Womble Bond Dickinson

Womble Bond Dickinson is a forward thinking practice with the energy, drive and determination to keep pace with our clients and a focus on delivering the relevant services they need.

With a focus on twelve key sectors (Public, Government and Third Sector; Technology, Healthcare; Insurance, Manufacturing; Real Estate; Retail and Consumer; Transport, Logistics and Infrastructure; Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Life Sciences; Technology and Private Wealth).

Our clients include Nissan, HSBC, Grainger, Bellway, Sainsbury’s, New ok, Atom Bank, HS2 and Five Guys.

Our lawyers and professionals have shared ambitions, common values and a flexible working style that combine with strong personal connections to deliver outstanding levels of client service across every office, every day.

Collaboration provides a fertile ground for exploring new ways to better serve our clients, where we find new ways of working; use technology to drive practice innovations; and invest in our people to ensure we deliver high quality, cost-effective and personal service.

A way of working that delivers more integrated solutions, speed and quality advice to help our clients advance and protect their interests from both sides of the Atlantic.

We always put ourselves in our clients’ shoes and ask the right questions so that we can really understand and anticipate their needs. That’s why we look for trainees who take the time to listen and who want to work for a firm where integrity and reliability matter every bit as much as insight and legal expertise.

As a responsible business, Womble Bond Dickinson is committed to creating better places to live, work and do business. Our actions empower a variety of initiatives that have a strong, positive impact on the firm's colleagues, clients and local communities.

Everything we do starts with our people. We know that if you do right by people, they’ll do right by you, and their creativity will thrive. We actively look for people who have different backgrounds, or who took an unconventional path into this industry. We don’t just hire lawyers, we hire people with interesting perspectives. And we’re all better for it.

Being people powered means looking after everyone once they’re here. We’re committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, both because it’s the right thing to do and because it makes us stronger. We empower our people to bring their whole selves to the job, and to have lives outside of work so they can recharge. It’s about opportunities to develop. Building up specialisms in areas that spark passion and pique interest. And above all, being supported to create and innovate. Because with that comes truly career-defining work

We want everyone to reach their full potential, by being themselves whilst encouraging each other to achieve their goals with courage, determination and enthusiasm.

Graduate Training Programme

We offer training contracts across all our UK offices: Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Newcastle, Plymouth and Southampton.

Choose us for your training contract and, over the course of two years, you’ll get the chance to experience different areas of the law first hand and to work with a variety of colleagues and clients.

Our training contract in our offices in England follows the SQE route to qualification, or the traditional route to qualification for those who have already completed the LPC. For our Edinburgh trainees, you will qualify with the Law Society of Scotland, rather than the SQE.

This is your training contract and it’s up to you to make the most of it, but along the way we offer fantastic opportunities to develop your legal career in a growing firm. Our supervisors are trained and fully supported on an ongoing basis. You’ll have access to high quality work and senior client contact. We regularly second trainees to our most high profile clients.

Our recruitment process is designed to put you through your paces, but it’s also about sharing our unique culture with you, so you get a real sense of the firm you might be joining.

When to apply

Applications for our training contract to start in 2027 opened on 4 December 2024 and the deadline to apply is 30 January 2025.

More information on our recruitment process.

Who should apply

To be eligible for our 2027 Training Contract, you must meet one of the criteria below:

If you are applying for one of our offices in England:

• You are currently studying (in your penultimate or final year) or have completed a law degree in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland
• You are currently studying (in your final year) or have completed a non-law degree in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland

You are currently studying (in your final year) or have completed a non-law degree in Scotland

• You are in your final year of or have completed an international qualifying law degree

If you are applying for our Edinburgh office:

• You are currently studying (in your penultimate or final year) or have completed a law degree in Scotland
• You have completed a non-law degree and you have started (or completed) the accelerated LLB in Scottish Law
• You have completed an international degree and you have started (or completed) the accelerated LLB in Scottish Law

Graduate Training Programme application process

• Stage 1: Application form

The first stage of our process is a short application form. You’ll be asked to share details of your undergraduate degree and any further vocational education, your life history, and information as part of the Rare Contextualised Recruitment System, which allows us to understand the context in which your experiences have been gained and enables us to identify top candidates from the widest pool possible.

• Stage 2: High Potential Assessment

Shortly after the close of the application window, everyone who has applied and is eligible to complete a training contract will be invited to complete our online high potential assessment.
Click here to try our practice test – this will give you an idea of how the online assessment works.

• Stage 3: Assessment day

If you’ve been successful in the high potential assessment stage, you’ll be invited to attend an assessment day. This will involve a commercial understanding task and some short interviews, as well as giving you the opportunity to hear from a variety of people at WBD and ask them any questions you may have about the firm.

Remember, it’s a two-way process – by the end of the assessment day, you’ll be able to decide whether WBD is right for you – and we’ll have a better understanding of who you are.

