Kennedys

With its graduate solicitor apprenticeship route now in full swing, this insurance hotshot’s growing mix of practices has left its trainees as happy as Ken be.

Kennedys training contract review 2026

About the firm

If you’ve ever had to buy insurance – or have watched enough ads on TV to get the gist of it – you’ll know that picking the right insurance plan is all about feeling safe and secure. Ultimately, while worth the investment, it’s a decision you have to make sure you won’t regret. Finding a training contract isn’t too different; picking the right firm, location and practices are key to protecting yourself and your career in the long run. And, when making a high risk, high reward leap into the unknown, a firm that’s built around insurance law would surely be a safe bet.

Enter Kennedys, a firm with a long-standing reputation in all things insurance, which is backed up by our colleagues over at Chambers UK. Here, the firm is recognised as top-tier for its professional negligence work in the North West and Northern Ireland, and receives top defendant-side clinical negligence and personal injury, health & safety, contentious insurance, product liability, transport and travel rankings nationwide.

“…even if you think it’s just an insurance firm, it’s worth highlighting that Kennedys has a lot of commercial clients as well.”

Despite the firm’s insurance know-how, trainees were keen to tell us that “even if you think it’s just an insurance firm, it’s worth highlighting that Kennedys has a lot of commercial clients as well. What’s great about the firm is that it is growing into other avenues.” It’s a sentiment that is echoed by training principal and chief risk officer, Andrew Coates, who explains how “the insurance industry is at our core, but we are also looking to build market share in related sectors.”

This growth is happening on a geographical level as well: “It’s a global firm with 47 offices worldwide, but it’s strategic about when to open an office and where. There were no insurance-focused law firms in Oman when the firm opened an office there, but the country was going through a lot of issues related to insurance liability at the time. The decision to place itself in the market was a strategic one and generated a lot of work.” On home turf, Kennedys has set up 13 offices.

The current trainee cohort was split between six of them, with the majority in London, and a handful in Manchester, Cambridge, Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol, Sheffield, Taunton, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Training Contract Structure

One of the unique features of a training contract at Kennedys is that there are two distinct trainee streams: a standard 4x6 months rotational setup, and a graduate solicitor apprenticeship. For rotational trainees, the seat allocation process kicks off around a month before they move to their next seat, when they receive a list of all the options that will be available in the next round.

As is often the case, priority goes to second-year trainees, but first-year interviewees didn’t feel hard done by: “They’re very fair in the sense that they remember when they didn’t give a trainee what they wanted and will make sure they’re a priority in the next seat.”

Graduate solicitor apprentices, on the other hand, don’t have to worry about seat allocation, as they spend their entire training contract with one department while studying for their SQE exams. It’s certainly a big commitment so early into your career, but for those who have a clear idea of what they want to do, it’s a way to settle into their preferred practice area as soon as possible: “Depending on which team you’re with, there’s a chance you’ll be treated almost as an associate after just a year,” one graduate solicitor apprentice explained, “but a trainee’s experience depends on the department and how they choose to utilise trainees on the alternative SQE path.”

There are also a number of client secondment opportunities, which are open to both rotational trainees and graduate solicitor apprentices. “They are mostly to insurance companies,” a trainee explained, “though the application process varies, it can be pretty straightforward. Sometimes, it’s just a conversation with the early careers team and a partner about your interests.”

Seat Experiences

Trainee Life

Kennedys has truly ramped up its pro bono offering in the past year, meaning there are now more opportunities than ever for both trainees and solicitors to contribute to a good cause. These include clinics with BPP law school, alongside work with small not-for-profits through the firm’s partnership with LawWorks.

According to Coates, “lawyers at all levels can use pro bono to develop skills less used in their fee earning practice. We support our junior lawyer development through tailored pro bono opportunities that build confidence, offer new experiences and address skill gaps.” There’s plenty of opportunities to do good more broadly too, including mentoring secondary and university students through the Future Frontiers and upReach programmes, reading with primary school children, and hosting talks through the School Consent Project.

While there’s plenty going on to keep trainees busy, hours at Kennedys for most weren’t too intense. “The firm is good at recognising that your work life is separate from your home life and doesn’t want you blurring the two,” a trainee gratefully relayed, while another added, “if I’m in the office late or still online later into the evening, people will tell me to log off now and pick it back up tomorrow.” That said, there’s still some variation depending on how busy seats are.

For one, “one of my disputes seats was just insane, I would work until 11 and had a couple of working Sundays. My first seat, on the other hand, was a pretty consistent 9am to 5.30pm.” Of course, “there are some who are a bit stricter about getting at least seven chargeable hours in every day, but that’s not the case with everyone.” Still, we heard that the firm’s more general focus on work-life balance is “reflected in the salary. It could always be higher, but it’s not bad at all when compared to other places and their expectations.”

Many felt that their supervisors offered an extra layer of stability, and we heard plenty of stories along the lines of “my supervisor doesn’t like me staying past 5.30” and “mine will give me a call to check in and make sure I’m doing OK.” While rotational trainees are paired with a new supervisor in each seat, graduate solicitor apprentices generally stay with one supervisor throughout.

All incoming trainees, whether rotational or on the SQE path, kickstart their training contract with the Junior Lawyer Academy, an online induction training programme. “It has various modules which you need to complete by Christmas of your first year,” a trainee explained, “it teaches you general skills like research and drafting.” After this, much of the training takes place on the job, largely through trying things and getting feedback, which is reportedly less daunting than it may sound: “Yes everyone’s busy, but no fee earner has turned me down for feedback when I’ve asked for it.”

However, there is still a fair amount of more formal training as time goes on: “A lot of webinars and seminars pop up and you’re welcome to just join,” an interviewee recalled, “sometimes it’ll be a lunchtime thing, but you can easily join from your desk and listen in. It means you don’t have to compromise on getting your own work done.”

The general consensus was that the trainee cohort got on well: “There’s no competition and we’re all willing to help each other out. We take it upon ourselves to arrange trainee socials.” The firm’s DEI activities are another way for people across Kennedys to spend time with colleagues. “There are lots of events going on to get people involved,” an interviewee explained, “we’ve had Eid and Hannukah celebrations, and you don’t need to be religious yourself to join. It’s so nice to see the decorations, food and people that make the time for it.”

Members of the firm can also take part in Kennedys’ EMBRACE Network, which celebrates individuals from diverse backgrounds. Alongside various external speaker sessions and DEI team get-togethers, trainees were pleased to “spot so many people around the firm from different backgrounds, religions, everything. As someone from an ethnic minority background, it’s great that you’re really seen and heard.”

Qualification

For rotational trainees, the qualification process kicks off with an official jobs list. After that, qualifiers submit an internal CV to the early careers team, which “essentially details your entire training contract, summarising everything you’ve worked on and any business development you’ve done.” Everyone is guaranteed an interview, and the whole process is typically complete within two months.

For graduate solicitor apprentices, meanwhile, we heard that “you should be able to just qualify into the team if there aren’t any glaring issues, but it seems that not all teams are clear about what to expect. I’ve heard that some people at the firm finished SQE2 and are still waiting for a contract.”

In general, insiders explained that qualification odds are highest in insurance teams which are “pretty much guaranteed to take on multiple NQs.” Despite this, most weren’t too worried about retention, and in 2025 Kennedys kept on 31 out of 33 qualifiers.