About A&O Shearman
We are an international law firm with a global network of experts all thinking creatively, entrepreneurially, pushing boundaries and building for the future. Across 40+ countries, we blend the brightest minds in law with the most cutting-edge technologies to successfully meet and exceed the highest standards of our industry.
Across seven global practices, with over 150 Peerpoint consultants, we have the skills to handle complex, cross-border deals working together with teams across different offices, jurisdictions and continents. We’ve led the market for over ninety years by finding new ways of meeting the ever-changing challenges our clients face.
Our innovation lab, Fuse, was the first tech start-up designed to bring forward-thinking tech companies together with clients to develop exciting solutions to legal, regulatory and deal-related issues. We’ve been crowned the ‘Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe’ at the prestigious Financial Times Innovative Lawyer Awards for a record-breaking six times. All of this and more is a testament to our future-focused and digital mindset.
Today, we’re championing technology, providing best-in-class tools, and surfacing new ideas to reimagine what law looks like tomorrow. In a world that provides opportunity and challenge in equal measure, we capitalise on the trend of the ever-changing
Training at A&O Shearman
Starting a Training Contract with A&O Shearman is just the beginning of what will be a stimulating and rewarding legal career. Throughout the two years of your Training Contract, we will work closely with you to ensure you have the right support to develop into a successful commercial solicitor.
Under our current training programme, your training will be based on four six-month rotations (known as ‘seats’), through a number of departments or practice areas, where you will sit with a partner or an associate who will supervise your professional and personal development.
Our dedicated HR for Trainees team will work with you to support you with your seat choices. Seats are available across our practice areas and allow trainees to experience the full range of work we do. You will have the opportunity to express your preferences, so that you can spend time in the areas that are of particular interest (subject to business need). Our core transactional areas of expertise are Banking, Corporate (which includes our Pensions team) and International Capital Markets; as a trainee, you can expect to spend at least two seats of your Training Contract gaining experience in these areas. You will also explore the possibility of spending a seat on an international or client secondment.
Our trainees also gain contentious experience during their Training Contract, which they can do either by spending a seat in our Litigation department (including Employment, Intellectual Property, Litigation & Investigations and Arbitration) or, for those who do not sit in a Litigation seat, by completing a Litigation course and obtaining contentious experience via legal advice clinics. The Litigation course is run by Nottingham Law School and consists of five days’ tuition; regular visits to a legal advice centre take place throughout the Training Contract, to help our trainees gain practical contentious experience and provide valuable pro bono help.