Clyde & Co

On the global stage, Clyde & Co continues to take charge of the insurance industry.

Clyde & Co training contract review 2026

About the firm

One of the best pieces of advice you’ll ever hear in your career: "You can’t be everything to everyone." And for law firms, this mantra can hold very true. But what a few observant firms have figured is that you can in fact be everything to someone, and Clyde & Co know quite a thing or two about this.

The firm is renowned for its insurance and disputes expertise. Essentially, “it’s a highly specialised firm with very interesting sectors,” as one trainee put it. The sectors in question include aviation, marine, energy, transportation, projects and healthcare, to name a few. As you might then expect, Clyde & Co boasts over 40 rankings in both Chambers UK and Chambers Global, receiving best in class across the insurance categories. Nationally, the firm scoops the highest praise for its professional negligence, clinical negligence, product liability, aviation and travel expertise too.

But the firm’s reach doesn’t stop there, as it’s home to more than 2,400 lawyers and holds a network of 56 offices across Africa, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Europe covering plenty of “high-value, interesting work.” Adding even more weight to it, the firm merged with BLM headquartered in Manchester back in 2022 creating a behemoth of a casualty insurance team.

“It’s a highly specialised firm with very interesting sectors.”

Beyond the scale of the firm and the specialised work on offer, the training environment was a big pull factor to incoming trainees. From experiences at insight days, vacation schemes and even as paralegals, current trainees agreed that “everyone is so approachable, I had a sense that it’s a welcoming team environment.” Moreover, “the work life balance is great,” they added, “I was sold!” Of the 14 offices based in the UK around 70% of trainees are based in the London HQ. Manchester comes second place, with the rest across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, and Belfast.

Training Contract Structure

Each trainee’s first seat is randomly allocated to them. Then, halfway through each seat, trainees catch up with early careers to discuss how their finding it and what they are looking to do next. Following this, they get to rank six choices through an AI app called RUTH which plays a role in seat allocation, alongside business need. It’s worth noting that for London based trainees at least one option ranked must be in the Guildford office (and travel is subsidised).

The process received varying responses, with some getting their top preferences and others placed outside of their preferred seats. Some of the seats which were a little harder to land include international arbitration and the transactional seats, as those are few and far between, whereas having a stint in a seat such as insurance is highly likely. That said, the algorithm does try to ensure that trainees get at least one of their top choices at some point during their training contract.

There are also opportunities to go on secondment, specifically to clients and “the majority of them are insurance, at insurers or brokers,” insiders highlighted. International secondments aren’t common at the trainee level, “It’s a little disappointing at a firm that has offices in 60 different cities,” a couple voiced. At the moment, a singular opportunity exists for projects and construction work in Tanzania.

Seat Experiences

Trainee Life

Incoming newbies kick off their time at Clyde & Co with a rigorous week-long induction program. There is no shortage of training from then on, both within teams and more broadly. Regular sessions are held on a variety of subjects from resilience and personal brand, effective legal writing to trial preparation, and case updates.

Lawyers have a bank of online training modules available to them too, “so if you need a refresher, nine out of ten there is a module you can do!” Given the contentious nature of the work, “we have lots of talks from barristers about cat loss and professional negligence,” a trainee added; “we’re encouraged to attend those too.”

“…I’m not scared to ask partners and seniors questions – they want you to learn.”

The culture received positive reviews as well: “It’s definitely friendly and supportive; I’m not scared to ask partners and seniors questions – they want you to learn.” Another noted that “it doesn’t feel hierarchical, it flows down from the top.” Rookies also have support from their trainee buddy who they build up solid connections with, and as a result “a lot of people stay quite close.”

Many highlighted that informal mentorship extends beyond in their teams as well. Generally, trainees sit near their supervisors and have regular check ins and feedback. It was noted however that on occasion “it’s in the trainees’ hands to actively approach them” for it.

From a social point of view, it really varies from team to team and office. The headline events include the rotating summer and Christmas parties, and welcome event for incoming trainees. All locations have a social budget; in London, trainees have put their social budget towards things such as a boat party on the Thames – “it was a memorable event!” The firm has sports and social committees which include netball, run clubs and even touch rugby games in the summer: “People get involved at all levels from trainees to partners; these events are about the culture.”

Trainees can also roll up their sleeves to get stuck into CSR and pro bono. In fact, associates have a creditable 60-hour bucket to contribute towards it: “It’s a big deal; there’s lot of opportunities to get involved in.” Projects include working on death penalty amicus briefs in the US and providing advice to mothers in prison in partnership with Not Beyond Redemption in the UK. The firm has plenty of local community projects from volunteering as a school governor and reading to local students, litter picks and clean-up operations, to gaining further experience at legal clinics such as the Westminster Legal Clinic.

In turn, there is lots of fundraising from sponsored walks and running half-marathons, boardroom drinks and bake sales. Raising the dough for a good cause, the Edinburgh office has its own ‘Bake Off’ competition. “People will come in and bring in bakes each week, which will be judged,” with the proceeds going to Cash for Kids.

“There are some quite girl boss partners at the firm… Hearing about how they progressed to where they are today is always inspiring.”

On the topic of diversity, sources were quick to point out the commitment particularly on social mobility. “It’s promoted; it’s an area where the firm does well, it’s really focused on making sure that we are inclusive,” commented one insider. Programs include the Lift insight week and Bright Futures Programme. Trainees themselves had plenty of opportunities to get involved with these; one told us that “we ran a trainee lead climate group interactive session with the interns and had meaningful conversations with them.”

There is also a range of inclusion networks across gender (GECCO), cultural and ethnic diversity (ACED), people of colour (BIPoCC), Asian professionals (LEAP), LGBTQIA+ and allies (Pryde & Co), disability and neurodiversity (Enable), and parents and carers (PACT). Each network hosts their own events and socials from breakfasts to after work drinks to series of lunch time talks about their experiences. “There are some quite girl boss partners at the firm,” a source beamed, “hearing about how they progressed to where they are today is always inspiring.”

Trainees are expected in the office four days a week. As for hours, on average, sources tend to start around 9am and finish at 6pm. That said, if things are busy or a deadline is looming there are later periods, but even then, as our source said, “it’s nothing outrageous.” Another surmised that “we have that balance and people are happier for it.” Though there has been a salary increase across the board for trainees, there were mixed reviews about the London based and NQ salaries. Although most agreed that they were fairly compensated for the work and hours they do.

Qualification

Qualification is said to be “fairly transparent and organised well.” The process begins with a presentation from early careers, following which an initial job list is released (sometimes other positions become available due to business need). Candidates can apply for up to two positions, submitting their CV and appraisals. Interviews are then held, some of which have written assessments too. Any of our sources agreed that “it’s a great place to start your legal career.” In 2025, Clyde & Co retained 72% of its qualifiers.