Devonshires

Devonshires in the house! Developing both properties and people is the name of the game at this full-service firm.

Devonshires training contract review 2026

About the firm

Finding the right law firm is a lot like finding the right home, (stay with us here!) Both come in all different shapes and sizes, catering for a variety of needs, but the bottom line is finding a place that can provide you with the support you need.

Luckily, trainees at Devonshires got off on the right footing. While the firm is well known for its focus on social housing work, it ensures newbies get a taste of everything legal work can offer and still have a life outside the office.

“You get everything a big corporate firm offers without selling your soul.”

“You get everything a big corporate firm offers without selling your soul,” underlined one newbie. Training principal Chris Drabble echoes this ethos, explaining that, “what’s important is that, even with the firm’s growth, we haven’t lost our DNA and we’re still a friendly, approachable firm at all levels.”

Another integral part of the firm’s TC is making sure trainees get the full experience up front. Drabble explains that the trainee environment is “very hands on, one of the differences in our training contract is that trainees get real exposure to clients straight away. They are very much involved from the get go.”

Most of our interviewees were based in the London office with a couple located up in the Leeds hub. The firm also has footholds in Birmingham and Colchester, with the former recently welcoming its first batch of trainees. Across the four offices, the firm has secured its place in Chambers UK with top marks in multiple social housing departments as well as a nod for construction as well.

Training Contract Structure

About half of each Devonshires’ trainee cohort started their life out at the firm as a paralegal. In many cases, we heard that former paralegals tend to move straight into the department they were working in previously for their first seat on the TC. Outside of this example, incoming trainees don’t have a say in which seat they are first allocated but are able to put forward three preferences for the subsequent rotations.

We heard that second years are given priority when being assigned seats, but insiders acknowledged the firm does its best to accommodate everyone. “The firm does try to listen to your preferences,” one source told us, “I know of a few trainees where that hasn’t worked out for them, and I know people who have tailored their contract to what they asked for.”

Trainees are required to do at least one contentious and non-contentious seat and a rotation in real estate is also mandatory, as well as the firm’s largest departments housing management and property litigation.

Seat Experiences

Trainee Life

Outside of the work, “the culture is one of the biggest perks we have,” recalled one happy trainee, with another chiming in, “it’s a real strong point I’d say, all the partners came and introduced themselves from day one, I never felt like an outsider here.”

Words like welcoming, approachable, and supportive all came up multiple times in our chats with trainees. In fact, one happy trainee highlighted that “I can’t rave enough about it! It’s an inclusive, friendly and family feeling firm, they’ve got your best interests at heart, I’d recommend it to anyone.”

By way of example, sources told us the firm is strong around mental health awareness and was praised for their efforts on diversity too: “When I was looking through the partner class on their website, one of the green flags was seeing the range of different backgrounds the partners were from.”

On the social side, most departments have one or two events a year, but trainee specific events happen more often. We heard tales of clay pigeon shooting, darts, and a mixologist coming in to dazzle our sources. “There’s a lot of young people that want to do the fun stuff,” assured one trainee.

In fact, the firm was said to make a big effort to get all trainees to socialise, giving regional trainees travel into London for socials. For department-based events, senior staff tend to make an appearance which was positively received by our interviewees: “Supervisors come as well, and it’s nice to see them in that light and a more relaxed atmosphere.”

Speaking of supervisors, we heard that the level of this tended to vary depending on the person, but sources pointed out it can also be very driven by the trainee themselves. “It really depends on how I shape it,” one insider noted, “if I need help with a task, they’ll be more hands on but if not then they’ll let me get on with it.” Even then, Devonshires knows it can take a village, and our newbies saw the benefits of that: “Even if my supervisor is away, everyone wants to help so I have options I can go to.”

Training sessions were common and, as a general rule, they seemed to appear at a minimum once a month per department, although certain groups also run more frequent webinars. Juniors are also assigned a trainee buddy in the year above (something they’ll then do in turn for the year below), and an associate mentor to ask the questions that may require a little more experience to know the answer.

The London office is situated in Finsbury Circus between Liverpool Street and Moorgate, which made a perfect spot for our sources: “I love it, it’s a commuter’s dream.” Having a recent refurbishment in the last couple years meant insiders had nothing but positivity to share, highlighting the big kitchen area, accessible rooftop, and wellness room. As for Leeds, the team up north has been steadily growing to the point they had to upsize, and it’s gone down a treat with newbies, one source beamed “it’s the nicest office I’ve ever seen if I’m being honest with you!”

The hybrid working policy drastically shifts depending on which team you’re in, with some sources reporting just two days in the office a week, while others are in closer to four or five. “Everyone seems to have different rules, it’s quite flexible overall,” explained one junior. As for hours, “we’re contracted 9-5.30pm,” multiple newbies quoted to us, emphasising the legitimate commitment to work/life balance which the firm touts.

On the occasions where work gets hectic and more hours are required, it doesn’t go unnoticed: “If you have to go much later, the partners make a special effort to thank you.” It’s thanks to these hours that most insiders were fine with the slightly lower salary compared to others in the City, arguing that “there are places that pay more, but they also want more from you.”

“…I never felt like an outsider here.”

Qualification

When all is said and done, and qualification is around the corner, trainees are encouraged to speak with the departments they’re interested in joining and convey this to HR. Afterwards, a jobs list is released which should be tailored to match their expressed interest. “If there’s a lot of competition, then there’s a formal interview,” relayed one trainee, “if not, then it’s more of an informal talk.”

Beyond that, our interviewees were optimistic about making Devonshires their forever home. One surmised, “it’s a place you can stay and build your career; other partners have done it and they’re still relatively young.” The firm retained 15 of 16 qualifiers in 2025.