Training contracts

We offer approximately 90 training contracts a year across our eight UK offices. We welcome applications from students with either a law or non-law background who have a minimum of ABB from three A Levels (excluding General Studies); a minimum of five Scottish Highers within the A and B band; a minimum of 35 points from the six chosen subjects in the International Baccalaureate; or equivalent exams. Candidates must have achieved, or be on course to achieve, a 2.i degree classification. Please note, when applying for a training contract at DLA Piper you can only apply to one office.

If you can meet these standards then our selection criteria is based on one thing: You.

Amongst other elements, we want people to prove they have the following:

• Good communication skills
• The ability to work as part of a team
• Commercial awareness and a genuine interest in the business world
• Motivation, hard work, drive and an appetite for life

See if you've got what it takes by taking our quiz

During the training contract

Training contracts at DLA Piper consist of four six month seats. Although we do not have compulsory seats, training contracts must consist of at least one contentious and one non-contentious seat and we would try to ensure your seats gave you as broad a training experience as possible. Being a commercial firm, a seat in an area like corporate or finance is likely. Read more about our practice areas.

There are opportunities to apply for client secondments which will help to hone your commercial skills. We offer secondments to a range of clients in the following industries:

• banking
• hospitality and leisure
• advertising
• television and media
• pharmaceutical
• retail
• technology

We also offer the opportunity to apply for international secondments.  Current international secondments opportunities include:

• Amsterdam
• Bangkok
• Dubai
• Hong Kong
• Istanbul 
• Moscow
• Singapore
• Sydney

To find out more about our training contracts, why not read our profiles?

What happens when I apply?

You are able to apply for a training contract from April each year.

We wait until the closing date has passed to assess all our application forms. We then aim to let you know the outcome of your application as soon as possible.

If you are invited to an interview for a training contract this will be in the office to which you applied. It is likely to last around 30 minutes and will be with two people (who could be partners, associates, or members of the HR or graduate recruitment team).

After the interview you will have a tour round the office with a current trainee. This is a chance for you to ask any questions you might have about life at our firm.

Candidates who are successful at the first interview will then be invited to an assessment day which may be in another office (days are usually held in Birmingham, Leeds, London and Manchester). In Scotland we do not hold first interviews and all successful candidates will be invited to an assessment day in the Glasgow office in late October.

The assessment day consists of the following:

• A second interview
• A presentation on a topic of your choice
• Written exercises
• Lunch with trainees and partners

We try to make the day as stress-free as possible. But it is challenging and will allow you to demonstrate a range of your abilities that goes beyond interview skills.

We often get asked, "What can I do to prepare for the day?" We cannot give too much guidance but hope you will know why DLA Piper is the type of firm for you. Our exercises aren't psychometric tests and are bespoke to us. If you play our quiz you should get an idea of what we're looking for.

You don't need any knowledge of the law for the assessment day, so non-law undergraduates are not disadvantaged.

What's the timeline?

England

• Apply online from April to 31 July 2012 for training contracts to commence in 2014 
• First interviews take place late August/early September
• Assessment days held early/mid September
• Offer and welcome to the team!

If applying for a training contract in England we strongly advise you not to book a holiday for the end of August or beginning/middle of September as this is when our interviews will take place.  By way of guidance, our second round assessment days for English training contracts in 2010 took place between 2 - 12 September.   If you are not able to attend, your place will be allocated to another candidate.  

Scotland

• Apply online from April to October 2012 for training contracts to commence in 2014
• Assessment day late October/early November
• Offer and welcome to the team!