Burges Salmon LLP
Overview
Burges Salmon is an independent UK law firm positioned as a market-leading national full-service practice with strong sector specialisms in energy, infrastructure, technology, agriculture and private wealth. The firm traces its roots to the 18th/19th century and was founded as a sole practice in 1841; it now combines regional strength from its Bristol headquarters (One Glass Wharf) with offices in Edinburgh, London and a wholly owned Dublin office to service UK and international clients. As an independent Magic Circle-classified firm in the supplied data, Burges Salmon emphasises high-quality technical work, collaborative teams, a strong responsible-business/ESG focus and significant investment in people and technology which helps it win national awards and long-term client mandates.
- Headquarters: Bristol, One Glass Wharf
- Founded: 1841
- Trainees: 27
- Offices: 4
Values & Culture
Practice Areas
- Agriculture & Rural
- Banking & Finance
- Commercial Contracts
- Construction & Engineering
- Corporate & M&A
- Data Protection & Privacy
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- Employment
- Energy & Natural Resources
- Environment & Planning
- ESG & Sustainability
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Infrastructure & Projects
- Intellectual Property
- Pensions
- Private Client & Wealth
- Real Estate
- Regulatory & Compliance
- Technology & Digital
- Transport & Logistics
- Tax
Geographic Focus: Strong UK focus with headquarters in Bristol and additional offices in Edinburgh and London; a Dublin office provides a foothold in the EU for IP and other cross‑border matters. The firm combines South West regional leadership with national coverage across UK jurisdictions and works for international clients through a network of trusted firms and its Dublin subsidiary to handle post‑Brexit EU-facing mandates.
Training Contract
Burges Salmon operates a six‑seat training contract (six seats over the training period) with seats commonly lasting around four months each. The model exposes trainees to a mix of contentious, advisory and transactional work; seats are chosen in discussion with the Emerging Talent team and are tailored to trainee interests and business needs. Trainees receive substantive client work and responsibility early on, are assigned trainee buddies and supervisors, and can participate in firm initiatives, pro bono and secondment opportunities (client secondments and internal mobility).
- Starting Salary: £49,500 (Year 1), £51,500 (Year 2)
- NQ Salary: £76,000
- Trainee Intake: 27
- Qualification Rate: 100%
- Academic Requirements: Minimum degree requirement: 2:1. Minimum A-level requirement: BBB. The firm welcomes non-law graduates and career changers and uses contextual recruitment tools (Rare Contextual Recruitment System) to support widening access.
- Application Deadline: 2026-06-22
Seat Options
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- Pensions
- Infrastructure & Projects
- Real Estate
- Corporate & M&A
- Environment & Planning
- Employment
- Intellectual Property
- Commercial Contracts
- Technology & Digital
- Private Client & Wealth
- Banking & Finance
- Energy & Natural Resources
- ESG & Sustainability
Sponsorship
PGDL/GDL grant: £9,000. SQE grant: £9,000. (figures from supplementary information).
SQE Support
Financial support for conversion training is provided: SQE grant listed as £9,000 (supplementary data).
International Opportunities
The firm operates an international network and a Dublin subsidiary for EU-facing IP work; trainee international office secondments are limited (supplementary data indicates a 0% chance of secondment abroad), though international client work and network connections provide cross-border exposure.
Client Secondments
Trainees have undertaken client secondments (example: secondment to bp to support offshore wind joint ventures). Supplementary data indicates approximately 17% chance of a client secondment for trainees.
Mentorship
Structured buddy system (vacation scheme buddies and trainee buddies), supervisor arrangements in each seat, trainee networks and cohort activities (trainee away weekend, social calendar), plus mentorship via business development and professional development teams.
Programmes & Schemes
A one-week work experience programme for school and college students (Years 10–12 in England / S4–S6 in Scotland) run in Bristol and Edinburgh, introducing participants to legal and professional services roles, group projects and workplace skills. The programme includes exposure to lawyers and business services teams and aims to broaden awareness of careers in law.
