Bevan Brittan

This public law specialist’s growing private practice and “fantastic” work-life balance is truly a match made in Bevan.

Bevan Brittan training contract review 2026

About the firm

For a long time, Bevan Brittan has been known as one of the go-to firms for those with an interest in public work – think work with the NHS, local authorities and the like. However, "we have been diversifying over the last six to seven years, so now we’re much more balanced with great opportunities for trainees,” training principal David Hobbs tells us. As an example, the firm is shifting closer to a 50-50 split between public and private work, increasing its visibility in the latter.

Though things are balancing pretty quickly, Hobbs explains that it's not that the firm is reducing the amount of public work, “it's that we’re growing the commercial work at a faster rate!” It’s good news for trainees, especially considering that many of those we spoke with were all we keen to highlight how the firm’s commitment to public work was a key draw for them. “The firm offers services to public authorities,” one source pointed out, “so it’s not just about making rich people richer. But the firm does have a good commercial portfolio, too.” Sounds like a win-win all round!

“The firm offers services to public authorities.”

A quick glance at Bevan Brittan’s Chambers UK rankings is certainly enough to get a sense of its strength in the public sector. For instance, the firm boasts a host of top rankings UK-wide in areas like administrative and public law, healthcare in the public and third sector, local government and clinical negligence. Bevan Brittan is also highly rated for real estate and healthcare-focused employment in London, and for social housing in the North East and South West. On top of this, as Hobbs highlights, the firm has “new sector focuses in energy and resource management, along with higher education, so those are particular growth areas over the last few years.”

Training Contract Structure

Right from their first seat, newbies get the opportunity to rank up to six seats in order of preference. Though “first-years are unlikely to get their first choice,” we heard trainees who are closest to qualifying get higher priority in the seat allocation process. That said, in the most recent rotation at the time of writing, everyone from the current cohort got one of their top six. Trainees can apply to any seats at the firm regardless of location, and none of them are strictly mandatory.

However, though the process is “quite flexible,” it’s worth noting that “you generally have to do a litigation and transactional stint before your third seat.” We heard that, given the firm’s large real estate portfolio, seats like property are almost a given, while employment and healthcare were also pretty popular. Overall, despite any competition, our interviewees were generally satisfied with their seat allocation experience.

Bevan Brittan gives trainees regular opportunities to go on secondment, and those sat with the healthcare team might spend two or three days a week with one of the firm’s client NHS trusts, although there are also some full-time options in areas like construction. “It’s not something that is forced on you,” according to trainees, so it’s down to individual preferences. Those who are interested “write a short paragraph explaining why you want to go, then you have a call with them to discuss.”

Seat Experiences

Trainee Life

Trainees we spoke with were generally positive about the firm’s open-plan offices, featuring standing desks and “pleasantly surprising” interiors. “When I go into the office, I get the sense that it’s very fun!” one newbie smiled: “People are very social because they’re actually happy to see each other and have some human interaction.” This can include things like lunches, informal drinks and the typical Christmas and summer parties. There’s also an annual trainee quiz as well as a monthly pizza day, meaning there’s plenty to get your teeth into – literally!

“People here understand that paralegals, trainees and juniors will make mistakes. It’s a very forgiving culture.”

Of course, “everyone does work hard and is serious when they need to be,” and the open-plan layout helps facilitate in-person collaboration. The general sentiment from interviewees was that the offices are generally quite relaxed and even the more senior fee earners are “fantastically nice.” Aside from not feeling any individual pressure to work late, newbies were also relieved that “people here understand that paralegals, trainees and juniors will make mistakes. It’s a very forgiving culture.”

Insiders also felt that there was a good sense of community on most fronts. “It’s taken time,” one trainee outlined, “but the younger lawyers have a really good group who support each other and go out together.” We heard that this was also true of Bevan Brittan’s commitment to DEI, wellbeing and community engagement. On this, sources highlighted various events hosted to bring people together, including talks related to International Women’s Day and Black History Month. “We also did an Iftar in the Leeds office and have celebrated a Jewish festival, Purim,and Pride!” a trainee recalled.

There are also plenty of affinity networks, including ones for LGBTQ+ and East Asian members of the firm, so trainees were sure that “there’s a home for everyone.” The prevailing feeling was that “the firm really values people with other backgrounds and experience, and the skills that diversity can bring.”

While there’s plenty for trainees to get up to when they are in the office, they’re not expected in five days a week. Instead, teams have anchor days and, even though we heard that three days is typically expected, “it’s flexible around your plans and life. It’s just about finding a balance.” There’s full flexibility on hybrid working available post-qualification, and a number of interviewees did suggest that this has meant attendance is on the lower side: “The only slight drawback of being fully hybrid is that it does mean the office is sometimes quite quiet. You don’t miss out on training, but you might miss out on exposure to some of those softer skills.”

To mitigate this, “supervisors make an effort to come in on the same days as you” and, what’s more, “if your supervisor is in a different office, the firm will pay for you to travel there. It works way better in practice than it might sound!” However, supervision was generally something our interviewees had mixed feelings about, noting that approaches can vary between departments. “Some have a supervisor you don’t hear from often,” one trainee admitted; “partners are busy, so they sometimes rely on you to keep on top of communication. You have to figure out some things yourself.” That said, we heard that supervisors do typically schedule weekly catch-ups and tend to hang around the office.

“The work-life balance is fantastic.”

Trainees were generally on the same page when it comes to the hours, which can vary depending on the seat. For one trainee, “the work-life balance is fantastic. There are days you finish at 6pm, and I’ve never been forced to work past 8.” This meant many felt the salary is about right, with trainees adding, “I’d say it’s a fair reflection of the work we do, especially considering the clientele – we often charge lower rates.” It should be noted that some interviewees did feel “we could be paid more as trainees because we have hourly targets and can’t get a bonus,” something which has become increasingly apparent given the firm’s growing commercial practices.

Qualification

Still, overall, “we haven’t been really disgruntled about it.” Evidently, any salary concerns didn’t seem to have an impact on our interviewees’ intentions on staying, both straight after qualification and in the long term. Fortunately, “the qualification process is pretty clear. You submit an application, do an interview and are then told if you have a place.” All in all, Bevan Brittan kept on 11 out of 12 qualifiers in 2025.