitment through action, to create a culture where our differences are respected, celebrated and valued. We are a workplace of equal opportunity; a workplace in which every member of our firm can bring their whole self to work.  

The training contract

Our training contract is the longest running of any US law firm in London. To excel in your training contract, you’ll need to be hungry for success and determined to take on challenges no matter how big and complex.  

Over the two-year course you will complete four six-month seats, developing expertise and building skills in each area. Being prepared to take on feedback is a must and how you will become an exceptional lawyer.  

While you need to tackle one Corporate and one Finance seat as key practice areas, the remaining seats depend on your own preferences and development needs. This is your career, don’t be afraid to seize the opportunities you want.  

A career at Weil is challenging, technical and requires trainees to work under pressure. We are looking for bright candidates who can use their initiative and who thrive when challenged and when out of their comfort zone. Successful candidates will need to be commercially-minded with plenty of entrepreneurial flair, as well as the ability to work effectively in a team. We are looking to recruit candidates from all universities and degree disciplines. Our academic requirements are a minimum AAB at A-Level or equivalent and a 2:1 degree (obtained or predicted). We review all application forms holistically, which means if you fall slightly short of our academic requirements but demonstrate great potential, you will still be considered.

Vacation schemes 2025

See what you could achieve at Weil and show us what you’re capable of on one of our two-week vacation schemes. You’ll do real work from day one, getting exposure to our practice areas and seeing first-hand how much responsibility our trainees and associates take on.  

We take up to 15 people on each of our vacation schemes. That means you’re accountable and visible, but if you’re ready to step up then it means you’ll have a lot of chances to show us what you can do and get real, lived experience in an elite global firm. You’ll attend talks, workshops and social events to build your network and knowledge of Weil. Throughout the two weeks, you’ll be assessed for a training contract on activities including: a group negotiation exercise, a group client pitch presentation, and real trainee tasks allocated to you by your supervisor.  

You will be guaranteed an interview for a training contract, which will take place during the second week of the scheme. All places at Weil are competitive but the scheme is your opportunity to show us why you’re ready to take your seat and join us at the highest level.  

Participants are paid £750 per week, half of which can be paid in advance two weeks before you join, helping you to book accommodation, travel tickets or buy work clothes.  

Our Spring vacation scheme runs from 7th April to 17th April 2025 and our Summer vacation scheme runs from 23rd June to 4th July 2025.  

Applications for both schemes open on 16 September 2024 and close on 15 December 2024.

Insight days

Attending an insight day is a great way to meet our people and get a better understanding of who we are, what we do and our culture as a firm.  

During the day you will hear from partners, counsel, associates and trainees about life at Weil, as well as receive a deeper insight into our core practice areas. You will take part in a case study exercise, and learn first-hand from Weil’s Early Careers team about their application and assessment process. As well as this, you’ll also get the chance to network with current trainees and ask any questions about the firm.  

Our insights dates run on 23 October 2024 (the deadline to apply is 13 October 2024) and 20 November 2024 (the deadline to apply is 10 November 2024).  

Virtual experience programme

Our virtual experience programme will allow you to gain hands-on experience of the type of tasks a trainee would get involved in while working in our Private Equity, Finance and Restructuring teams. The programme will give you a series of scenarios that throw you into the tasks a trainee will typically take on at Weil. They’re designed to immerse you in some of our practice areas and develop your commercial awareness; something we look for in all successful candidates. The programme is self-paced and open to everyone. Click here to take part.

Virtual & in person events

At our virtual and in person events or at one of our insight days, you’ll have the chance to meet our people, build your network, learn about our culture and ask any questions you have about the application process. Want to get involved? Visit www.ukrecruiting.weil.com/meetus to see the list of upcoming events and how to apply.

Salary, benefits & sponsorship

Trainees start on a salary of £60,000, which increases to £65,000 in their second year, and on qualification will increase to £170,000. In addition to a £500 wellbeing allowance, the firm offers a flexible benefits package which you can tailor to your individual needs.

We offer full sponsorship of the PGDL and SQE 1 and 2 in addition to an annual maintenance grant of £20,000 per year of study.

SQE

We’ve partnered with the University of Law to deliver the PGDL and the SQE 1 and 2 preparation courses and exams, providing law and non-law graduates with the training and continuous development they need to grow. We offer full sponsorship of the PGDL and SQE 1 and 2 in addition to an annual maintenance grant of £20,000 per year of study.

Apprenticeships

Our six-year Solicitor Apprenticeship Programme is your opportunity to get started and grow faster. If you’re an ambitious and driven school leaver, come and make your mark at our leading global firm. Over six years, you will receive an unparalleled foundation in how to develop a career as international lawyer. You will learn your craft inside this leading global law firm from day one, building your experience across a range of practice groups and working directly with trainees, supervisors and mentors to help you develop the critical skills to thrive in one of the most exciting industries.

Alongside learning on the job, you will receive formal training and have protected study time to obtain your law degree as you complete the programme. You will be supported at every stage but we will challenge you to be your best. If you’re ready to step up, this is a unique chance to earn money as you train, forgo student debt and learn to be a lawyer from those who are the very best in their field.

You will spend your first four months in business services to give you an overview of how our firm works, familiarise yourself with working in an office environment and start building your network. You will then rotate through three-to-four fee-earning teams to understand the work we do in-depth and where you might want to specialise.

You will have structured time to study throughout the programme, but after your fourth year you will take eight months out of the day-to-day business so you can focus on your SQE. After completing your SQE,, you will spend six months in three separate teams, and potentially an international secondment. This mirrors our graduate Trainees’ experience. After six years in total, you will qualify as a lawyer at the same level as a graduate Trainee.

Applications close on 19 January 2025 to start in September 2025. For more information click here.

How to apply

To apply to any of our roles and find out more about the firm, visit our website https://ukrecruiting.weil.com/

If you require any additional support throughout the recruitment process, please contact the Early Careers team to have a confidential conversation on 020 7903 1000 or at early.careers@weil.com.