Michelmores LLP

Overview

Michelmores is a UK full-service law firm headquartered in Exeter with a strong regional base across the South West and an extending presence in London and Cambridge. The firm is particularly well known for its Natural Capital & Sustainable Agriculture capability, technology & innovation work (TMT), and a growing reputation advising early-stage and scale-up businesses through its MAINstream angel network and MiVentures package. Michelmores positions itself as collaborative, commercial and creative, combining sector-focused multidisciplinary teams with a commitment to ESG, pro bono and community engagement; recent recognition includes Law Firm of the Year – UK (CityWealth Magic Circle Awards 2024) and Best Law Firm to Work At 2025.

• Headquarters: Exeter, Woodwater House, Pynes Hill
• Trainees: 16
• Offices: 5

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

• Agriculture & Rural
• Corporate & M&A
• Real Estate
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• Employment
• Energy & Natural Resources
• Technology & Digital
• Intellectual Property
• Private Client & Wealth
• Tax
• Family Law
• Insolvency & Restructuring
• Commercial Contracts
• ESG & Sustainability
• Financial Services & Regulation
• Environment & Planning
• Infrastructure & Projects
• Fraud & Investigations

Geographic Focus: Strong South West roots with offices in Exeter, Bristol, Cheltenham and a presence in Cambridge and London. The firm serves regional clients across the South West while acting for national and international clients on cross-border corporate, tech, energy and real‑estate matters. It combines local sector specialisms (agriculture, natural capital, property) with a national corporate/tech and early‑stage offering (MAINstream, MiVentures).

Training Contract

Two-year training contract with multiple seat rotations. Trainees are encouraged to shape their training contract around their interests and can take 'split' seats (contentious/non-contentious combinations). The programme combines practical seat experience with a tailored Trainee Development Programme, a Professional Skills Course (PSC) and workshops on business development, personal impact and networking. Trainees benefit from buddying/mentoring, ad hoc socials and support events for future trainees.

• Starting Salary: £37,500
• NQ Salary: £80,000
• Trainee Intake: 16
• Qualification Rate: Over 88% of trainees decide to stay with the Firm following qualification
• Academic Requirements: Minimum degree requirement accepted: 2:2 (the firm accepts non-law graduates and no minimum A-level requirement is specified); contextual recruitment measures are in place for early careers roles.
• Application Deadline: 31 January 2026

Seat Options

• Commercial & Regulatory Disputes
• Contentious Probate
• Agriculture
• Family
• Property Litigation
• Corporate & Commercial
• Corporate and Transactional Real Estate
• Tax, Trusts & Succession
• Employment
• Projects
• Banking, Restructuring & Insolvency
• Technology & Innovation
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Energy & Renewables
• Intellectual Property
• Private Client

Sponsorship

PGDL/PGDL grant of £5,000 and an SQE grant of £7,000 (figures published).

International Opportunities

0% (the firm indicates there are no regular international secondments for trainees)

Client Secondments

Approximately 43% chance of client secondment for trainees (opportunities exist to undertake client secondments as part of development)

Mentorship

Trainees are paired with a buddy and receive one-to-one mentoring; the HR & Learning team run structured training programmes and there is a trainee network and social programme. The firm also runs schemes such as the GROW Mentor Scheme and supports mentoring through Aspiring Solicitors.

Apply on the Michelmores LLP website →

Programmes & Schemes

Notable Matters

What Michelmores LLP Looks For

Key Competencies

• Commercial awareness
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Communication and organisation
• Resilience and adaptability
• Attention to detail
• Entrepreneurial/creative thinking
• Client focus and commercial judgement
• Interest in sustainability/ESG for relevant teams
• Curiosity and willingness to learn

Evidence Signals

• Paralegal or vacation scheme experience
• Involvement with start-ups, entrepreneurship or investor networks (e.g., MAINstream)
• Pro bono or widening access activities
• Mooting, client-facing project experience or event organisation
• Sector-specific interest (agriculture/natural capital, tech/TMT, energy) demonstrated through placements or reading

