Bird & Bird
Overview
Bird & Bird is an international full-service law firm known for its sector-focused work in Technology & Communications, Intellectual Property and related regulatory matters. The firm emphasises cross-border collaboration ('one firm internationally') and a strong legaltech and innovation offering (including proprietary and partner-developed AI tools), positioning itself as a go-to adviser for technology-driven clients, life sciences, media and TMT businesses. Bird & Bird combines an international footprint with sector specialism and an early careers programme that includes solicitor apprenticeships and SQE support.
- Headquarters: London
- Trainees: 18
- Offices: 33
Values & Culture
Practice Areas
- Technology & Digital
- Intellectual Property
- Data Protection & Privacy
- Corporate & M&A
- Commercial Contracts
- Financial Services & Regulation
- Capital Markets
- Employment
- Tax
- Real Estate
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- Regulatory & Compliance
- Retail & Consumer
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- ESG & Sustainability
- Private Equity & Venture Capital
- Fraud & Investigations
- Media & Entertainment
- Transport & Logistics
Geographic Focus: Bird & Bird operates globally with an emphasis on Europe and Asia-Pacific, delivering cross-border capability from offices across 24 countries and 33 offices. The firm markets itself as 'one firm internationally' and is active from Shanghai to San Francisco, with particularly strong teams across Western Europe (UK, Netherlands, Germany, Nordic countries, France) and a presence in key international markets to service multi-jurisdictional TMT, IP, life sciences and finance clients.
Training Contract
Two-year training contract delivering two years' Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) via four six-month seats. Trainees rotate through four departments (each seat c. six months) with a dedicated supervisor (associate or partner) in each seat. The programme is supported by a bespoke Learning & Development curriculum, a one-week induction prior to starting, a Trainee Buddy from offer to qualification, regular feedback and opportunities for client secondments. The firm partners with The University of Law to deliver a bespoke SQE+ training programme.
- Starting Salary: £50,000 (Year 1)
- NQ Salary: £102,000
- Trainee Intake: 18
- Qualification Rate: 89% (latest trainee retention rate)
- Academic Requirements: AAB at A-Level and a 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). The firm operates a Contextual Recruitment System (CRS) and accepts candidates from all degree subjects; they note flexibility for extenuating circumstances.
- Application Deadline: TBC
Seat Options
- Corporate & M&A
- Commercial Contracts
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- Employment
- Finance & Financial Regulation
- Intellectual Property
- Real Estate
- Tax
Sponsorship
PGDL/LLM and SQE support: the firm provides a £10,000 maintenance grant and covers all PGDL fees; for SQE studies the firm provides a £15,000 maintenance grant and covers all SQE fees.
SQE Support
The firm partners with The University of Law to deliver a bespoke SQE+ programme. The firm covers all SQE study fees and provides a specific SQE support package; the firm publishes a £15,000 maintenance grant and all SQE fees covered for SQE studies.
International Opportunities
International secondments are limited. Supplementary data indicates a 0% chance of secondment abroad for trainees (measured chance of secondment abroad: 0%).
Client Secondments
Client secondments are offered as part of the trainee experience to develop commercial edge; supplementary data indicates a c.47% chance of client secondment for trainees.
Mentorship
Each trainee is assigned a dedicated supervisor in each seat (associate or partner) and a Trainee Buddy from offer to qualification. The Learning & Development team delivers structured coaching and regular feedback; the Early Careers team provides pastoral and recruitment support.
Programmes & Schemes
A six-year apprenticeship route to qualification combining on-the-job training in the London office with a law degree and completion of the SQE. Aimed at Year 13 students who have chosen not to attend university; apprentices rotate across practice areas and receive structured support.
- Duration: 6 years
- Deadline: 2027-01-29
Two-week immersive work experience in the London office with real client work, training sessions, networking and assessment for training contract consideration. All vacation scheme attendees are considered for training contracts.
- Duration: 2 weeks (Monday 12 April to Friday 23 April 2027)
- Places: Up to 40 positions across both Spring and Summer schemes
- Deadline: 2026-12-11
Two-week immersive work experience in the London office with practical tasks, skills sessions and networking; attendees are considered for a training contract at the end of the scheme.
- Duration: 2 weeks (Monday 14 June to Friday 25 June 2027)
- Places: Up to 40 positions across both Spring and Summer schemes
- Deadline: 2026-12-11
Two-day online programme to accelerate legal knowledge and skills for undergraduates and early career candidates preparing for a legal career; designed to widen access and prepare applicants for recruitment.
