Lewis Silkin LLP
Overview
Lewis Silkin is a nationally‑focused full service commercial law firm with a particular reputation for employment, TMT/digital, media & entertainment, and creative/consumer sector work. The firm emphasises an entrepreneurial, people‑centred culture — promoting long term retention, internal mobility and a ‘brilliantly different’ careers approach — and has a strong sector focus on tech, creative and life sciences clients. It operates nine offices across the UK, Ireland and Hong Kong and positions itself as a global adviser through alliance membership and international work for clients in 100+ countries.
- Headquarters: London, Arbor, 255 Blackfriars Road
- Trainees: 10
- Offices: 9
Values & Culture
Practice Areas
- Employment
- Data Protection & Privacy
- Technology & Digital
- Media & Entertainment
- Corporate & M&A
- Real Estate
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Financial Services & Regulation
- Intellectual Property
- Dispute Resolution & Litigation
- Retail & Consumer
- Sports Law
- Immigration
- ESG & Sustainability
- International Arbitration
- Commercial Contracts
- Regulatory & Compliance
Geographic Focus: Strong UK national presence with nine offices across London, Manchester, Leeds, Oxford, Glasgow, Belfast, Cardiff, Dublin and Hong Kong. The firm serves clients globally (noting it supports clients in 100+ countries), operates cross‑border through network/alliances (member of Ius Laboris) and maintains a particular focus on serving technology, creative, media and life sciences clients across the UK, Ireland and Asia (Hong Kong).
Training Contract
The firm describes a training contract focused on hands‑on development in a dynamic environment; the website highlights that trainees are encouraged to explore areas of law they are passionate about and that the programme is designed to provide real responsibility and varied experience.
- Starting Salary: Year 1 trainee salary: £47,500; Year 2 trainee salary: £51,750
- NQ Salary: £85,000
- Trainee Intake: 10
- Qualification Rate: 83%
- Academic Requirements: Minimum A Level requirement: No minimum. Minimum degree requirement: No minimum. (The solicitor apprenticeship requires a minimum of three A Levels totalling 128 UCAS points (ABB equivalent) plus 5 GCSEs including English and maths.)
- Application Deadline: 14 January 2026
Sponsorship
PGDL/ GDL grant: £16,500. SQE grant: £16,500. (Amounts taken from published recruitment/fact data.)
SQE Support
A SQE grant of £16,500 is recorded in the available supplementary data (the firm publishes SQE/PGDL grant amounts in recruitment facts).
International Opportunities
LegalCheek data records a 0% chance of secondment abroad for trainees. The firm has international offices (Dublin, Hong Kong) but published trainee secondment abroad detail is not given on the firm pages.
Client Secondments
LegalCheek reports a 46% chance of client secondment for trainees.
Mentorship
The firm references mentoring and supportive supervision across its early‑career programmes (including mentoring for the Ellen & Nikki scholarship recipients and mentoring for apprentices). Careers material highlights open dialogue, mentoring and access to partners and associates; the scholarship specifically offers a mentoring programme with one of the firm’s lawyers.
Programmes & Schemes
A four‑day work experience placement aimed at sixth form students (Year 12 and Year 13). The programme comprises two days of workshops (e.g., routes into law, application and CV top tips, interview skills, commercial awareness and analytical thinking) followed by two days of shadowing in teams. The firm runs three four‑day placements per year in the London office (dates aligned to school half‑terms) and plans to extend to regional offices.
- Duration: 4 days
- Salary: Each participant receives a £50 pre‑paid voucher for work essentials; reasonable lunch costs can be expensed. Travel is arranged/pre‑booked through the firm's travel booking system.
- Deadline: 2026-07-17
The firm recruits Solicitor Apprentices (two apprentices bi‑annually) into its London office. The programme emphasises early responsibility, practical experience, mentoring and career development. Eligibility and selection comprise an application form, a virtual assessment day (written exercise, presentation and interview) and an in‑person assessment day (partner interview, written exercise and case study).
- Places: 2
- Deadline: TBC
Virtual insight events run twice a year (Summer and Autumn) aimed primarily at students in full‑time education but open to others seeking insight into legal careers. Sessions include presentations from legal experts and the talent acquisition team with Q&A and application advice. Registration is via the firm's online recruitment/event system.