- Duration: 1 week
- Places: 48 (Bristol), 10 (Edinburgh)
- Deadline: 2026-01-02
A one‑week vacation scheme offering a practical introduction to life at Burges Salmon: trainees are paired with trainee buddies, undertake client-focused work in a seat (example: Pensions), attend mid‑week socials and receive exposure to partners and fee earners. The vacation schemes feed into training contract recruitment.
- Duration: 1 week
Spring one‑week vacation schemes in Bristol (and a spring scheme in Edinburgh) offering seat-based work experience, networking with trainee buddies and insights into practice areas; designed for penultimate/final year law students and final year non-law students (and career changers/graduates).
- Duration: 1 week
- Deadline: 2025-09-29
Summer one‑week vacation schemes (two summer schemes run in Bristol each year; summer scheme(s) in Edinburgh) giving hands-on experience in different teams, networking and insight sessions across the firm and are part of the recruitment pipeline for training contracts.
- Duration: 1 week
- Deadline: 2025-09-29
One‑day events in Bristol and Edinburgh for Years 10–13/S4–S6 covering introductions to the firm, routes into law, application support, and interactive sessions about legal and business services careers.
- Duration: 1 day
The firm runs apprenticeship recruitment with selection events comprising presentations, group exercises, written exercises and interviews. Candidates meet current apprentices and hear about on‑the‑job training and career pathways; guidance is provided for preparing for selection events.
Notable Matters
Advised The Co-operative Group on the £247 million sale of Farmcare, a transaction including 17,000 acres, associated wind farms and employment and pension transfers across England and Scotland. The work covered complex land, agricultural and employment issues and large-scale transactional structuring.
Agriculture & Rural
Provided legal advice to Rabobank and Lloyds Banking Group on a £170 million financing package for Noble Foods, integrating revolving credit facilities and an invoice discounting package to support the client’s corporate and working capital needs.
Banking & Finance
Advised on a £152 million financing for Atlantic Green’s 624 MWh Cellarhead battery energy storage project, supporting a major renewables‑related infrastructure financing and reflecting the firm’s strength in sustainable energy and project finance.
Energy & Natural Resources
Acted for Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on legal aspects of Europe’s largest battery energy storage projects in Scotland, advising on project structuring, financing and regulatory issues for large-scale clean energy infrastructure.
Infrastructure & Projects
Advised the Facility for Energy Inclusion on a $10m sustainable finance transaction in Zimbabwe, demonstrating the firm’s capabilities in sustainable finance and cross‑border ESG-focused transactions.
ESG & Sustainability
Advised The Crown Estate on the sale of a 4,700 acre, multi-let, predominantly agricultural estate, covering complex land, tenancy and estate management issues.
Real Estate
What Burges Salmon LLP Looks For
Key Competencies
- Commercial awareness
- Attention to detail
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Resilience and adaptability
- Client focus and communication
- Commitment to responsible business/ESG
- Ambition and willingness to take responsibility
- Willingness to engage with technology and innovation
Evidence Signals
- Relevant vacation scheme or seat-based work experience (one-week schemes and Bright Sparks placements)
- Client-facing experience or secondments (including internal client secondments)
- Demonstrable commercial awareness and sector interest (energy, infrastructure, ESG, tech)
- Pro bono, mentoring or community engagement
- Use of contextual recruitment information where relevant (first‑generation to university, free school meals, postcode data)
Benefits & Wellbeing
- Trainee salary: £49,500 (Year 1), £51,500 (Year 2)
- NQ salary: £76,000
- PGDL/GDL grant: £9,000
- SQE grant: £9,000
- Annual leave: 25 days
- Annual target hours (reported): 1,050
- Firm-wide bonus scheme
- Group Personal Pension Plan with up to 5% firm-matching contributions
- Discounted gym memberships
- Headspace subscription and digital GP service
- Mental health first aiders and employee wellbeing resources
- Financial wellbeing offering
- Flexible/part-time working and agile working options (BWell network)
- Travel reimbursement for in-person early talent events (up to £100 travel; up to £80 hotel where appropriate)
- Rare Contextual Recruitment System used in early talent recruitment
- Investors in People Platinum accreditation
- Strong office amenities and social calendar (trainee socials, charity events)
Wellbeing
Comprehensive wellbeing provision including Headspace, a digital GP service, mental health first aiders, financial wellbeing support, BWell network activities, volunteering days and firm-sponsored wellbeing events.
