Arnold & Porter

With a smaller intake than most, but more responsibility than many, you could fall shorter than Arnold & Porter.

Arnold & Porter training contract review 2026

About the firm

Running a law firm is like running a well-oiled machine, you need all the gears and cogs working together smoothly, as each piece is crucial to keep things moving. So, being a part of that is no small task. But it stands to reason that being one of a few important cogs makes a bigger impact than being one of many.

At Arnold & Porter, this principle clearly rings true. “The small intake really brought me in,” one interviewee prefaced, “I wanted more responsibility and better-quality work, it’s quite a stark difference to other firms and everyone here encourages you to seek out those experiences.”

“…it’s just a fun place to work, everyone around me is having a good time!”

Having the clout of its US homebase was also something that drew juniors to A&P, with one stating “it’s a smaller London office, but a massive US firm that’s international as well.” Case in point, Chambers USA heaps the praise on A&P over on US soil in over 70 departments. One of those rubber-stamped practices is life science, and its London base excels in the area too, with long standing prowess in Chambers UK for life science: product liability and regulatory work.

With up to four joining the ranks each intake, the firm is particularly on the lookout for individuals who “take initiative and think on their feet,” lending itself well to someone who’s a bit more of a self-starter and not afraid to get stuck in. They seem to be getting something right, as this one happy trainee relayed: “It’s just a fun place to work, everyone around me is having a good time!”

Training Contract Structure

For seat allocation, newbies can expect a “flexible system” and an informal chat with the training principal in which they’ll give their preferences. Given the smaller cohort, there’s also a relatively lean selection of seats on offer with just seven departments that our interviewees could choose from. This also meant juniors tended to have no issue with being assigned a first seat to them based on business need. The seat options include life sciences, complex litigation, white collar crime, antitrust, international arbitration, corporate and finance, and IP.

Seat Experiences

Trainee Life

“We’re open and diverse and encourage people to be their true selves.”

Thanks to the smaller cohort, trainees had no problem settling in: “I know everyone here! There’s no one I don’t know the name of.” This intimate feel curated a culture which interviewees felt was warm and friendly which only bolstered their enjoyment at being part of A&P. “The firm is made by the people and that is what makes it so nice to work here,” noted one source, “we’re open and diverse and encourage people to be their true selves.”

Speaking of diversity, insiders praised the high levels of female representation in partnership roles, and those in the ethnic minority affinity group known as ACCORD (Attorney Community Championing our Racial Diversity) are given the opportunity to travel to DC for a summit where they can “meet different people and get a chance to network.”

With this in mind, the firm was described as quite “community based” so it’s no surprise pro bono was also a factor of our sources’ TC. We were told they were “really encouraged” to get stuck in with it. “It’s really important at Arnold & Porter,” one newbie explained, “taking part in that work and giving back to the community is part of the firm’s culture.”

The sense of community was evident inside the firm too, one pointed to the Garden Room, a food and drinks event every Thursday from 5.30pm, as an example of that. Another point of reference would be the regular staff lunches with food provided by the firm on its conference floor for everyone to sit and socialise: “You get to know people quite quickly and meet different people on quite a regular basis through that.”

Both functions hold events framed around cultural holidays such as Diwali and Lunar New Year. The firm’s social committee was said to “put a lot of thought and effort into what they organise.” The sorts of events put on in the past includes cooking classes, paddle club, trivia nights, paintball, bake off, and the opportunity to climb Snowdon.

Camaraderie flows into how the firm approaches supporting its trainee cohort, as evidenced by the firm’s buddy system in which you’re paired with a trainee in the year below and can go for monthly coffees and quarterly lunches. Even first years are assigned one for the year below which was praised by our interviewees as being “really nice because they can join the firm having known someone already.”

Supervision was described as “certainly attentive” and was well received across the board. Trainees share an office with their supervisor which one noted “gives you that close interaction which is great at trainee level.” Feedback was considered valuable and there was plenty of it, all serving to develop trainees into being better lawyers: “While you’re encouraged to find the answers out for yourself, help is always there if you need it. I’ve learned a lot and received great guidance from them.”

This combo of supervision and learning-by-doing tended to make up the bulk of training our interviewees had experienced, as actual training sessions were said to be on the lighter side, although the firm did tell us that sessions are held for trainees, and the onus is on the trainee to show up to them. The firm does also host a professional skills course that crops up twice per seat.

For newbies, “the novelty of working in the corporate world has yet to wear off” as they get to enjoy one of the four floors of a high rise near Liverpool Street for their in-office days. “It’s super accessible and there are great views,” smiled one source, describing all the perks including coffee shops, gyms, and discounts in the area.

Generally speaking, trainees are expected in for three days a week, and most recounted 6.30pm being the average finish time. “We don’t sell our souls here. I expected the hours to be much worse than they have been,” recalled one source, “you can work later sometimes but at least you can enjoy the sunset!” With this in mind, the salary was given a thumbs up too.

Qualification

During qualification season, interviewees benefitted from the fact that “it’s not normally a competitive process.” It’s encouraged that trainees take the initiative of speaking to departments they may be interested in early, which leads to that informal selection process.

With no interview or CV, it then becomes a “very open and flexible” discussion before the team makes a final decision based on business need. Juniors felt that the firm was the A&P-lace to be noting that “I really love working here, the work is so interesting and rewarding.” In 2025, the firm retained a full house of qualifiers!