No. We wait until the deadline has passed and all assessments have been completed before making decisions.

In opening up all our schemes to penultimate year students and beyond, the intention is to allow you the freedom to apply for the scheme which suits your academic timetable and career decision-making process.  There is no particular advantage to applying to one scheme over another.  Please note that for holders of a student visa who are limited to part-time work during term-time, you must apply for a scheme which falls during your vacation time, to avoid breaching the terms of your visa, as vacation schemes cannot be completed on a part-time basis.  

Please only apply to one scheme per academic year.

The SQE (Solicitors Qualifying Examination) is the compulsory assessment of all future solicitors, which will come into force from November 2021. Set by an external assessment organisation, Kaplan, appointed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), it consists of two parts. SQE 1 tests functioning legal knowledge and SQE 2 assesses the legal written and oral skills of a solicitor.

Trainees joining Linklaters from September 2023 onwards will need to undertake the SQE. This will replace the QLTS qualification route as well as the GDL and LPC.

You’ll be required by the SRA to take the SQE if:

•           You’re a non-law undergraduate, and haven’t started your GDL before September 2021.

•           You’re a law undergraduate starting your degree after Autumn 2021.

•           The SQE will also replace the QLTS from September 2020.

If you fall outside of the above, the SRA will continue to authorise take-up of the LPC until the end of the 2032 academic year.

We would also recommend visiting the SRA website for more details on the transition period. 

The City Consortium is made up of six of the City’s leading law firms: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Herbert Smith Freehills; Hogan Lovells; Linklaters; Norton Rose Fulbright; and Slaughter and May.

All of these firms believe that it is essential to invest in rigorous and comprehensive technical and skills training. Their collaboration has led to the development of BPP’s market-leading SQE programmes which are rigorous, engaging and, most importantly, relevant to current City practice.

This is the City Consortium’s suite of new programmes and is comprised of the following:

• SQE 1 Preparation Programme (for SQE 1, a centralised assessment);

• City Consortium Plus Programme; and

• SQE 2 Preparation Programme (for SQE 2, a centralised assessment.

The course is 11 months. There is also an option available for students to study towards a Master’s qualification.

Although no longer a regulatory requirement, City Consortium graduates without an England and Wales qualifying law degree will be required to study the PGDL (Postgraduate Diploma in Law) at BPP prior to starting on the CCP. The programme length of the PGDL is 8 months.

The questions are multiple choice and there are five categories of questions you may encounter, each testing something slightly different. So, you should expect to be tested on your ability to:

1.   Evaluate inferences drawn from a series of factual statements;
2.   Identify if an assumption can or cannot be made after reviewing a series of assertive statements;
3.   Deduce whether certain conclusions follow from the information given
4.   Weigh evidence and decide if conclusions based on the evidence are correct
5.   Distinguish between arguments that are strong/relevant against those that are weak/irrelevant.

We receive some applications from candidates who have already finished law school. However, as is general practice across most law firms, we recruit our Trainees two years in advance of the intake date. We therefore can't guarantee you a position earlier than that advertised. However, earlier start dates are sometimes available so please speak to a member of the Trainee Recruitment team once you've been made a Training Contract offer.

Yes, we do. If you're successful in securing a training contract we'll offer assistance to obtain work permits and visas. Our offer will be dependent upon us successfully obtaining a work permit for you, and you will be responsible for providing all of the information and documentation required (e.g. proof of academic and professional qualifications, a current CV and valid passport). Please note that we can't be held responsible for any restrictions imposed by the UK Border Agency, including caps on the number of certificates allocated to sponsor employers.

We run several work experience schemes.

• For first-year students, we offer our Pathfinder insight scheme
• Our Winter Vacation Scheme lasts for two weeks during December
• Our Spring Vacation scheme last for two weeks during April
• Our two Summer Vacation Schemes last for three weeks
• All our schemes are open to penultimate and final year undergraduates, graduates and career changers.
• For penultimate-year law students studying in Australia we run an Australian Clerkship at our London office, which runs for three weeks in November/December.
• For penultimate-year law students in India we run an Indian internship in our London office, which runs for three weeks in November/December.
• For international students studying penultimate-year law at African universities, an African internship in our London office, which runs for three weeks in November/December.

Unfortunately, we can't offer work experience outside these schemes.

Our retention is consistently high and the vast majority of our Trainees take up Associate roles with us. In March 2023, we offered places on qualification to 94% of Trainees in the cohort. If you have any further queries then please email us at trainee.recruitment@linklaters.com.

Linklaters, in common with many organisations, uses a contextual information tool during the application process to understand the context in which you attained your results. You will be given the opportunity to add information, including extenuating circumstances such as illness or bereavement, when you complete your application. If you have any further queries then please email us at trainee.recruitment@linklaters.com.