King & Spalding
Overview
King & Spalding is a US-headquartered, full-service global law firm with a strong London platform that serves major corporate and financial clients worldwide. London was the firm’s first international office and acts as a strategic hub for cross-border transactional, investigations and disputes work for FTSE and Fortune 100 clients. The firm combines high‑end City-style legal advice with an integrated global platform spanning the United States, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, emphasising partner-led teams, cross-office collaboration and international secondments.
- Headquarters: Atlanta
- Founded: 1885
- Lawyers: 1,300+
- Trainees: 4
- Offices: 26
Values & Culture
Practice Areas
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- International Arbitration
- Corporate & M&A
- Banking & Finance
- Capital Markets
- Investment Funds
- Real Estate
- Energy & Natural Resources
- Technology & Digital
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Tax
- Intellectual Property
- Employment
- Infrastructure & Projects
- Regulatory & Compliance
- Private Equity & Venture Capital
- White Collar Crime
- Financial Services & Regulation
- Transport & Logistics
- Insurance & Reinsurance
Geographic Focus: Global platform with deep roots in the United States and major hubs across Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. London operates as the firm’s first international office and a gateway for cross‑border transactional, disputes and investigations matters. The firm deploys cross‑office teams and international secondments to serve multinational clients, including major banks, investment funds and FTSE/Fortune companies.
Training Contract
Trainees undertake four six‑month seats (four seats total) across the firm’s London practices. Seat rotations provide broad training across transactional, investigations and dispute matters; trainees receive substantial responsibility from an early stage and work in partner-led teams. Seats are rotated to expose trainees to a range of practice skills; trainees may undertake overseas office rotations and client secondments during their training.
- Starting Salary: £62,000
- NQ Salary: £175,000
- Trainee Intake: 4 trainees per year (two intakes: March and September)
- Qualification Rate: 100% retention rate
- Academic Requirements: Welcomes applicants from all degree disciplines and all universities; no minimum A-levels, undergraduate or equivalent requirements; uses a contextualised recruitment system (REALrating).
- Application Deadline: 2027-02-26
Seat Options
- International Arbitration
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- Energy & Natural Resources
- Infrastructure & Projects
- Banking & Finance
- Insolvency & Restructuring
- Investment Funds
- Corporate & M&A
- Real Estate
- Regulatory & Compliance
- White Collar Crime
Sponsorship
PGDL/convertor grant: £17,000; SQE grant: £17,000 (supplementary data).
SQE Support
£17,000 SQE grant (supplementary data indicates an SQE grant of £17,000).
International Opportunities
Trainees may undertake international secondments to the firm’s offices in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, with Singapore and Dubai specifically referenced as destinations. The programme highlights cross‑office collaboration and overseas secondment opportunities as part of trainee development.
Client Secondments
Opportunities exist for client secondments as part of the programme; trainees are said to be able to undertake part of their training on client secondments, though specific client names and percentages are not given.
Mentorship
Each new trainee is assigned an associate LINK under the LINK Programme to provide day‑to‑day support; trainees meet partners and counsel during training and benefit from partner-led supervision, practice Talent Partners and access to firmwide lawyer development resources (Connect K&S, Link Programme, Milestone programming).
Programmes & Schemes
Six‑month internship programme in the Paris office offering substantive exposure to corporate M&A, arbitration, public energy & infrastructure, tax, compliance and finance matters. The programme provides mentorship, direct participation in matters and is used as a recruitment route to associate roles.
- Duration: 6 months
- Places: 12 (two intakes per year: January and July)
A structured summer programme for law students that provides substantive work on real matters, dedicated mentorship, and networking opportunities across offices. The programme is coordinated locally and is aimed at exposing students to the firm’s global platform.
- Duration: Summer (typical multi‑week programme)
Short virtual and in‑person insight events and trainee Q&As (example topics: Fund Finance spotlight, Corporate spotlight) that give prospective applicants the chance to meet trainees, partners and the Graduate Recruitment team and to gain insight into the application and interview process.
- Deadline: 07/10/2026
- Deadline: 26/10/2026
- Deadline: 27/11/2026
Notable Matters
Advised on the sale of Baker Hughes' Waygate Technologies business to Hexagon in a transaction valued at $1.45 billion. The work combined cross‑border M&A and transaction documentation across multiple jurisdictions.
Corporate & M&A
Advised Roper Technologies on the acquisition of CentralReach, a deal reported at approximately $1.65 billion, handling transaction structuring and cross‑practice regulatory and commercial issues.
Corporate & M&A
Advised the initial purchasers on Helios Towers's $500 million senior notes offering, providing capital markets and debt financing advice on the issuance.
