Womble Bond Dickinson UK LLP - True Picture

Womble Bond Dickinson training contract review 2025 

The Firm 

There’s certainly a benefit to having a memorable name. Even if you’re not yet clued into the big legal names in the UK, chances are the name ‘Womble Bond Dickinson’ will stick, as it did for one trainee: “I didn’t know any law firms but the name stuck out to me first!” But, given the firm’s strong reputation across England, Scotland and even the US, you’ll find that WBD’s got enough qualities to make a name for itself, regardless of its etymological connections to 70s kids shows or iconic fictional spies. Take the Chambers UK rankings for instance, where the firm earns dozens of rankings across England and the UK. In the North East, WBD is classed as top-notch in areas such as agriculture, construction, employment, IT, restructuring/insolvency, corporate/M&A, real estate and planning. The latter picks up another tip of the hat in the South West, while banking & finance, corporate/M&A, litigation, professional negligence and real estate win further top marks from the guide in the south.  

Training principal and real estate partner, Simon Hughes, also reiterates the firm’s global reach as a core aspect of its identity: “Our transatlantic network is fairly unique. Most transatlantic firms have a wider reach across the world, but we’ve got the benefit of retaining our local market presence and key work in offices across the UK while also bringing in a wider knowledge base. We can work with our colleagues in the US to support clients in both markets.” In short, WBD’s got the reach without compromising on its native British flavour. According to our interviewees, this is certainly appreciated from the inside as “it really feels like a very regional-focused UK firm even though it is transatlantic.” Part of this is thanks to the firm’s extensive British footprint, with eight domestic bases in London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Newcastle, Plymouth, Southampton and Teesside. 

“WBD doesn’t feel like a big scary law firm, but a group of professionals from your city who are all united by the practice of law.” 

What’s more, “each office has a slightly individual flavour,” says Hughes. “The overarching supportive culture is present across all offices, but each is also led by the culture on the ground.” This approach meant that interviewees appreciated how “WBD doesn’t feel like a big scary law firm, but a group of professionals from your city who are all united by the practice of law.” 

The Seats 

Trainees are able to submit their top three preferences for seat allocation. As is often the case, second-years have first dibs, but sources reassured that, though it ultimately comes down to business need, “they ensure you get the training contract you want. It’s quite rare for there to be more than one or two people who don’t get one of their choices in a single rotation.” Those that do miss out on one of their desired spots will be top of the list in the next rotation. Client secondments are also on the cards for WBD trainees across a range of sectors, including energy, retail, real estate, banking and insurance.  

“The team is spread across five offices, and you work with people across all of them as if they’re right next to you.” 

A seat in planning & infrastructure is “great from a trainee perspective,” according to one interviewee, who appreciated how “we get a really big range of big-ticket items that take years to complete, as well as smaller agreements that give you more experience drafting, reviewing and running your own matter.” We heard that the work is broadly split into two: development consent orders (DCOs), and town and country planning. The former can involve nationally significant infrastructure projects and development schemes, and also comes with some contentious work related to judicial reviews. Meanwhile, the town and country planning side of things covers smaller scale developments. As such, clients include councils across the country, various national highways and even the National Grid. The team was also involved in the development of Bristol Airport, helping on applications for planning permission as well as a CPO (compulsory purchase order) inquiry. Overall, insiders explained that the work is “very policy-dominated. Things will change depending on what party is in power, and that can affect your clients and funding for their projects.” Additionally, “The team is spread across five offices, and you work with people across all of them as if they’re right next to you,” trainees divulged. This level of integration extends to trainee tasks, and interviewees had plenty of experience drafting section 106 agreements and all sorts of deeds, negotiating planning application agreements, reviewing statements of case and attending client meetings. 

Lots of our interviewees had also done a stint with the construction & engineeringteam, which comes with a variety of contentious and transactional work. To give you a flavour of both sides of the practice, the firm assisted the HM Courts and Tribunal Service on the contractual aspects of the construction of a new court in the City of London. Meanwhile, several members of the team have been involved in a multi-million-pound dispute concerning fire safety issues on behalf of the County Council of Durham. One trainee felt that the seat was “disputes heavy,” and we heard that it’s common to get the chance to attend mediations and adjudications (a construction-specific type of dispute resolution). This comes with plenty of legal research into dispute procedures, pulling together bundles, taking minutes in meetings and some light drafting. Meanwhile, on the transactional side, we were told that trainees can expect to cut their teeth on collateral warranties. “They’re endless!” one source quipped, while another explained that “at one point, my main task for over a month was just reviewing and drafting collateral warranties.” Despite this, there are plenty of opportunities to help draft and review various other construction contracts and assist on due diligence. 