- Duration: 2 days
- Deadline: 2027-07-02
Online work experience giving a realistic insight into life at an international law firm and the day-to-day tasks of solicitors; used to widen access to candidates who cannot attend in-person placements.
- Places: Forage
Scholarship scheme providing mentoring and support to equip scholars with skills and mentoring to prepare for a legal career; part of the firm's widening-access initiatives.
- Duration: Commencing September 2027
- Deadline: 2027-07-30
Our virtual open day for aspiring solicitors is an opportunity to gain an insight into what life is like as a solicitor at Bird & Bird. From insight talks, panel discussions and Q&As, to workshops and skill sessions, there’s so much to discover!
- Places: London
- Deadline: 2026-10-09
Our open day for aspiring solicitor apprentices is an opportunity to gain an insight into what life is like as a solicitor apprentice at Bird & Bird. From insight talks, panel discussions and Q&As, to workshops and skill sessions, there’s so much to discover! We operate rolling recruitment, which means we screen applications as they are received, rather than after our deadline. Therefore, we encourage you to apply as early as possible. At the time of submitting your application, you should be: in your final year of A-Levels (Year 13) or have already completed school or college (e.g., on a gap year or working); at least 18 years of age on 1 September 2027; and have the right to work in the UK. AND have achieved 5 GCSEs including English and Maths at grade 9-4/A*-C; and have achieved or be on track to AAB in your A-Levels We understand that you may not have received the grades you hoped for due to extenuating or mitigating circumstances. Please detail any relevant information in your application for us to take into consideration. We also use a Contextual Recruitment System (CRS) to enable us to recruit people from different backgrounds and help us understand your achievements in the context in which they were gained.
- Duration: Wednesday 28 October 2026
- Places: Bird & Bird London office, 12 New Fetter Ln, London EC4A 1JP
- Deadline: 14 October 2026
Notable Matters
Advised Raise as lead investor in Biolevate's €30 million fundraising round. The firm acted for the lead investor on a significant growth financing for a life sciences/biotech company, advising on the investment terms and cross-border aspects of the transaction.
Private Equity & Venture Capital
Advised Pyratzlabs on the reverse takeover of Reboost Blockchain Corp., acting on corporate transactional steps to effect the reverse takeover listing-related and documentation aspects of the transaction.
Corporate & M&A
Advised Göng og brú ohf on a landmark national infrastructure programme in Iceland, supporting project documentation and delivery for a significant infrastructure initiative in the region.
Infrastructure & Projects
Advised the Pierre Yovanovitch Group on the sale of a stake in the company to Socadif and Nextstage AM, handling corporate sale and transaction documentation across relevant jurisdictions.
Corporate & M&A
Advised DAL Partners on the first close of its debut €40 million fund, providing fund-formation, regulatory and investor-side transactional advice.
Investment Funds
Advised Zero on its $10.3 million seed funding round, supporting the company on corporate documentation and investor negotiations for this early-stage technology financing.
Private Equity & Venture Capital
Advised Air France on the refinancing of an Airbus £50-900 through a Japanese Operating Lease with Call Option (JOLCO) financing incorporating a sustainability-linked loan and a novel insurance product, advising on financing, sustainability-linked structure and associated documentation.
Banking & Finance
Advised Index Ventures on a USD23 million Series B financing of SafetyCulture, advising the VC investor on cross-border transactional issues in a technology growth financing.
Private Equity & Venture Capital
What Bird & Bird Looks For
Key Competencies
- Commercial awareness
- Curiosity and intellectual curiosity about technology and regulation
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Resilience and adaptability
- Attention to detail
- Client focus and commercial judgement
- Communication skills
- Commitment to diversity and inclusion / social mobility principles
Evidence Signals
- Relevant sector interest or work experience in TMT, IP, life sciences, media or fintech
- Participation in the firm's Virtual Experience Programme or Open Days
- Commercial internships, VC or start-up experience
- Pro bono or volunteering experience
- STEM background for STEM-specific roles or Open Day applicants
- Engagement with legal tech or demonstrable interest/skills in AI and digital tools
Benefits & Wellbeing
- Trainee salary Year 1: £50,000
- Trainee salary Year 2: £55,000
- Newly qualified salary: £102,000
- £10,000 maintenance grant and all PGDL fees covered
- £15,000 maintenance grant and all SQE fees covered
- Private medical insurance
- Health assessments
- Group income protection
- Group life assurance and group critical illness
- Will writing
- 5% pension contribution (firm contribution)
- 25 days annual holiday
- Interest-free season ticket loan
- Computer loan
- Cycle to Work scheme
- Travel insurance
- Flexible benefits package
- Gym membership
- Flu vaccinations and eyecare
- Employee Assistance Programme and wellbeing counselling
- Opportunities to study/socialise with cohort before starting training contract
- Paid parental leave (generous family and carer leave policies)
- Paid time off for charitable/social days (varies by office)
Wellbeing
The firm provides an Employee Assistance Provider offering counselling and education, wellbeing events, private medical insurance, health checks, flu jabs, ergonomic support and adjustments for disability/neurodiversity. The Early Careers team offers confidential advice and recruitment adjustments for disability, neurodivergence and mental health.
