“If you demonstrate a willingness to learn, proactivity and interest in the area then you are encouraged to take a more prominent role in client-facing situations.”
From the moment you accept a training contract offer, you’ll begin a structured development journey with Osborne Clarke. Alongside your SQE preparation and examinations with BPP, you’ll be invited to join our 'Ready for Success' programme – a two year pre joining programme designed to keep you connected with the firm, build your commercial awareness and help you transition smoothly into life as a trainee. Through a mix of touchpoints such as firm events, skills sessions and regular contact with our Future Lawyer team, you’ll start to get to know our people, our work and the opportunities available.
When you join the firm, you’ll embark on two years of placements across our different practice areas. We structure your training so that you gain broad experience across the full range of work we do, with an expectation that you will complete at least one seat in each of the following areas: transactional, disputes and regulatory. This will ensure that you build the foundations you’ll need as a future OC associate.
You will be able to express your seat preferences as you progress through your training, and we encourage you to be as open as possible about the areas that interest you.
You will also receive regular reviews throughout your period of training. These conversations give you the chance to reflect on what you’ve enjoyed, discuss what comes next and understand what you need to do to get there. By the time you reach qualification, you’ll have experienced a variety of work, understood where your strengths lie and be prepared – and inspired – to take the next step in your career.
And it doesn’t stop at qualification. Unlike many training programmes, ours extends into your first year as a qualified associate. You’ll continue to receive support to develop your technical and client skills, grow your internal and external networks and, where possible, experience opportunities such as secondments. Our aim is to give you a clear, structured framework for your development, while still leaving room for you to shape your own path within the firm.
The OC difference lies with our people. So we don’t just make sure our future lawyers have all the legal and technical training to succeed – we care about their personal needs, too. That means:
“I am passionate about our training and early career development. It is my mission to ensure that Osborne Clarke offers all our Future Lawyers every opportunity to flourish here for many years to come. As a firm, we are proud that many of our partners began their careers as trainees here...” Marc Shrimpling, Training Principal
New experiences
One of the most rewarding experiences both personally and for your career is going on secondment, either to a client or to one of our international locations. It’s the fastest and most exciting route to growing your network while building industry, sector and client insight and experience. You’ll have the opportunity to experience a secondment either during your first two years, or after qualification.
Innovation
Whether you start out with an interest in legal tech, or go on to develop one, we encourage you to consider a seat with OC Solutions as part of your training contract. At the forefront of innovation in our industry, the team focuses on providing our clients and lawyers with digital solutions that will help revolutionise the way they work.
Making an impact
Our role as good corporate citizens is central to who we are as a firm. It’s also fundamental to your growth both as a lawyer and as an individual. From the day you start at Osborne Clarke you’ll be an integral part of our CSR and D&I committees, giving you the chance to have an active role in improving life at the firm, in our communities and the world at large. We allocate more hours to CSR activities than many of our peers, and we’re proud of what our people have achieved through pro-bono work, fundraising and making Osborne Clarke a more diverse and inclusive place to work.
Our London office is in the heart of the City – ideally situated for the top-flight clients we advise. As you’d expect there’s a lot of M&A (we’re one of the top 10 firms for this in the City), capital markets and financial institutions work. But there’s much more to our London office than that. For example, we have one of the most highly regarded Real Estate teams in the square mile, our Tech, Media and Comms team is the go-to team for cutting edge tech companies and we excel in areas like International Arbitration.
Competitive in the London ‘City’ market, in your first year you will receive £57,000 p.a., rising to £59,000 p.a. in your second year, and to £100,000 once qualified.
London trainees have been able to complete placements in up to four of the following areas:
Despite its size, our London team is close-knit, enjoying a wide range of social and team activities, like our annual quiz and sporting competitions. There’s also a chance to get involved with fundraising for our location charity.
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During the initial application form stage, you may use AI only for light text refinement – for example, to correct spelling and grammar or to improve clarity of sentences you have already written yourself. You must not use AI to generate or suggest content, examples, motivations or full answers, or to “optimise” what you think we want to hear.
