Howes Percival

This regional firm knows all the Howes-to’s of balancing a strong selection of work with liveable hours and a “down-to-earth” culture.

Howes Percival training contract review 2026

About the firm

Of all the famous two-letter acronyms, HP might just be the one that means the most. Depending on what angle you’re coming from, it could refer to a multi-billion-pound franchise about a boy wizard, a well-known tech company, a nationally beloved condiment, or even your hit points, if video games are what you’re into. For the legally minded, however, HP can only mean one thing: Howes Percival.

The firm picks up a whole host of top-tier rankings from the Chambers UK guide, including restructuring and insolvency and social housing in East Anglia. HP is also highly regarded for its work in SME-focused corporate/M&A in the East Midlands and in publishing-specific media and entertainment across the UK. It was exactly this range that was appealing to trainee interviewees, who were pleased to say, “HP has a really nice balance of work with a range of clients, from individuals to large corporations. It means you can get top work while still staying regional.”

Despite this, the firm is very much looking to grow, as training principal and property litigation partner Simon Murphy tells us, “we’re a mid-tier commercial law firm, but we’re growing. We’re one of the smaller firms in Cambridge, but we’re part of the big three in Norwich. We also had more than 20% financial growth this year, so we’re motoring on.”

“HP chooses to showcase its work-life balance over fancy offices in high-scale towers.”

HP’s balance of a national network with a cosier feel was also a big draw for many. Trainees are currently based in the East Midlands (Leicester, Northampton and Milton Keynes) or in East Anglia (Norwich and Cambridge), though the firm also has offices in Manchester and Oxford, the latter of which will offer seats in the future. However, “despite being a big firm with offices all around the country, big clients and big work,” a trainee explained, “you can tell HP has a homey feel and a strong sense of community. Even the website is more down-to-earth, and HP chooses to showcase its work-life balance over fancy offices in high-scale towers.”

Insiders clearly felt HP had struck the magic balance of exciting work without the expectations of a lifestyle firm and, for some, this positive atmosphere was visible from the get-go: “During the vacation scheme, associates and partners were happy to take time out of the day to chat with me and offer career advice. I didn’t expect such established partners to be so friendly and chatty, but it really is telling of the culture as a whole!”

Training Contract Structure

Newbies kick off their training contract with an automatically assigned seat which is decided based on business need and second-years’ preferences. Although there’s no prior consultation, it’s not a completely random selection: “My first seat wasn’t one that’s typically assigned as a first seat, but the training principal told the team I’d fit in well because of my personality and background. Even after one interview, the firm knew who I was and what I was capable of.”

In fact, according to Hughes, the system: “is a good thing. It means quirkier, smaller departments like planning, for example, get trainees who haven’t thought about the practice and end up really liking it.”

The next three seats are assigned following discussions with the training principal, where trainees get a chance to discuss how their current seat is going, what their interests are, and what their top three preferences are for the next rotation. As is often the case, priority goes to more senior trainees, but the flexible training contract model meant our interviewees were generally happy with their options.

More specifically, trainees can undertake seats across various offices but typically stay somewhat close to home. As you might expect, this is easier to manage if you’ve got a driving licence, but we heard that “they’ll consider local seats if someone can’t drive.”

Seat Experiences

Trainee Life

Interviewees were glad that they didn’t need to compromise their time to get good training; a decent work-life balance is a typical feature of a TC at Howes Percival. “I think they do pride themselves on that,” a source revealed, “People don’t like you to stay behind unless you really have to, so will tell you to go home and finish tomorrow if it can wait.” While there are some busier periods when deadlines loom, most tend to finish between 5 and 6pm. This meant that the salary received praise from our sources, who noted, “my salary is similar to that of my friends at competing firms, and I don’t feel underpaid.”

Office attendance depends on both the team and where they are based, with Norwich trainees reportedly spending the most time working from the office. That said, “trainees across the board are encouraged to be in as much as possible as you learn a learn a lot by merging with your team.”

Assigned desks mean that this isn’t too much of a chore, but trainees in Cambridge and Leicester have also been reaping the benefits of their recently refurbished offices, while the other offices should all be getting facelift in the next couple of years as well. As such, insiders noticed that “they’re really pushing the social side of things in Leicester now that the office is back open.”

Across the firm, this includes things like casual after work outings, Thursday drinks at the pub next to the Norwich office, and a variety of business development events where, “even as a first-seater, I was told to speak to people about my life, not just law and work, and that’s made networking easier. They want trainees to make connections and meet the community.” There’s also an annual AGM for everyone across the firm to get together in one of HP’s offices, take part in fun activities and get to know each other.

There are also a variety of events centred around diversity and inclusion. On the wellbeing side, there’s “something going on every two weeks or so, but they try to hold whole office events at least two to three times a year. At lunch, there are things like pilates and big group walks.”

When it comes to representation, sources noted that HP generally matches the racial diversity of the cities in which it is located, meaning “there’s much more diversity in the Midlands offices than in Norwich and Cambridge.” Still, sources enjoyed a recent panel on immigration, where colleagues discussed their backgrounds in relation to the topic. Interviewees had also noticed a really supportive approach to Ramadan, noting “emails reminding us to be mindful of people fasting.”

Gender representation was a particular strength, we heard, with sources anecdotally suggesting: “it feels really balanced.” HP also hosted various International Women’s Day events, such as an afternoon tea and fundraising for a local women’s charity and received praise from interviewees for its transparency on reducing the gender pay gap.

Howes Percival has also been rolling out its solicitor apprenticeship scheme and, according to Hughes, “We go to local schools to try to encourage candidates to come forward to us, and ask schools to recommend people for our programme. We’ve got a map showing the areas of underprivilege that surround our office network and deliberately target schools there.”

“They’re investing in you as a person, not just a trainee…”

For our interviewees, one of the highlights of their training contract experience was the culture. Despite being spread across multiple offices, we heard that the trainee cohort is quite tight knit. However, these good vibes are by no means restricted to the junior ranks: “I always thought a legal career would be a bit like Suits, where there’s a strict hierarchy and some not so nice people, but it’s been the complete opposite. Everyone’s lovely and though there are obviously different levels of seniority, everyone is still a team.”

This welcoming atmosphere has certainly helped in the context of training, which largely takes place on the job. As one source detailed, “everyone wants you to do your best. They’re investing in you as a person, not just a trainee, so they are genuinely interested in teaching you.” As such, supervision was a valued source of support for insiders, who reportedly “make time to talk to you and go through your work, yet also challenge you to make sure you’re not spoon-fed.”

Qualification

“A lot of the partners trained here!”

Ahead of their final seat, trainees discuss qualification plans with the training principal, where they can mention any departments they would be interested in joining. So, when trainees receive the official jobs list, it “isn’t just a shot-in-the-dark email with ten positions available – it's jobs people have asked for.”

The process thereon is pretty straightforward: trainees express their interest in a role and then offers are made, with interviews only happening if more than one person wants the same job. In 2025, Howes Percival kept on 8 out of 10 trainees but, on a more long-term basis, trainees were keen to highlight how: “there are loads of people who have been working here for over 30 years. A lot of the partners trained here!”