Awards & Recognition
- Legal Cheek Awards 2026 – Most Admired Law Firm (winner)
- Chambers Germany IP Awards 2026 – Intellectual Property Firm of the Year
- Lexology European Awards 2026 – Law Firm of the Year: Intellectual Property
- Managing IP EMEA Awards 2026 – Global Firm of the Year
- Women in Business Law Awards 2026 – Career Development (Global Firm)
- People in Law Awards 2024 – Best Social Mobility Initiative (winner)
- Legal Cheek Law Firm Awards 2023 – Best Law Firm for Client Secondments (winner)
- Managing IP EMEA Awards 2023 – Europe Patent Litigation Team of the Year
- The Lawyer Awards 2026 – Delivery Model Innovation
- Financial Times Innovative Lawyer Awards 2024 – Innovative Lawyers in the Technology Sector (winner)
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The Early Careers team is committed to levelling the playing field, social mobility, and inclusive recruitment; the firm operates confidential advice and reasonable adjustments for disability, neurodiversity and mental health throughout recruitment and assessment stages.
- Contextual Recruitment System (CRS) for barrier-free recruitment
- Blind application form screening
- Early Bird Scholarship
- Partnerships with Bright Network, AllAboutLaw, Legal Cheek and Vantage
- STEM Solicitors Open Day
- Local and global D&I committees and employee networks
- National Pro Bono Target signatory (pro bono commitments)
Pro Bono
The firm supports fee earners to undertake pro bono work (the Australia page notes support for fee earners to undertake 35 hours of pro bono work each year); firm-wide pro bono partner and Pro Bono Committee coordinate activities and the firm is a signatory to national pro bono targets.
Innovation
Bird & Bird pursues a measured, client-focused legaltech strategy balanced between efficiency gains and risk management. The firm maintains an innovation pathway ('Bloom') for ideas, a firm-wide generative AI policy, pilots new tools internally and with clients, and invests in training so lawyers can use AI responsibly. LegalTech leadership (Helder Santos; Jennifer McBride) runs programmes to embed tools such as Legora, Copilot, Luminance and Relativity into routine practice and pass savings and efficiencies to clients where appropriate.
- Legora (Generative AI legal assistant)
- Microsoft Copilot (Copilot Chat and Copilot 365 rollout)
- Internal ChatGPT Playground (secure internal environment)
- Synthesia for AI video generation
- DeepL translation
- Luminance for due diligence
- Relativity for eDiscovery and document review
- Bloom Innovation Pathway (global idea submission and implementation framework)
Quick Application Angles
- Emphasise genuine interest in technology/TMT or IP — reference the firm's tech/regulatory newsletters (Connected) or Legora AI initiatives to demonstrate cultural fit with the firm's sector focus and legaltech credentials.
- Mention the SQE+ partnership with The University of Law and the firm's PGDL/SQE funding (£10,000 PGDL grant; £15,000 SQE grant) when discussing your route to qualification and commitment to training.
- Highlight experience or commercial awareness relevant to recent deals (e.g., life sciences financing, VC transactions, or the Biolevate €30m fundraising) to show sector-aligned commercial thinking.
- Reference the firm's contextual recruitment and barrier-free approach (CRS and blind screening) if relevant to how your background shaped your achievements — this shows you understand their recruitment values.
- If applying for STEM or technology-focused events, evidence technical literacy or project experience (projects, internships or coursework) rather than generic statements — the firm runs STEM Open Days and values technical aptitude.
Tracking Bird & Bird?
Create a free account to add Bird & Bird to your application tracker, follow its deadlines, and get AI help with the application itself.
Start Climbing, FreeFree to start - No credit card required