VWV

A full-service offering for a clear sector focus, VWV has the VWow factor for trainees interested in charities and education work.

VWV training contract review 2026

About the firm

Whatever kind of law firm you’re looking at, there’s always a perception that comes with it – whether it’s punishing hours at US firms, or a better work/life balance at regional firms. And while it’s true that the hours are unlikely to be quite as demanding at firms outside of London, it can sometimes create the illusion that these firms are a little further down the pecking order. Not so at VWV, which has established itself as one of the go-to charities and education practices in the UK.

The firm boasts Chambers UK rankings in charities and higher education institutions nationwide, as well as a top-tier schools ranking. That’s on top of personal injury and corporate M&A rankings in the Southwest and Thames Valley respectively. Because VWV is a full-service firm for its sectors of choice, interviewees felt that it was perfect “if you’re not sure exactly where you want to practice.”

“…they have that small firm culture, but with lots of diversity…”

Trainees at VWV are split between the firm’s four offices in Bristol, London, Birmingham and Watford. The majority on our list were located in Bristol, then London, closely followed by Watford and finally, Birmingham. Regardless of the office, “everyone is just so nice, so lovely! I did the vac scheme last year and loads of the partners were making trainees cups of tea – so I think that speaks volumes about the culture here.” Trainees also told us that “they have that small firm culture, but with lots of diversity,” something that was seen as a priority in recruitment. In addition, a number of insiders felt “they really encourage paralegals through the TC application, but plenty also come through independently of that process.”

Training Contract Structure

The training contract at VWV is made up of four six-month seats. Trainees had mixed feedback when it came to the seat allocation process, as new starters don’t get to choose their first seat and beyond that “you’re only guaranteed one seat.” That said, trainees can list three preferences: “They don’t get your hopes up, but I think they do it well.” Seat options can vary by location too: “In certain offices, they only do certain seats like charities in Bristol or commercial in London or Watford, and there is a lot of competition in London.”

In an effort to assign trainees their preferred seats, it sometimes comes with the requirement that it is in an office outside of their registered base. But here, the firm covers travel expenses and it's a rare occurrence. What's more, the other side of that coin is that “if you want to do a seat somewhere else, it will be taken into consideration.” We also heard that some cross-office seats are more virtually based to minimise the need for travel. Regardless, the firm does pay any transport costs for newbies travelling to other offices, and it gives trainees a good opportunity to network with associates across the firm.

Seat Experiences

Trainee Life

We heard the trainee experience at VWV can vary slightly by office, as “all the offices are very distinct, even though we do work across all of them.” The Bristol office “is definitely the hub,” one trainee told us, “and with lots of the senior partners and the main corporate and commercial teams here, it’s very busy.” Insiders were very positive about the office’s recent refurbishment including breakout pods overlooking the Bristol harbour and “lots of plants” to go along with VWV’s new rebrand.

We heard that the Watford office is particularly busy – “full all the time!” In fact, partially because “it was acquired, and a lot of people here worked for the previous firm – so everyone knows each other.” London on the other hand, though it does win a lot of high-profile work, “has a satellite feel, it’s quite quiet.” For trainees in London, “the feel is more corporate, to match the middle of Bank.” Something that’s less determined by office, and more by practice is the remote working expectations.

Generally, trainees don’t need to go into the office on Fridays, but while some departments like employment expect trainees in four days a week, others scale down to three once newbies have gotten their footing. Consistent across VWV’s locations though, and a big draw into the office for trainees were the snacks on offer, which none of our interviewees hesitated to bring up: “Everybody loves the snacks, down to the smallest things!” which include “fish bowls full of food,” breakfasts, and fridges stocked with drinks.

Trainees reported very reasonable hours at the firm, and our sources were very positive about the firm’s expectations of them. We found that our interviewees were typically working 8:30am to 6pm, which they felt was “reasonable for a trainee,” even if the salary is a little lower than market: “I could earn more at a big city law firm, but I don’t want to be in that environment,” one trainee explained, “especially with the perks we have, the coffee, the snacks. We have big baskets you can help yourself to too!”

The social side was also a pull because although “there isn’t as much going on socially in Watford,” we heard that in Bristol and London “we have lunch and learns, sandwiches and curry, drinks flowing - VWV know how to put on a good party!” The trainees themselves even have their own budget for socials like bowling and quizzes, something that helps to ensure “there is a strong sense of community in the cohort, and amongst the secretaries and paralegals.”

“…with this new leadership it feels like that’s on the rise. He’s a very forward-thinking, cutting-edge guy.”

Newbies praised their relationships with more senior associates and partners too as “the environment doesn’t feel toxic, so you never feel nervous to ask a question.” In addition, each office works with an open-plan setup with hot desking, “so you could be sat next to a trainee one day, equity partner the next – you can sit and ask questions wherever you want.” This followed through trainees’ experiences with supervisors, who are always a senior associate or partner in your team. “It does vary,” one source did admit about the supervision, “but supervisors are there to ensure you’re getting a good variety of work with regular check-ins.”

Training is formally supplemented with ‘good practice’ sessions which are organised by the teams and which generally take the form of seminars and talks. A few sources did feel like “there could be a bit more,” but that “with this new leadership it feels like that’s on the rise. He’s a very forward-thinking, cutting-edge guy.” This echoed VWV’s ‘trainee pioneer programme’which is “essentially an AI innovation programme where we’re thinking of use cases in our sectors. We’re split into teams and present a business case to the head of the team, and we’ve launched an AI platform internally, so it’s a massive part of the firm.”

Qualification

When it comes to qualification, “they’re formalising the process more now,” so at the beginning of June, they publish a list of NQ roles available, and then trainees apply through a formal interview and assessment. Prior to this “we have regular check-ins with the HR team, testing the waters to see if we know where we want to qualify.” In 2025, the firm retained 11 of 12 qualifiers.