“If you’re willing to take on more responsibility, they’re really good at letting you lead…” 

Trainees in real estate relished the chance to try out a seat where “I’m trusted to keep matters going forward and run them on my own. I’m learning something new every day!” More specifically, we heard that the team works with all sorts of developers and investors, with tenants on operational property matters, and across the energy and natural resources sector. Still, WBD has a pretty broad range of client names in the books, including the University of Law, Natwest, ITV and Evri. The team has also been active across the UK working for Majestic Wine on its real estate portfolio and rollout of several new branches – cheers to that! The work is more transactional by nature, meaning newbies here can expect to get to grips with a bunch of leases, agreements and licences. Our interviewees said that other core parts of the job include work with the Land Registry, lots of drafting and lease renewals. The level of responsibility in this seat received special praise: “If you’re willing to take on more responsibility, they’re really good at letting you lead under appropriate supervision.” However, if you’re interested in the contentious side of real estate, there’s also a property litigation seat on offer (under the dispute resolution umbrella), which reportedly “deals mainly with lease renewals under the 1954 Landlord and Tenant Act.” 

For a broader introduction to contentious work, trainees can try a seat with the commercial disputes and regulatory team. Data, technology and energy remain key sectors for the team, but the work spans a range of practices, from competition and IP to white collar crime. Easily starstruck applicants may want to watch out, as one trainee told us, “I worked on a very big case that was well-known in the press! I’ve also worked with several household names.” A few examples of such recognisable names include B&Q, British Gas, the Post Office and The Body Shop. You might have spotted the Carillion insolvency case in the legal headlines, and WBD lawyers were involved in the large-scale litigation, advising The Insolvency Service on various aspects of the case. While bigger matters such as this mean more admin work for trainees, insiders appreciated the chance to get involved in all sorts of tasks, with “a lot of opportunities to pick up harder work and quite a bit of client contact.” Reviewing documents and drafting are typical trainee tasks, but we heard that newbies might help interview witnesses and prepare for hearings. 

Trainee Life 

If you’re still feeling hungry for more, WBD offers a spread of pro bono work for trainees and lawyers alike. While some happen naturally over the course of a seat – housing matters while working with the real estate team, for instance – other opportunities are open to volunteers. WBD’s pro bono offering includes a business law clinic which “normally calls for a trainee to help on background research on a matter, or a first draft of something.” On the CSR side, WBD offices each partner with charities, and everyone gets an annual 14-hour volunteering allowance! Trainees can also get involved in plenty of environmental work as part of the firm's commitment to net zero by 2030, which can include reviewing related pro bono efforts, taking on a trainee environmental rep role, or leading internal initiatives. We heard that mentoring is especially common among trainees, too, with insiders explaining that many help mentor work experience students or children from various local schools as part of a mentoring and school outreach programme.  

In fact, on the social mobility side of things, WBD has been in the solicitor apprenticeship business for years (in Plymouth, Bristol, Southampton and Newcastle) and isn’t slowing down, according to Hughes: “We’ve currently got 19 solicitor apprentices in the business. We had four join us in September, and have another two starting in January 2025. Since first launching the six-year apprenticeship in 2017, we've now had four solicitors complete the program and qualify.” When it comes to other aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion, sources felt optimistic about progress at the junior level. People across the firm can take part in the firm’s affinity networks: Disability, Pride, Family and Carers, Thrive (for women), and REACH (race, ethnicity and cultural heritage). These groups host events, networking opportunities, and write various relevant educational articles. Wellbeing is also on the firm’s mind, with the introduction of lunchtime wellbeing walks, yoga classes and a running club in London and Newcastle. 

“If you’re ever in the centre of Bristol in September and see a bunch of lawyers running through random streets trying to find stuff on the ground, that would be us!” 