Capital Markets
Advised on a $65 million Series C financing for Sage (Digital Health deal listed under the firm's digital health cases), supporting venture‑stage financing documents and commercial/technology diligence.
Private Equity & Venture Capital
Advised Weatherford International on the acquisition of NCS Multistage, providing transactional and sector‑specific counsel in the energy and industrial space.
Corporate & M&A
Defended Johnson & Johnson in high‑profile cosmetic talcum powder litigation, securing a significant defence jury verdict in complex product liability litigation.
Dispute Resolution & Litigation
Advised Hut 8 on landmark data centre project development and investment-grade financing arrangements for its River Bend project and additional AI data centre campus expansion.
Infrastructure & Projects
What King & Spalding Looks For
Key Competencies
- Keen motivation
- Intellectual curiosity
- Commercial awareness
- Innovative thinking
- Initiative
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Resilience
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Client service orientation
Evidence Signals
- International experience or interest in cross-border work (secondments are common)
- Relevant commercial or transactional experience for corporate/finance roles
- Pro bono involvement and community engagement
- Work experience demonstrating responsibility in lean teams (e.g., shared office experience)
- Demonstrable commercial awareness (reference to the firm’s recent deals or industry sectors)
- Language skills for Middle East / Asia practice
Benefits & Wellbeing
- Trainee salary Year 1: £62,000
- Trainee salary Year 2: £67,000
- Newly qualified salary: £175,000
- PGDL grant: £17,000
- SQE grant: £17,000
- Highly competitive salary and a wide range of benefits (firm statement)
- Annual leave: 25 days
- Annual target hours: 1,800
- Partner-led mentoring and LINK Programme
- Connect K&S cross-office visit opportunities
- Lawyer development budgets (self-directed annual budget for professional growth)
- Wellness initiatives and mental and physical health resources
- Opportunities for international and client secondments
- Pro bono participation and support
Wellbeing
The firm runs wellness programmes, mental health resources, workshops and firmwide wellbeing initiatives; it promotes overall wellness through training and resources dedicated to mental and physical health.
Awards & Recognition
- A Top 15 Global Elite Law Firm — The American Lawyer (2025)
- BTI Consulting Names Six King & Spalding Partners 2026 Client Service All‑Stars
- Top-ranked Fintech Practice — Chambers Global (2025)
- 26 London colleagues named to the 2026 Pro Bono Recognition List of England & Wales
- Katharine Krause Award in recognition of exemplary pro bono efforts (2026)
- Recognition of International Pro Bono Excellence (2025)
- Shortlisted — Halsbury Award for Rule of Law / The Lawyer Awards nominations (2026)
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The firm states it is committed to equal employment opportunity and inclusion across race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetic information, age, disability and other protected statuses. It uses contextualised recruitment (REALrating) and makes reasonable adjustments for disabilities.
- 26 Affinity Groups (including African American Attorneys, Armed Forces Attorney Coalition, Asian Attorneys, First Generation Professionals, Flex‑Time/Part‑Time Attorneys, LGBTQ+ Attorneys, Differently Abled Attorneys, Firmwide Women’s Alliance)
- REALrating contextualised recruitment
- Disability inclusive employer commitments (reasonable adjustments available)
- Campus Ambassadors and targeted campus outreach
- Pro bono partnerships focused on vulnerable communities and global health projects (e.g., The Vavengers report partnership)
Pro Bono
54,000+ pro bono hours contributed in 2025; 100% summer associate pro bono participation for over five years. The firm runs global pro bono initiatives including partnerships supporting The Vavengers on female genital mutilation research and founding legal partner work for the Professional Tennis Players Association’s Athlete Counsel & Equity (ACE) programme.
Innovation
The firm invests in legal technology and data capabilities (including Discovery Intelligence) and handles technology-forward matters (AI, data, cybersecurity, digital health). Trainees are exposed to multi‑disciplinary work that intersects with legal tech and data projects through practice training and cross-office collaboration.
- Discovery Intelligence
- Connect K&S (facilitating cross-office collaboration and innovation in delivery)
- Active advisory and work on AI, machine learning and data-driven matters across technology and digital health practices
Quick Application Angles
- Highlight international outlook and cross‑office collaboration — reference London as the firm’s first international office and an interest in secondments to Singapore or Dubai.
- Emphasise commercial awareness with specific reference to the firm’s recent transactional work (e.g., debt capital markets or M&A matters such as Helios Towers or Baker Hughes) to show sector knowledge.
- Mention pro bono commitment and related experience — the firm has been recognised for pro bono work and regularly publishes high‑impact pro bono initiatives.
- Reference the LINK Programme and partner‑led training in interviews to show you value early responsibility and mentorship.
- Demonstrate resilience and the ability to work in lean, partner‑led teams — trainees are given substantive responsibility from day one.
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