Charles Russell Speechlys

A standout private client practice and strong commercial work will have this international firm leaving you Speechl-ess.

Charles Russell Speechlys training contract review 2026

About the firm

What’s the secret to establishing a strong private capital firm – one with links to family offices, private equity and of course those individual private clients? Perhaps the answer is more obvious than it seems: to serve individual clients, you must first build up your own individual people.

“I really liked that they had a big focus on their people,” one source enthused, “here we’re valued by what we can bring as individuals.” Training principal Hamish Perry echoes the sentiment and highlights that the firm is here “to make sure they can succeed both here and in their broader careers in the long-term.”

CRS is full-service, there’s no doubt about it, but the private client practice was the beacon that called to many of our interviewees: “the firm’s reputation in that space was the clear reason I was drawn here.” Indeed, the firm’s private wealth work is recognised by our colleagues over on Chambers High Net Worth as top tier across London, the South, Cheltenham and surrounds and Guildford and surrounds. CRS’ high value residential real estate teams are also recognised as national leaders (outside London), while its family offices & funds structuring teams are crème de la crème UK-wide.

Over in Chambers UK, the firm’s full-service nature is well and truly on display, with our colleagues awarding the firm almost 40 department accolades; most notable are the corporate/M&A, agriculture & rural affairs, employment, family/matrimonial, litigation, real estate litigation, restructuring/insolvency and private sector healthcare practices.

“I really liked that they had a big focus on their people.”

CRS has three bases in the UK, with London, Cheltenham and Guildford representing the firm on British soil. Outside of that, CRS has a further ten offices dotted across the globe, bringing in global work for trainees to enjoy. As Perry puts it, “we’ve been growing within the UK and internationally, having set up our Milan office in November last year and our Singapore office the year before that.”

And if that wasn’t enough, insiders rejoiced at the fact that amongst the private client work, they were still allowed a private life, too: “there’s a decent work/life balance of high-quality work but also getting to go home at a good time!”

Training Contract Structure

For seat allocation, CRS is taking a more modern approach by using the AI system OptiSeat to help organise trainees’ preferences. Once it generates its recommendations, HR does a final check to make sure everything is fair and logical.

“You put a little summary as to why you’re interested next to each preference,” one source revealed, “if you really want a seat, they’ll do everything they can to get you into it.” Trainees are encouraged to complete one contentious seat, and it’s likely that trainees will complete another in property.

Client secondments pop up regularly with three commercial seat options ongoing at any one time. International secondments are even more plentiful, including stints in Dubai, Geneva, Zurich and Hong Kong. In the past, only London-based trainees were typically eligible for those abroad spots, but one insider was thrilled to reported that “they’ve opened up the regional offices for those opportunities now which is great!”

We heard pro bono work is “trainee driven” but also “treated the same as billable hours which encourages participation.” The firm has a number of projects and initiatives for trainees to get involved with. It was also said that certain departments have more pro bono connections than others, with the employment and real estate disputes teams getting specific shoutouts.

Seat Experiences

Trainee Life

Supervision was praised across the board, with one source going as far to say, “my supervisor is the best boss I’ve ever had!” Generally speaking, we heard supervisors allow trainees to get on with things and develop naturally, while also being there to support them when necessary. “My confidence has really grown with them,” explained one insider, “having them as a first point of contact has been vital and super important.” Weekly catchups seemed to be the norm, but “it can be dependent how much you would like, and it becomes a very mature relationship after your first seat,” sources explained.

On the training front, the firm runs a business school of sorts called Ignite which consists of around six sessions based in London covering soft skills such as managing your time and how to build relationships. Outside of that, each department tends to run their own training in each seat. “They invest in you from early doors, so there’s quite a lot of sessions out there,” said an interviewee.

“I work pretty hard, but there’s also been a lot of investment in me…”

The Cheltenham office got rave reviews from interviewees: “it’s such a beautiful building at the top of the town,” said one. Based in a townhouse with a penthouse on the rooftop, sources relished the fact they could “live in the lovely countryside with an easy commute into work, it’s great here!” Not to be outdone, London has just been through a refurbishment which went down a treat: “it’s lovely now. Coffee has just been made free in our canteen as well, and honestly, what a perk!”

Not to be outdone, the Guildford branch was also treated to a bit of sprucing up. Across the offices, trainees are expected in three days a week, but that wasn’t a problem for our interviewees who stated, “we tend to come in more anyway, I just like coming in all the time.” 6.30pm seemed to be the average finish time amongst our insiders, which also factored into their satisfaction with their salary. “I work pretty hard, but there’s also been a lot of investment in me,” explained one junior, “the quality of work and the life balance makes it worth it.”

That work-life balance is integral to the firm’s culture where we heard “everyone is really hot on that and keen to respect it across the board.” This generated what trainees describe as a very supportive, friendly and approachable atmosphere. “There’s a wonderful lack of formality when it comes to internal communications and spirit,” revealed one junior, “it’s a focused environment but there’s that human element as well.”

The firm puts on a plethora of events, both office, team and firm specific including sports days, cricket clubs, summer parties and Christmas shindigs. The most notable hangout though, was Charlie’s Arms: a café by day, and the “social hub of the whole London office” by night. Once a month, the firm hosts events at Charlie’s where the whole firm is welcome to attend. Newbies were also pleased to report that the push for inclusivity was “more than just lip service,” citing wellbeing ambassadors and talks around menopause, mental health, and more.

Qualification

Qualification was deemed broadly transparent with a couple discrepancies amongst teams. Once the job list is revealed, trainees put together an internal CV and covering letter that essentially gives an overview of the seats they’ve completed. Then there’s an interview. Some teams may ask for two rounds of interviews while others ask for a case study, but this is subject to change each year.

Regardless of the outcome, juniors felt like the firm was there for them, noting “there’s a lot of support around the process, especially if you don’t get a role or want to move.” Hopefully that won’t be necessary though, and it’s certainly not what our interviewees wanted: “there’s longevity that CRS can offer you. I think a lot of people really struggle to leave.” In 2025, the firm did not disclose its number of qualifiers.