Awards & Recognition
- Law Firm of the Year, The Legal Business Awards 2025
- RollOnFriday 'Best Law Firm to Work At' 2022-2025 (retained accolade for four consecutive years)
- Investors in People Platinum accreditation
- Best Use of Technology 2024
- UK Law Firm of the Year and Energy and Infrastructure Team of the Year, British Legal Awards 2020
- Legal 500 ESG Awards: Ethnicity and Disability/Neurodiversity initiatives recognised (2024)
- AllAboutLaw Awards – Most Popular Law Firm (Highly Commended) 2023
- Personnel Today Awards – Employment Law Firm of the Year finalist (2023)
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Memberships and commitments include PRIME and use of the Rare Contextual Recruitment System to broaden access; the firm has an ongoing focus on disability inclusion, social mobility and broadened access to early talent pipelines.
- BEnabled (disability people-led network)
- Reverse mentoring programme (featured in UN Global Compact Network SDG Showcase report)
- Mentoring schemes with University of Bristol Law School, University of Bristol, University of the West of England and IntoUniversity (Edinburgh and Glasgow)
- Bristol Future Talent Partnership (work experience for students aged 14–18 from Black or Minority Ethnic backgrounds)
- Pioneering recruitment programme for people with disabilities, long-term health conditions and neurodivergent people
- PRIME membership
- Use of Rare Contextual Recruitment System in early talent recruitment
Pro Bono
Active community and pro bono engagement including partnerships with Envision (mentoring disadvantaged young people), school careers and mock-interview programmes, volunteering days and charity events; the firm supports community apprenticeship/work experience partnerships and local refugee workforce initiatives.
Innovation
Burges Salmon invests in practical legal technology and solutions to support client delivery and internal efficiency. The firm has developed interactive tools for ESG and pensions compliance, has won recognition for its use of technology and maintains a strong internal focus on legal tech (insider ratings A* for legal tech). Trainees and lawyers engage with technology projects, innovation initiatives and dedicated L&D programmes such as the firm’s ESG training programme which blends traditional learning, business development skills and coaching methods.
- ESG Corporate Disclosure Tool
- ESG Pensions Tool (Pension Schemes ESG Tool)
- ESG Risk Review and Modern Slavery Statement Compliance Check tools
- Award-winning legal technology programme (Best Use of Technology 2024)
- Participation in FT Innovative Lawyers Europe recognition (Top 50)
Quick Application Angles
- Reference the firm’s ESG capability and tools (ESG Corporate Disclosure Tool, ESG Pensions Tool) or its nominated ESG L&D programme in applications — Burges Salmon has invested heavily in ESG and has seen business development results from that training.
- Mention recent energy/infrastructure work (for example battery energy storage financings and the Hynet CCUS project) if applying to Projects, Energy or Finance seats to show sector alignment with the firm’s priorities.
- Highlight experience working with technology or data (AI, cloud, cyber) — the firm rates highly for legal tech and advises on cutting-edge technology transactions and AI issues.
- Demonstrate commitment to inclusion and community programmes (reverse mentoring, BEnabled, PRIME, Bright Sparks) — the firm prizes widening access and disability inclusion and has concrete initiatives and metrics.
- If you are a career changer or non‑law graduate, call out transferrable skills and tangible examples of commercial problem‑solving — the firm has a history of recruiting and supporting career changers through its vacation schemes and apprenticeship/selection days.
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