Slater and Gordon Lawyers

Overview

Slater and Gordon is a large national consumer-focused law firm with a longstanding reputation for claimant personal injury, clinical and medical negligence, employment, family and collective/group litigation. The firm operates a nationwide network of offices and is regularly ranked in independent legal directories for multiple practice areas; it combines high-volume consumer work (including No Win No Fee personal injury and large collective actions) with specialist teams handling complex clinical negligence and public inquiry work. The firm positions itself as client-centred and technology-forward, emphasising accessible and affordable legal services for individuals and groups.

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

• Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence
• Employment
• Family Law
• Private Client & Wealth
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• Education
• Regulatory & Compliance
• Insurance & Reinsurance
• Healthcare & Life Sciences

Geographic Focus: National UK focus with specialist strongholds highlighted in regional offices (notably Cambridge and the North West). The firm operates a UK-wide office network and pursues large-scale collective actions and multi-claimant litigation across England, Wales and Scotland.

Training Contract

Four seats of six months each (four 6-month seats). Trainees start in a seat allocated to them and can indicate seat preferences which the firm will aim to accommodate. The programme focuses on placements in specialist personal injury/clinical negligence teams, employment, family, wills/trusts/probate and the Court of Protection.

• Qualification Rate: Excellent trainee retention rate
• Application Deadline: 18/09/2026

Seat Options

• Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence
• Serious Injury
• Clinical Negligence
• Accidents at Work
• Asbestos and Industrial Disease Claims
• Court of Protection
• Wills, Tax, Trusts & Probate
• Family
• Employment

Sponsorship

We do not offer funding for SQE or LPC at this time.

SQE Support

No

Apply on the Slater and Gordon Lawyers website →

Notable Matters

What Slater and Gordon Lawyers Looks For

Key Competencies

• Commercial awareness
• Client focus and empathy
• Initiative and problem solving
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Resilience and robustness under pressure
• Practical litigation and client-contact experience
• Curiosity and willingness to innovate

Evidence Signals

• Practical claimant-facing experience (work experience, paralegal roles, volunteering with charities, rehabilitation or medical support involvement)
• Relevant placements or pro bono involving injury, clinical negligence or employment
• Demonstrable teamwork and examples of taking responsibility
• Evidence of interest in consumer/collective litigation or public‑interest work

Benefits & Wellbeing

• Competitive trainee salary (exact figures not published)
• Bonus opportunities
• 25 days’ holiday
• Private medical insurance
• Life assurance
• Income protection insurance
• A range of flexible benefits to suit your lifestyle
• Flexible and agile working environment
• Supported career progression after qualifying
• Ongoing support from the learning and development team

Wellbeing

Private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection and an emphasis on work–life balance; ongoing learning and development support is provided.

Awards & Recognition

• Rankings in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 (multiple departments; 75 rankings cited in 2025 on homepage content)
• Lexcel accreditation (The Law Society)
• National Law Firm of the Year (referenced among firm accolades)
• Injury Litigation Team of the Year — Legal Excellence Awards (Cambridge team recognition)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Innovation

The firm emphasises innovation in client access to legal services and states a commitment to creating and investing in technology to improve how clients access legal services (referenced in careers material: 'We don't wait we create' and statements about revolutionising client access).

Quick Application Angles

• Reference the firm’s S+G Way values (for example: 'We don't wait we create') and give an example of how you have innovated or solved a problem practically — the firm highlights curiosity and initiative.
• If applying to trainee seats in serious injury/clinical negligence, cite any claimant-facing experience, relevant medical/rehabilitation liaison or work with charities (e.g., Headway/Brake) and explain how it informed your client care skills.
• Mention the firm's collective action experience (Volkswagen emissions, Mercedes Bluetec group actions) if relevant — tie any group-litigation or mass-claim project experience to how you would support multi‑claimant coordination and client communication.
• Highlight adaptability and readiness for early responsibility: use the trainees’ testimonials (attendance at hearings, client liaison) as prompts to give concrete examples of times you handled responsibility with appropriate support and judgement.