Training Contract - September 2027 - Kingsley Napley

Deadline 14 April 2025 at midnight

What will you do?

We like our trainees to progress quickly, so once they’ve learnt the ropes they are given more responsibility and offered the chance to meet clients, be responsible for their own work, and to take part in marketing and client development activities.

Our trainees are allocated a supervisor in each seat who monitor the type and amount of work the trainee is being given, as well as acting as a mentor during the seat. Trainees have monthly catch-ups with their supervisors, and meet with the Training Principal at least once a seat.  Trainees also have a designated HR contact (Emily Fortune), with whom they can discuss any aspects of their training with.

Format

All of our trainees follow the SQE route, unless having already completed the LPC independently.

Funding

For our trainee solicitors, we fund the SQE1, SQE2 as well as the SQE plus.

Practice areas

• Clinical negligence
• Corporate and commercial
• Criminal litigation
• Dispute resolution
• Employment
• Family
• Immigration
• Private client
• Public law
• Real estate
• Regulatory and professional discipline

When can I apply?

We currently recruit two years in advance. From November to May each year we accept applications for Training Contracts beginning in September two years later. Candidates must ensure they hold either a law degree, LPC, GDL or equivalent such as a PgDip in Law before the commencement of their SQE training as part of the training contract (SQE 1 begins in January with SQE 2 beginning in April).

How do I apply

Click apply and follow the instructions to the AllHires site. Please do have a look at our FAQs which will hopefully answer any questions you may have.

We review all applications once the deadline has closed. If your application is successful, we will invite you to take part in an assessment programme running over the summer months. The time-table can be found on the Training Contract page and we aim to make offers in June/ July.

Successful candidates will be invited to a final interview with two partners and a member of the HR team. It is vitally important to us that we recruit people who match our firm-wide culture and values, and so we make sure to ask a mixture of competency, skill and opinion based questions that are designed to stretch candidates, whilst giving them the opportunity to shine. 

Selection criteria

There are no minimum grade requirements to apply for a training contract with us. However, Kingsley Napley aims to recruit the most talented individuals and we do recognise that Law is an academic and intellectual subject. Whilst we place the most ‘weight’ (and allocated marking) on the questions and your answers included on the application form, we do also take into consideration work experience and grades. We will look at the application in full, considering all factors, as opposed to focusing on just one specific area. We recognise that mitigating circumstances can occur during your academic studies, so please make a note of these within your application form if applicable. We will take these into account when reviewing your application.

We accept applications from candidates who are currently studying, or have completed, a degree. You must either be in your penultimate year of a law degree, or final year of a non-law degree in order to apply for a training contract.

If you are successful in obtaining a training contract with us and you have completed a non-law degree, we will discuss qualification pathway options with you.

All of our trainees follow the SQE route, unless having already completed the LPC independently.

International applicants

We accept applications from international candidates, and will support visa sponsorships where required, providing you are eligible to work within the UK.

Funding support

We provide full funding of the SQE prep courses and assessments for trainees undertaking the SQE route to qualification. We also currently provide a maintenance grant of £7000 for those completing the SQE, and £10,000 for trainees who have completed the LPC.