Wedlake Bell

About the firm

Want to be one of the eight trainees who say “I do” to Wedlake Bell’s training contract? You’d better keep reading!

Home to around 500 lawyers and headquartered in London, Wedlake Bell has carved out an enviable reputation for assisting private clients with the legal complexities of everything from homes to artworks. These strengths are confirmed by the firm’s high Chambers UK rankings in areas including private wealth law, real estate: high value residential, personal insolvency, and art and cultural property law, but trainees were also quick to point to the sheer breadth of work available at this mid-sized City firm. “I was interested in family and private client but wanted somewhere full service with the commercial experience as well,” one source explained. So don’t overlook the commercial real estate and corporate/M&A practices either!

As Training Principal Parminder Sidhu puts it, the firm sits “somewhere between the Magic Circle and larger City practices, and the mid-sized and boutique firms. In terms of the work we undertake, we’re of a size where we can handle big, complex, high-value transactions,” but “it is still very much a personal service.”

The firm’s one-office structure and relatively small TC intake also proved a major draw, with one trainee reporting that they “wanted the full experience and learning through exposure rather than being a small cog in the machine.” We also heard that there were “lots of opportunities to get noticed and get stuck in,” an observation backed up by Senior Early Careers Manager Annabel Hale, who says that typically each new starter “will be the only trainee, or one of one or two trainees, in a team. So they do get really good exposure.”

Why trainees joined the firm

Smaller intake and visibility

Trainees liked the idea of getting hands-on responsibility quickly rather than playing a bit-part role in a giant team.

Full-service breadth in a smaller firm

Interviewees appreciated the unusual mix of commercial, private client, and specialist work available within this mid-sized City firm.

Face-to-face work and socialising

The firm’s “outgoing” culture manifests through a wealth of clubs, trips, and social events, as well as a five-days-a-week in-office schedule centred on in-person learning.

Trainee satisfaction rankings

Training contract structure

Seat allocation

Trainees submit ranked seat preferences before each rotation and can update them throughout the TC as their interests evolve. HR then allocates seats based on trainee preferences and business need. The only caveat is that allocation can depend on business need and demand, but trainees reassured us that the firm makes an effort to take preferences into account.

Although there are no compulsory seats, the firm tries to ensure trainees get exposure across its core practice groups. Sidhu points out that matters often spill across departments, meaning that there is crossover exposure even within one seat.

Because of the small intake size, new joiners are frequently the only trainees in their team. “From day one, they’ll be getting stuck in and working really closely with the partners,” Hale explains.

Seat Experiences

Trainee life

Culture and environment

Data from our annual trainee survey

“It’s the most social firm ever,” one trainee laughed. The firm runs annual ski trips and walking holidays, as well as sports clubs, monthly socials, theatre trips, and charity quizzes, while trainees are also given budgets to organise events themselves. Several interviewees pointed out that partners actually turn up too, and one noted that even the managing partnerwill encourage you to join trips to the pub. Sources also repeatedly described the firm as collaborative and people-oriented: “I don’t think anyone nasty would last very long here,” one trainee reflected.

Despite the overwhelming trainee enthusiasm, we should bring you back down to earth and note that the social side is there for a reason: as one business-minded interviewee pointed out, “it’s a nice and sociable firm which is good, but it also means you can work better with people and move things forward faster, so there’s a business logic to it too.” Both trainees and management stressed that the culture is not simply shorthand for easy hours or constant socialising – rather, collaboration and client service are at the heart of the Wedlake Bell package, and the culture helps the work go smoothly.

The office attendance policy also ties into that culture. Trainees are expected in five days a week, though there can be flexibility in special circumstances. Sidhu describes the office model as central to the firm’s collaborative approach, pointing to the benefits of “learning by osmosis.” Trainees are encouraged to get up and speak to people rather than relying entirely on emails or Teams messages. As for the trainees themselves, while some initially found the policy slightly rigid, many ultimately felt it improved learning and integration and were happy to be going in every day.

Working patterns

Data from our annual trainee survey

As mentioned above, Wedlake Bell’s trainees are (somewhat unusually these days) in the office every day, and many seemed genuinely happy about it! “There’s a very big effort put into having a great workplace so people are incentivised to come in every day,” one trainee explained. Office perks include either a cooked breakfast or a continental breakfast on Mondays and Fridays (with porridge and toast available every day), lunches (including a mystery jacket potato day), and a 4.30pm Friday finish for those in the office.

“There’s a very big effort put into having a great workplace so people are incentivised to come in every day.”

Most trainees start at about 9am and finish up at about 6 or 6.30pm, though hours vary between, or sometimes within, individual seats; banking, for example, was described as more “feast or famine” in terms of the hours required. Still, late nights appear relatively unusual. “If you were here past 9, someone would be asking if you were okay,” one source joked.

Pay

Data provided by firm and our annual trainee survey

Although Wedlake Bell pays slightly below the big London firms, most trainees felt the trade-off was worthwhile. “I wouldn’t want the larger salary at the cost of staying until 10 every evening,” one trainee explained. Others pointed to the level of partner access and training available. “For all the training that you get and the time you get from senior lawyers, the salary is good,” another reflected, noting the value-add from “working with others who are so helpful.” Don’t forget that you’ll be saving money on Pret, thanks to those free lunches and breakfasts!

Supervision and training

The firm aims to reach out to trainees even before they start the TC. Future trainees are invited to pre-start socials where they meet supervisors, trainee committee members, and each other. Once trainees begin their contract, they are paired with both mentors and buddies.

“The cases I was put on were thoughtfully selected to set me up for an NQ role.”

Trainees have weekly catch-ups, alongside informal everyday support. Several that we spoke to highlighted that supervisors make a conscious effort to tailor work to trainees’ long-term goals: “the cases I was put on were thoughtfully selected to set me up for an NQ role,” one second-year reflected.

Training itself was generally described as structured and well organised. Trainees begin with a detailed induction programme covering IT systems, key clients, and how the firm works day to day. Department-specific sessions and Professional Support Lawyer-led workshops continue throughout the two years, with larger teams like commercial property offering particularly structured seat training.

Pro bono & CSR

Interviewees mentioned access work and community engagement, highlighting initiatives such as Future Frontiers, in which staff volunteer as coaches and mentors for school students. The firm has also recently expanded its social impact offering with the addition of a specialist charities law team from Broadfield Law, headed by a Band 1-ranked practitioner.

Inclusion

Interviewees felt the firm makes a genuine effort around inclusion and access to the profession. Wedlake Bell participates in initiatives including Rare’s contextual recruitment platform and City micro-placements, as well as programmes run in collaboration with the Sutton Trust, Future Frontiers, and the 10,000 Interns Foundation. Additionally, trainees mentioned LGBTQ+ events, faith and belief initiatives, and other employee networks. The trainee committee also undergoes unconscious bias training, and applications are reviewed directly by committee members rather than AI systems.

Qualification

Qualification discussions typically begin around trainees’ third or fourth seat.The process itself appears relatively informal and shaped by business need. Trainees submit preferences and may do an interview depending on the department and level of competition for roles.

Some interviewees felt the process could be more transparent, particularly around the availability of NQ positions. Still, many stressed that the firm tries hard to retain trainees where possible.

There also appears to be a culture of long-term retention, and several trainees described the firm as somewhere they could genuinely see themselves staying for their careers. “There’s lots of lifers,” one source noted.

And finally…

The firm puts on an annual ski trip and walking trip! A couple of trainees have even set up running clubs and football clubs that now include everyone from trainees to partners.