• Stage 4: Work placement week and final interview

Our placement weeks form part of our recruitment process. Our hybrid placement weeks give you a great insight into our business as well as the responsibility and quality of work that is given to our trainees.

The placement week will also involve a final, mostly strengths-based interview, with two of the WBD team. Again, this is also a chance for you to find out more about our business, get a feel for what it would be like to work in our team, and understand if it’s the right place for you.

Virtual Experience Programme

Forage is a free, virtual law programme that you can complete in your own time, introducing you to roles in law, supporting you with developing a personal statement and an introduction to some law based tasks. This is available to all students and a great addition to your CV.

In this programme, you'll research and explore different roles available in law and learn how to craft a personal statement. Then, you'll amend a commercial contract and prepare a business development pitch to gain an idea of the work that our lawyers encounter daily.

We hope this programme helps upskill you in law and explore a potential career with us at WBD.
For more information and to take part please visit https://www.theforage.com/virtual-internships/prototype/fszzwX6Jb33P4okPs/Law-Programme

Early Talent Community

Looking to take the first step in your legal career? Whether you're a school leaver looking for an apprenticeship or work experience programme, or a graduate looking for a training contract, we have a number of fantastic opportunities just for you.

If you would like to hear about our programmes, sign up to our Early Talent Community for updates about new opportunities as they become available.

Solicitor Apprenticeship

The legal sphere is rapidly changing and in recent years there has been an increasing demand for business focussed legal education within the work place. We champion alternative routes into the legal professional and The level 7 Solicitor apprenticeship offers just this and more and is fast becoming a sought after option for post A level students.

We currently have 18 Solicitor Apprentices at WBD in our Newcastle, Southampton, Bristol and Plymouth offices.

Through this six year programme you'll experience different practice areas of law, learn from experienced professionals, build a portfolio of work showcasing your development and knowledge, and gain an LLB. You'll have 20% protected study time throughout the apprenticeship which counts towards your 'off the job' training. As you reach your final years you will sit the Solicitor Qualifying Exams (SQE 1 and 2) and ultimately qualify as a solicitor.

We're truly passionate about making a legal career more accessible to local students who aspire to become lawyers and welcome applications from those who have a genuine interest in law.

Solicitor Apprenticeship application process

All candidates will need to start their application with a registration form – which also enables us to obtain contextualised info through Rare's CRS. Following this, everyone who has registered and is eligible will be invited to complete our blended high potential assessment.

Following the blended high potential assessment, we shortlist candidates for our assessment day.

After the assessment day, we shortlist 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. The final stage interview will also be conducted, in person, during this week.

We believe that the variety of stages and methods we use increases our chance of recruiting top talent. We have designed our assessments in a way that enable candidates to demonstrate a range of behaviours in a variety of ways. As a result, we gain a more holistic understanding of each applicant.

Our recruitment process also allows us to showcase the firm in different ways and gives candidates a chance to assess whether Womble Bond Dickinson is the right fit for them, which is equally as important.

Applicants need the minimum grades to be eligible for the programme:

• 3 A Levels at Grade C or above, or equivalent*
• 5 GCSEs, including Maths and English, or equivalent, at Grade C/4 or above.

For more information and to apply visit https://www.womblebonddickinson.com/uk/careers/apprenticeships

Diversity access schemes

Our work around social mobility includes our refreshed Early Careers Programme, our work with schools and universities, as well as our Apprenticeship programme. We are passionate and dedicated about inspiring young people to unlock their potential, and widening access to the legal profession.

In 2022, we started working with Strive – a social mobility charity, who source and develop talent intersectionally diverse, socially mobile and under-represented backgrounds to help them realise their full potential.

We have now implemented the Rare Contextual Recruitment System (CRS) for our Early Talent recruitment (graduates and apprenticeships). The system allows us to understand the context in which a candidate’s experiences have been gained and enables us to identify top candidates from the widest talent pool possible.

The CRS has been integrated with our current Applicant Tracking System and delivers on two key outputs: flags to measure disadvantage and Performance Index (PI) to measure outperformance against students at the same school.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion

Our approach is to make sure that we have policies which are fit for purpose, and then to concentrate hard on bringing them to life throughout the firm. This filters through at every level – we nurture a spirit of equality, fairness and respect and we challenge non-inclusive behaviour. We want everyone to reach their full potential, by being themselves whilst encouraging each other to achieve their goals with courage, determination and enthusiasm.

We work hard to ensure that difference is visibly valued and welcomed, and that our people understand there is so much to equity, diversity and inclusion and it's not about a set of paper policies. Everything from our award-winning apprenticeship scheme, our Investors in People Accreditation, our focus on health and wellbeing, to our #BeYourself campaign, underlines the importance of a visibly proactive and diverse and inclusive culture.