Benefits & Wellbeing

• Employee Assistance Programme and wellbeing platform (counselling services)
• Free corporate Headspace membership for employee and up to five family members
• Wellbeing Cash Plan (claims towards dental, prescriptions and therapies)
• Private Medical Insurance
• Gym schemes, yoga and relaxation classes, running club
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Income Protection
• Season Ticket Loans
• Comprehensive pension scheme and financial education programme
• Life Assurance
• Long service recognition
• Discounts and cashback schemes
• Firmwide Bonus, On the Spot Awards and individual performance related bonus
• EV Car Scheme
• Sports and social clubs (cycle networks, netball, book club, etc.)
• Give as you Earn charitable giving
• Buying and Selling Holiday Scheme
• Additional day off for birthday and two days over Christmas/New Year
• Volunteering days leave and opportunities to support Charity Partner(s)
• Support for fertility treatment (up to 10 days paid time off)
• Paid time off for antenatal and adoption appointments
• Paid time off and support for parents with premature babies in neonatal care
• Enhanced parental leave (26 weeks full pay for qualifying employees) and 13 weeks paid paternity/co-parent leave
• Family Buddy Scheme and Family Network
• Support for pregnancy loss (paid time off, EAP support, phased return)

Wellbeing

Wellbeing Champions across offices (trained by the Mind Forward Alliance), member of the Mindful Business Charter, Menopause Champion scheme and Henpicked support, corporate Headspace, EAP, wellbeing webinars and workshops, Leading Minds Trainee Resilience Programme.

Awards & Recognition

• Law Firm of the Year - UK (CityWealth Magic Circle Awards) 2024
• Best Law Firm to Work At 2025 (RollOnFriday)
• Best Legal Team for Early-Stage Deals (UKBAA Angel Investment Awards) 2022 & 2023
• Regional/Offshore Firm of the Year - Legal Business Awards 2024
• Top Law Firm - eprivateclient Top Private Client Law Firm 2024
• Law Firm of the Year - The Times Best Law Firms 2023
• Gold - Best Employee Brand of the Year (City Wealth Brand & Marketing Awards) 2025
• Listed in Legal 500 Green Guide UK for natural capital expertise
• Ranked in Social Mobility Employer Index 2025 (Top 75, ranked 57th)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Signatory/member of wellbeing and inclusion schemes including the Mindful Business Charter; partnership with Planet Mark on sustainability; contextual recruitment introduced for early careers; ongoing community outreach and school partnerships to improve social mobility.

• Pathways to Law partnerships
• VisionPath partnerships
• #10000BlackInterns participation
• REACH Academy placements
• Momentum (schools partnership programme)
• GROW Mentor Scheme
• Aspiring Solicitors mentoring
• Women @Michelmores initiative
• Stonewall membership (firm-level participation mentioned)
• Contextual recruitment for early careers roles
• Family Network and Family Buddy Scheme

Pro Bono

Pro bono and community engagement are promoted through volunteering days, Momentum school partnerships and firm charity partnerships; no fixed firmwide hours target is published on careers pages.

Innovation

Michelmores invests in technology and sector-specialist capability via its Technology & Innovation team and targeted programmes for start-ups and scale-ups (MiVentures, MAINstream). The team advises across AI, data, cyber, FinTech, agritech and gaming. Trainee/insider ratings indicate the firm is mid-to-strong on legal tech (rated at B in trainee/insider scores), while innovation activity is visible through client-facing programmes and regional tech sponsorships.

• Technology & Innovation team
• MiVentures (scale-up legal package)
• MAINstream angel investor network (supporting tech & start-up ecosystem)
• Sponsorship of regional tech awards (e.g., Tech South West Clean Tech category)
• Paperless billing and internal sustainability/tech initiatives

Quick Application Angles

• Demonstrate genuine commercial interest in the firm's sector strengths: reference Michelmores’ Natural Capital / Sustainable Agriculture work (for example Ben Sharples' guide and the Sustainable Agriculture conference) when applying to agriculture or environment roles.
• If applying to corporate/tech roles, mention MAINstream and MiVentures involvement and any direct experience with pitch events, fundraising or early-stage deals — the firm has an award-winning early‑stage practice.
• Use the firm values verbatim (Collaborative, Commercial, Creative) in applications and give examples showing how your behaviour aligns with each value.
• Highlight teamwork, approachability and client-focus: trainee and insider ratings show particularly strong peer support and partner approachability — use examples of collaborative problem-solving and client-facing interactions.
• If eligible for contextual recruitment or outreach programmes, reference participation in schemes like REACH, Momentum or Pathways to Law to strengthen social-mobility and access context.