Simmons & Simmons

A kind firm and a top-tier reputation in the City? Life is twice as nice for trainees at Simmons & Simmons.

Simmons & Simmons training contract review 2026

About the firm

We all know how important first impressions are, especially when you’re applying for jobs. It’s easy to get caught up in the nerves about how you come across, but it’s important to remember it goes both ways! The same can be said when applying for a training contract, it’s equally as important how the firm itself presents itself to you.

Luckily for Simmons & Simmons, its first impressions on this new recruit couldn’t have been any better: “On the first day of my vacation scheme I remember coming home to my mum and just being like ‘I love it!’” They continued, “I wanted it before that, but I did day one and then really wanted a job here because it’s just so nice!”

The firm has quite the rep for its culture, and this was something a number of our trainee interviewees found encouraging. Another shared that the appeal of the firm was that “it broke through the dimension between applicant and firm and extended their hand out to me, so I felt supported throughout the whole thing.”

“On the first day of my vacation scheme I remember coming home to my mum and just being like ‘I love it!’”

A good work environment is part of the picture, naturally, so is the work itself. Our sources were particularly drawn to Simmons for its sector focus: “I was interested particularly in the life sciences focus they had, and the TMT. It’s a very interesting way to look at it.” Indeed, the firm has a few core sector focuses: asset management and investment funds, financial institutions, healthcare and life sciences, technology, media and telecommunication, and energy, natural resources, infrastructure and construction.

As for how this may affect trainees’ experiences, UK Graduate Recruitment and Development Partner Zoe Arnautov shares that “it provides a certain continuity for the trainees as they move around the different practice groups because the teams they sit in may well still be focusing on the same group of clients and type of overall work, so the trainees are seeing a different angle of stuff that’s more coherent on a firm level.”

Its expertise in these areas hasn’t gone unnoticed by Chambers UK, picking up top-tier rankings for capital markets and banking & finance work in London, and investment funds and life sciences work across the UK. Simmons also picks up a top accolade for its employment work from Chambers Global.

Simmons’ UK presence is spread across three offices. London takes the majority of trainees, a handful head to Bristol, and the firm’s Cambridge office acts as the base for Simmons Wavelength, the firm’s team of legal engineers! It’s worth noting too that the firm recently opened an office in Riyadh, with Arnautov sharing that “we’re particularly committed to expansion in the Middle East and bolstering our practice there, with our office in Dubai as a regional hub.”

Training Contract Structure

When it comes to seat allocation, trainees at the firm rank their top preferences: from one to eight in London, and one to six in Bristol. Interviewees explained that the firm tries its hardest to give them one of their top four choices, and that “the process is relatively transparent. Once seats are allocated HR are very accommodating with explaining the priorities they had in mind and analysing those in light of the trainees’ preferences.”

Secondments run fairly similarly, with the firm taking preferences, business need and trainee performance into account. There are currently international secondments available in Dubai and Singapore, and a handful of client secondments based in London in the finance sector.

Seat Experiences

Trainee Life

Given the range of seats on offer, it was tricky for trainees to pinpoint down an average set of hours that they work. One source shared that “you’ve caught me on a day I’ve come from an all-nighter because of a closing, but this is the first time I’ve had to do that.”

Unsurprisingly, transactional departments tend to have the most intense hours, while other seats less so, with trainees reporting starting between 9am/9.30am, and finishing between 5.30pm/7.30pm. “Some departments are just more technical, so you can’t work long hours because your brain can’t do it,” pointed out one trainee.

Overall, our interviewees were pleased to have some autonomy here: “I was expecting it to be like school with them monitoring my hours, but everyone really lets you be, you have complete control over your hours, so if I wanted to go home at 4pm and work from home, no one has anything against that.”

Trainees felt the firm had their back if they had to pull a late one, particularly if they do so in the office, as they can expense Deliveroo which was described as “a massive perk.” Interviewees felt well-compensated for the work they were doing too, especially in Bristol where trainees considered the firm’s trainee salary to be the best available in the city.