London’s not the only office that’s staying on top of its social game. Bristol in particular got a shoutout for its yearly scavenger hunt: “If you’re ever in the centre of Bristol in September and see a bunch of lawyers running through random streets trying to find stuff on the ground, that would be us! You’d think we’ve lost our minds, but we’re just trying to find coins with our office head’s face on it.” More broadly, there are various drinks events, trainee socials, Christmas and summer parties, and sports celebrations and tournaments.  

As you might expect, insiders definitely felt that the culture was “friendly,” with a trainee in WBD’s smaller London office going so far as to say, “We do feel quite like a little family.” While the active social calendar certainly plays a part in this, we heard that this is also thanks to efforts to hire people who do fit within this culture. As such, trainees felt it was consistent across levels: “There is a hierarchy, but I’d never feel uncomfortable going up to a partner or managing associates to chat about our weekends.”  

Aside the occasional cross-office meet-up, trainees are able to get to know their whole cohort through introductory firmwide training, which kicks off with an all-trainee week in Newcastle. Throughout the training contract, practice development lawyers run sessions on updates in the law while the early careers team handles soft skills training, such as resilience and commercial awareness. Each department takes a different approach to learning; while some come with a more structured, sit-down training regime, others place a greater focus on learning on the job. Despite this, lawyers across teams “understand you’re trainees and here to learn,” so insiders generally felt that they could ask both their supervisors and other colleagues for help. Our sources also had good experiences with supervision at the firm, with one noting, “I’ve already been exposed to multiple supervision styles. It’s fortunate that I’m getting used to that already because I’ll have to work with all sorts of personalities in the long run.” 

Interviewees also praised the work-life balance on offer at the firm thanks to the largely agreeable hours. On the whole, newbies found themselves starting a typical day between 8.30 and 9am, and finishing around 6pm. The general consensus was that “they’re good at making sure you don’t need to stay late unless you’re really helping, so I’ve never felt too overloaded.” That said, trainees might find themselves working a bit later at times, especially since hours can vary slightly across seats. As one interviewee recalled, “There was a period where I was consistently working until midnight, but it’s generally 9am to 6pm. I’ve completely avoided weekend working, but banking and corporate just have later nights sometimes.” Fortunately, none of our interviewees felt the push when there are no urgent client demands, but were pleased to report that “it’s pretty chill! There’s no frowning if you need to leave earlier to make the train because the next ones are cancelled, and no one asks where you are at all times.” When the days are steadier, trainees told us that they feel well compensated relative to the hours they’re putting in, but noted that NQ salary could be a bit higher. 

“There are partners who have been here since they were trainees.” 

When qualification rolls around, the Early Talent team releases the jobs list, and trainees can apply for up to two roles in any offices. Once they've decided where they want to go, trainees complete an application form, detailing their contributions to the firm over the last two years, alongside reasons as to why they want to work with the team and why they’ve picked a certain office. This is followed by an interview which, apparently, “felt more like a chat really,” according to one interviewee, who noted how “they made it very comfortable.” In 2024, WBD retained 17 out of 25 qualifiers, which includes both trainees and apprentices. 

How to get a WBD training contract 

Registration and online assessment 

All candidates will need to start their application with a registration form – which also enables the firm to obtain contextualised info through Rare's CRS. Following this, everyone who has registered and is eligible to complete a training contract will be invited to complete the firm’s blended high-potential assessment, which consists of an online assessment and a pre-recorded video interview. Following this, the firm shortlists candidates for its virtual assessment day. 

Assessment days 

The virtual assessment day consists of a task that measures commercial understanding, as well as two short interviews. As part of WBD’s commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion, the firm is working to make its early talent recruitment processes as fair and transparent as possible, so will provide the information for the task and the interview questions in advance of your virtual assessment day. 

Placements 

Following the virtual assessment day, the firm shortlists candidates for the work placement week. During the work placement week, candidates will have the chance to meet WBD colleagues and gain real insight into what it's like to work at the firm. Candidates are invited into the firm’s offices for part of their work placement, but the firm runs a hybrid week with both virtual and in-person experiences. This not only makes the firm’s process more environmentally friendly, but it also gives candidates a true reflection of what WBD’s hybrid working environment feels like. The final stage interview will also be conducted in person during this week.