Withers LLP

Overview

Withers is an international, full-service law firm focused on advising private capital, families and successful individuals. Founded in 1896 and built around cross-border private client, tax, disputes and specialist corporate work, the firm markets itself as partner-led, collaborative and people-focused with a long heritage advising wealthy families, family offices, founders and private institutions. With a global footprint across major financial and private-capital hubs, the firm is positioned for multi-jurisdictional private client and mid-market corporate work and niche technology, crypto and luxury-asset financing matters.

• Headquarters: London
• Founded: 1896
• Partners: 200+
• Trainees: 12
• Offices: 15

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

• Banking & Finance
• Corporate & M&A
• Private Client & Wealth
• Tax
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• International Arbitration
• Intellectual Property
• Technology & Digital
• Data Protection & Privacy
• Real Estate
• Employment
• Family Law
• Investment Funds
• Financial Services & Regulation
• Environment & Planning
• ESG & Sustainability
• Media & Entertainment
• Sports Law
• Shipping & Maritime
• Regulatory & Compliance
• Fraud & Investigations
• White Collar Crime
• Charities & Not-for-Profit

Geographic Focus: Withers operates from multiple offices across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific and focuses on cross-border advice for high-net-worth individuals, family offices, private companies, funds and founders. Key markets include London, Milan/Italy, Geneva/Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore in APAC, and a significant US presence (New York, Los Angeles and other US offices). The firm positions itself as a global adviser on multi-jurisdictional wealth structuring, trusts and estates, private trust

Training Contract

Information on specific seat structure/rotation on the firm site pages reviewed is limited. The firm offers a two-year training contract process (standard UK model) with multiple seats across private-client, tax, disputes, corporate and finance practices; training is partner-led and emphasises exposure to cross-border and client-facing work.

• Starting Salary: £47,000
• NQ Salary: £95,000
• Trainee Intake: 12
• Qualification Rate: 80%
• Academic Requirements: Minimum degree requirement: 2:1. Minimum A-level requirement: AAB.
• Application Deadline: 8 January 2027

Sponsorship

PGDL/PGDL grant: £8,000 (published figure). SQE grant: £10,000 (published figure).

SQE Support

The firm provides an SQE grant of £10,000 (published figure) and additional SQE support is referenced via the firm's graduate funding statements (see sponsorship).

International Opportunities

The firm offers international opportunities across its global network. Reported chance of secondment abroad is c.10% (published figure). Offices with graduate and trainee opportunities explicitly referenced include London, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States and Italy (Milan and Padua).

Client Secondments

Reported chance of client secondment: 0% (published figure).

Apply on the Withers LLP website →

Programmes & Schemes

Notable Matters

What Withers LLP Looks For

Key Competencies

• Commercial awareness
• Cross-border and international outlook
• Attention to detail
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Client-facing skills and emotional intelligence
• Interest in technology and innovation (for tech/crypto roles)
• Commitment to pro bono and responsible business

Evidence Signals

• International work or study experience (relevant for multi‑office global practice)
• Commercial internships or work experience with private capital, family offices or fintechs
• Pro bono involvement
• Language skills and multilingual capability
• Demonstrable teamwork (e.g. moot, societies, collaborative projects)
• Evidence of resilience and ability to manage targets/hours in a partner-led environment

Benefits & Wellbeing

• First year trainee salary: £47,000
• Second year trainee salary: £52,000
• NQ salary: £95,000
• PGDL grant: £8,000
• SQE grant: £10,000
• Annual leave: 25 days
• Annual target hours: 1,400
• Access to global offices and international secondment opportunities (reported chance of secondment abroad: 10%)
• Structured pro bono programme (encouraged participation and global pro bono projects)
• Flexible working culture and hybrid working approach emphasised on careers pages

Wellbeing

Firm-wide pro bono and responsibility programmes, environmental sustainability initiatives and DEI training; regional allowances for pro bono hours credit are set regionally. The firm emphasises wellbeing through a people-first culture and flexible working practices.

Awards & Recognition

• Law Firm of the Year 2021 (Law.com International)
• UNI/PdR 125:2022 certification for Italian offices (gender equality accreditation)
• Multiple Tier 1 practice rankings on directory listings (Legal 500 Tier 1 practice areas across private client and tax)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Withers aims to provide an inclusive environment that is fair and equitable to all and to increase representation from underrepresented groups. The firm references processes aligned to Mansfield certification in the UK and US, commits to publishing progression processes, reviewing pay structures and reducing gender and ethnicity pay gaps, and to global DEI network expansion.

• Global DEI networks including LGBTQ+, women, working families, neurodiversity, disability and religion
• Firm-wide DEI training programme and targets for 90% participation
• Mansfield-style commitments to consider underrepresented candidates in hiring and promotion
• Regional DEI reports and published UK Diversity Statistics 2025
• UNI/PdR 125:2022 accreditation (Italy)

Pro Bono

The firm encourages lawyers to contribute time to at least one pro bono project each year; Withers' global pro bono programme spans offices and practice areas, supports over 50 partner organisations and includes high-impact matters and partnerships (for example, long‑standing support for the Clooney Foundation for Justice).

Innovation

Withers invests in specialist legal capability for technology, crypto and digital-asset work via a dedicated tech offering; the firm combines legal and technical expertise for blockchain, AI and fintech clients and produces interactive and digital thought leadership (pods, games and industry briefings). Trainees can expect exposure to technology-focused matters and cross-disciplinary work involving data privacy, IP and regulatory advice, although no firm-wide legal-tech product names (beyond team/initiative labels) are published on the pages reviewed.

• Withers Tech (technology-focused team and offering)
• Crane (founded to serve founders and partnering with Withers Tech)
• Succession Game (interactive succession-planning learning tool)
• Withers talks: cryptocurrency podcast

Quick Application Angles

• Highlight international experience and language skills — Withers emphasises cross-border work and has offices in London, Milan, Geneva, Hong Kong, Singapore and major US cities.
• Demonstrate commercial awareness of private capital, family offices or tech/crypto markets — reference recent firm matters such as Tokocrypto (TKO token launch) or fintech financings (e.g. Thought Machine) where relevant.
• Stress cultural fit with Withers' people-first and flexible working culture — reference the firm's emphasis on collaboration, partner-led training and DEI commitments.
• If applying for tech/crypto roles, cite technical literacy and regulatory awareness (GDPR, PSAs, AML/KYC and emerging crypto frameworks) — the firm markets strong tech and crypto capability.
• Mention commitment to pro bono and responsible business — Withers runs a global pro bono programme and expects lawyers to engage with social-impact work.