Wedlake Bell

Overview

Wedlake Bell is an established City law firm (founded 1780) offering full-service legal advice across Private Client, Real Estate, Business (corporate, pensions, IP) and Disputes. The firm combines partner-led, market-facing teams with a collaborative, technology-forward approach (founder member of a 25-country Trans-European Law Firm Alliance) and a particular strength advising wealthy individuals, family offices, landed estates and real estate investors. Wedlake Bell positions itself as large enough to handle cross-border, high-value mandates while retaining a partner-led, personal culture and a small-trainee intake that emphasises individual development.

• Headquarters: London, 71 Queen Victoria Street (EC4V 4AY)
• Founded: 1780
• Lawyers: 300+ (lawyers and staff)
• Partners: 84
• Trainees: 8
• Offices: 1

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

• Private Client & Wealth
• Real Estate
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• Corporate & M&A
• Capital Markets
• Tax
• Employment
• Pensions
• Intellectual Property
• Data Protection & Privacy
• Construction & Engineering
• Environment & Planning
• Infrastructure & Projects
• Charities & Not-for-Profit
• Technology & Digital
• Insolvency & Restructuring
• Commercial Contracts
• Regulatory & Compliance
• Family Law
• Media & Entertainment

Geographic Focus: Firm is London-focused with a strong international practice: it advises UK and international clients and family offices, maintains long-standing relationships with advisers overseas, and is a founder member of the Trans-European Law Firm Alliance (TELFA) with coverage in 25 European countries and close links to a US network. The firm handles multi-jurisdictional work (cross-border trusts, international M&A, overseas real estate and family office matters) via its London hub and partner networks.

Training Contract

Training Contracts comprise four six-month seats (total two years). Trainees rotate through four seats to experience a broad range of work; seats are allocated so trainees experience core teams and the firm runs a 'Foundation' training programme tailored for the first two years at the firm. Trainees participate in a 'Future Trainee' induction series before joining and receive regular contact with HR and the Training Principal. Seats include mid-seat and end-of-seat reviews and each seat is supervised by a dedicated supervisor.

• Starting Salary: £42,000 (Year 1), £45,000 (Year 2)
• NQ Salary: £82,000
• Trainee Intake: 8
• Qualification Rate: 100%
• Academic Requirements: Applicants must have achieved (or expect to achieve) at least an upper class second (2:1) for their undergraduate degree. For apprenticeship routes, typical A-level requirement is ABB (or equivalent) and five GCSEs at grade 4-9 (including Maths and English).
• Application Deadline: 2026-05-01

Seat Options

• Commercial Disputes
• Property Litigation
• Real Estate (Development/Investment/Occupier/Finance)
• Construction
• Corporate & M&A
• Capital Markets
• IP & Commercial
• Employment
• Pensions & Employee Benefits
• Private Client
• Charities & Not-for-Profit
• Tax
• Information Technology / Data Protection

Sponsorship

The firm offers financial support for qualification routes: a maintenance grant of £7,000 (for LPC/SQE students) and funding for preparation courses/exam fees. A PGDL/(P)GDL grant of £7,000 and an SQE grant/maintenance grant of £7,000 are published.

SQE Support

Wedlake Bell partners with the University of Law for SQE preparation. The firm will cover the costs of SQE preparation courses and exams; the University of Law course includes an LLM alongside SQE preparation. Non‑law candidates who have not completed the (P)GDL must complete that before beginning SQE preparation; funding and maintenance grants are provided where applicable.

International Opportunities

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Client Secondments

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Mentorship

Trainees are paired with a mentor and a Trainee Buddy; each seat has a dedicated supervisor who oversees workload and provides feedback. Trainees have regular check-ins with HR and the Training Principal, and receive mid-seat and end-of-seat reviews. The Early Careers team provides additional 1:1 support.

Apply on the Wedlake Bell website →

Programmes & Schemes

Notable Matters

What Wedlake Bell Looks For

Key Competencies

• Commercial awareness
• Attention to detail
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Communication skills (verbal and written)
• Organisation and time management
• Resilience and adaptability
• Client service orientation
• Intellectual curiosity and eagerness to learn
• Technology interest/comfort with digital tools

Evidence Signals

• Vacation scheme attendance or strong vacation scheme performance
• Relevant work experience (paid work, paralegal, internships) or volunteering
• Commercial project or transactional exposure
• Pro bono or community engagement
• Sector interest evidenced by internships or academic work (real estate, art & luxury, tech)
• Mooting, negotiation or advocacy experience for disputes roles
• Demonstrable teamwork (sports, societies, group projects)
• Strong academics (minimum 2:1) and clear motivation for firm size/culture