The firm runs regional trainee open evenings (e.g., London and Belfast) and a series of 'Behind the scenes at Lewis Silkin' webinars for apprentices and trainees covering how to submit successful applications, assessment day preparation and a day in the life of a trainee. These events are posted on the careers events calendar and are used to feed candidates into the formal recruitment pipeline.
Notable Matters
Featured as a case study on the firm's site, Lewis Silkin advised on a music technology deal involving Audoo, a project described as revolutionising royalties for artists. The case study highlights the firm's experience advising clients at the intersection of music, technology and rights monetisation.
Media & Entertainment
The firm published a case study noting advice to Next 15 on what is described as the company's biggest acquisition, showcasing the firm’s corporate transactional capability on significant M&A work for listed or high‑profile clients in the marketing/communications sector.
Corporate & M&A
Lewis Silkin features a case study describing work for John Lewis defending a widely publicised Christmas advertisement, demonstrating the firm's advertising, marketing and reputation management expertise.
Media & Entertainment
What Lewis Silkin LLP Looks For
Key Competencies
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation and time management
- Analytical and creative thinking
- Strong team player
- Motivation and commitment to learning
- Commercial awareness
- Client service orientation
Evidence Signals
- Relevant work experience or shadowing in commercial law or business services
- Clear commercial awareness and sector interest (technology, media, creative, life sciences)
- Demonstrable motivation for a legal career (applications ask why you want to be a solicitor and why Lewis Silkin)
- Written examples showing analytical thinking (case studies, coursework, mooting or client‑facing experience)
- Engagement with the firm’s events (open evenings, webinars) or with its scholarship/PRIME programmes
Benefits & Wellbeing
- Trainee salary Year 1: £47,500
- Trainee salary Year 2: £51,750
- Newly qualified (NQ) salary: £85,000
- PGDL/GDL grant: £16,500
- SQE grant: £16,500
- Annual leave: 25 days
- Annual target hours: 1,200
- Pre‑paid £50 voucher for work essentials for work experience participants
- Travel for work experience is arranged and reasonable lunch expenses can be claimed
- Memberships/learning resources and extensive internal training (e‑learning and in‑house courses referenced across the site)
Awards & Recognition
- The Lawyer Awards 2025 – UK Law Firm of the Year
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The firm states a commitment to inclusive recruitment and accessibility, offering reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process and actively working to ensure no one is disadvantaged when applying or during their careers at the firm. It is a member of PRIME and a member of Ius Laboris for international HR and employment collaboration.
- The Ellen Temperton & Nikki Mallett scholarship scheme
- PRIME membership (access to the legal profession/ social mobility partnership)
- Inclusive recruitment and accessibility commitments (reasonable adjustments offered during recruitment)
Innovation
The firm runs a structured thought‑leadership and innovation programme (Future of Work Hub, The Collective) that produces research, events and newsletters. It offers e‑learning/digital training products and references the use of AI in some practice areas to drive efficiency. Trainee and insider data record a top‑grade for legal tech, indicating strong investment in tools and digital learning resources; specific proprietary platforms are not named on the pages provided.
- Future of Work Hub
- The Collective (events and thought leadership platform)
- E‑learning and microlearning training platform
- Use of AI where appropriate (noted in arbitration practice)
- Digital, Commerce & Creative Handbook (2026)
Quick Application Angles
- Highlight genuine commercial awareness of the firm’s key sectors (technology, media & entertainment, creative and consumer) — reference a recent sector case study such as the Audoo music‑tech work or the Next 15 acquisition in your application to show sector fit.
- Mention Lewis Silkin’s strong training & tech reputation (insider ratings A* for training and legal tech) and explain how you would engage with their digital learning/e‑learning offer or contribute to a tech‑facing team.
- If applying via the apprenticeship route, emphasise early responsibility, practical experience and evidence of organisation/time management — and reference the Solicitor Apprenticeship eligibility and assessment day stages in your preparation.
- Refer to the firm’s DEI and social mobility activity (Ellen & Nikki scholarship, PRIME membership) if you have relevant voluntary, mentoring or social mobility experience — show how you would contribute to inclusion initiatives.
- Attend/mention firm events (Behind the scenes webinars, trainee open evenings or insight sessions) and reference something you learnt from them in your application to demonstrate genuine interest and engagement.
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