Both London and Bristol trainees enjoyed going into their respective offices, not only because they were easy to commute to, but they liked the open plan layout: “I like that set-up. You can talk to anyone, and I think it makes it feel a bit more communal.” Trainees had to be in the office three days a week, and each team have different anchor days. In office days were sweetened by the fact the firm offers free lunch on Mondays and Fridays in both offices. But if you miss out on that, “on a paid lunch day, you can get a massive, subsidised plate of hot food in London!”

Lots of law firms want to be known for a positive culture, but trainees at Simmons were emphatic that “it really is as nice as everyone says it is. It’s very welcoming and very easy-going.” Contributing to this environment was the fact that “partners are very approachable, and everyone is very friendly and ready to tell you a lot about what they do and why something is interesting to them.” This translated into an environment where our sources felt supported, with an interviewee expressing that “everyone has made it clear that the development of trainees is extremely important to them throughout all levels of the business. Everyone I’ve met has made time to go for coffee, discuss their background and career journey, and to offer tips for trainee success, and even beyond that!”

“It really is as nice as everyone says it is. It’s very welcoming and very easy-going.”

The friendliness extends beyond the office walls too, with sources telling us that there’s plenty of social events to get involved in, especially when it comes to sports. The firm has hockey, netball, football and rugby teams, and trainees can even join them during their SQE studies! Interviewees told us they were friends with people in their cohort, and that they have regular trainee socials on both a formal and an impromptu basis. The firm has also introduced some budget for trainees during their ‘compass’ training days - a change made as a result of trainee feedback - which “just shows that they encourage friendships with your colleagues, and also that they listen.”

On the topic of diversity, trainees reported a number of diversity networks at the firm, and “each network will have a budget, and I do think the firm place a lot of importance on it.” The firm’s efforts regarding social mobility are particularly notable: “We have a lovely initiative with Brampton Manor Academy where students can come and get work experience at the firm.” Insiders felt wellbeing and mental health was taken care of too, “especially when you’re given a supervisor within your seat, there’s a lot of focus on making sure you’re managing everything okay if you need support.”

How closely trainees work with their supervisors can be dependent on the team and the structure of each group, with a source sharing that “in banking because of the flexibility of the team I didn’t work all that closely with my supervisor, but he was always on hand to lend guidance or professional support whenever needed.” Overall, rookies gave a thumbs up to the supervision. “I think the supervision is really good,” explained an interviewee, “they pick good people to do it, and graduate development encourage you to speak up if you need to and they’re on that straight away.”

“From day one I’ve been involved in live transactions, communicating with clients, and drafting docs.”

Training was also rated highly, with the structure varying between seats. Banking trainees do a few sessions a week for six weeks, while those in funds do one or two sessions a day for three weeks. Sources also told us about the firm’s ‘Compass’ training: Compass days are beyond what it takes to be good at law, but to be a good lawyer. It covers the business side, mental health side, and things like how to deal with stress or how to thrive in this environment.”

Outside of the structured training programmes, trainees felt they’d been given a good chance to learn on the job too. “From day one I’ve been involved in live transactions, communicating with clients, and drafting docs. It’s not as if you join and you’re locked in a classroom for two weeks learning by the book, the learning is very much encouraged on the live matters,” explained one interviewee.

Pro bono work was also great for trainee development, as it provided “a good opportunity for you to take charge of a matter.” There’s no shortage of this type of work either at the firm and it is encouraged, trainees can do some pro bono work within certain seats, and “can pick from maybe 20 different initiatives to work on!”

Qualification

Trainees felt that the firm were “as transparent as they can be” when it comes to qualification. “They do an overview every six months when the process is kicking off,” explained one insider, “All of the trainees are invited to a call with the graduate recruitment partner and the team to run through the process and the dates involved so you know what’s happening.”

Trainees submit anonymous preliminary choices to gather interest before a jobs list is released. After this, they submit final preferences, and departments rank trainees too. A match-making process between the rankings then takes place to decide NQ positions. The firm did not disclose its 2025 retention rate.