Benefits & Wellbeing

• Trainee salary: £42,000 (Year 1) and £45,000 (Year 2)
• NQ salary: £82,000
• PGDL/(P)GDL grant: £7,000
• SQE / preparation & maintenance grant: £7,000 (includes course/exam costs and maintenance support)
• Private Medical Insurance (from day one)
• Private Dental Insurance (from day one)
• Pension scheme: firm matching 4% of salary contributions (5% after 2 years' service)
• 25 days annual leave plus bank/public holidays; birthday day off; option to buy up to five additional days
• Life assurance (4 x annual salary)
• Income protection and competitive income protection scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme (including face-to-face counselling and family access)
• Interest-free travel season ticket loan
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Subsidised breakfasts and lunches in the Hub (staff asked to donate 50p per meal to charity)
• Subsidised gym memberships and wellness initiatives (Pilates, in-office massages, wellbeing talks)
• Enhanced parental leave (18 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption; enhanced shared parental 18 weeks full pay; enhanced paternity 2 weeks full pay)
• Staff referral scheme (up to £8,000) and client/work introduction commission schemes
• Flexible/hybrid working arrangements (department-dependent)
• Learning budget and development programmes (including University of Law SQE LLM pathway)

Wellbeing

Employee Assistance Programme, in-office Pilates classes, in-office massages, wellness talks, parent coaching support, subsidised gym memberships and other wellbeing initiatives.

Awards & Recognition

• Chambers High Net Worth Awards – Art Law Team of the Year, 2026
• Legal 500 ranked across multiple practice areas (multiple tiers noted on firm pages)
• Named in Spear’s 500 Landed Estates Lawyers Index (2025)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The firm publishes a Gender Pay Gap Report (2024) and a Diversity Statistics Report (2025), runs an Equality and Diversity Committee that reports to the board, partners with Rare Recruitment to incorporate contextual data into early careers recruitment, supports outreach programmes (Sutton Trust, Future Frontiers), and participates in the 10,000 Black Interns programme.

• Equality and Diversity Committee (reports to the Board)
• Partnership with Rare Recruitment (use of contextual data in early careers recruitment)
• Law Society Diversity Access Scheme work placements
• Sutton Trust Pathways to Law placements
• 10,000 Black Interns (10KBI) participation and community donor
• Future Frontiers partnership
• Solicitor Apprenticeship Programme (City Century initiative)
• Apprenticeships across the firm (including IT apprentices and Solicitor Apprenticeships)
• Conscious recruitment training for early careers interviewers
• Charity Committee and Charity of the Year scheme

Pro Bono

Wedlake Bell joined the UK Collaborate Plan for Pro Bono in 2024 and has a long history of pro bono work. Examples include advising on the establishment of Concerts for Carers and advising on the set-up of Svitlo Education (supporting those affected by the Ukraine conflict). The firm encourages community involvement and offers pro bono support to charities and social impact organisations.

Innovation

Wedlake Bell runs an Innovation Committee and a Technology team to select and implement technology that delivers client value and efficiency. The firm emphasises a considered approach to AI adoption (due diligence and data security), focuses investment on tools that add real value (automation, document assembly, e-disclosure, analytics, playbooks) and encourages firm-wide change management and collaboration so lawyers engage with legal tech in everyday matters.

• Microsoft Copilot
• Orbital Witness (real estate AI tool)
• Thirdfort (client onboarding)
• HighQ (client collaboration)
• Docusign
• AI, Data Science, Automation, Workflows and Collaboration initiatives
• Innovation Committee (chaired by Tom Allfree)
• Technology team (led by David Hymers)

Quick Application Angles

• Highlight commercial real estate or landed estates experience (or demonstrable interest) — the firm has a deep City real estate practice and recent high-value development and landed-estate instructions.
• If applying to Private Client / Art & Luxury, reference the firm’s recognised work and recent awards (Chambers High Net Worth Art Law Team of the Year) and any direct experience with art/collectibles, family offices or wealth planning.
• Mention the firm's innovation stance and use of tech (Microsoft Copilot, Orbital Witness, Thirdfort) — candidates with tech-savvy, process-improvement examples will stand out.
• Emphasise fit with a partner-led, collaborative environment and small trainee cohort (8 trainees) — show how you work well in close teams and benefit from partner exposure.
• Note the firm’s SQE/Law-qualification support (University of Law partnership and £7,000 maintenance grant) if relevant, and confirm your academic standing (the firm requires or expects a 2:1).