Choosing a firm based on its location is a rewarding way to go. We list the principal firms which offer training in the major cities in England and Wales, as well as Scotland.
View all firms featured in the True Picture on a map
Overview of firms by size and location
London
Individuals employed in legal services: 100,000 (source: TheCityUK)
LPC providers: BPP • City Law School • University of Law • University of West London • Westminster
If you want to be a London-based lawyer you're spoilt for choice. London is the UK's – and the world's – primary legal hub. It's home to lawyers of all different stripes, from high-street asylum justice crusaders to corporate City hot-shots.
You could consider working for one of the magic circle firms – Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Linklaters, and Slaughter and May – who recruit more trainees than anyone else each year. But there are commercial firms of all different shapes and sizes, ranging from US outfits like Weil (known for its private equity prowess) to so-called 'West End' ones like Harbottle & Lewis (known for its work for the film and tv industries, and for famous individuals including the Royals).
There’s something for everyone in London, so have a read of Different types of law firm, which should help you figure out what you want.
You might want to read up on...
magic circle firms • large commercial firms • mid-size commercial firms • smaller commercial firms • US firms • niche/specialist firms • high-street firms
Manchester
Individuals employed in legal services: 12,000
LPC providers: BPP • Manchester Metropolitan University • University of Central Lancashire • University of Law
The Manchester legal market is the second most important in England after London. It has, however, been quite unsettled in the past five years. Three major Mancs-headquartered firms have gone into administration or ceased to exist in that period as the result of economic and financial woes: Halliwells, Cobbetts and Pannone.
Manchester's biggest legal success story is DWF. Just a few years ago it was a mid-size regional firm; now it's a national biggie. It still has around 20 trainees in Manchester though. Other North West firms include Brabners – the result of a 2002 Manchester-Liverpool merger – and Forbes, a Blackburn headquartered firm with a Manchester office and a focus on crime and family law.
A large number of national firms have sizeable trainee cohorts in Manchester, including Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland, Irwin Mitchell, Squire Patton Boggs and Pinsent Masons and Gateley. Trowers & Hamlins, Ward Hadaway, TLT, Shoosmiths, Kennedys, Freeths and Mills & Reeve also offer a couple of Manchester-based traineeships, as do London firms Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and Leigh Day.
You might want to read up on...
Addleshaw Goddard • Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner • BLM • Brabners • Clyde & Co • DLA Piper • DWF • Eversheds Sutherland • Freeths • Gateley • Hill Dickinson • Irwin Mitchell • Kennedys • Leigh Day • Mills & Reeve • Pinsent Masons • Shoosmiths • Squire Patton Boggs • TLT • Trowers & Hamlins • Ward Hadaway
Find out more: Lawyering in the North West
Birmingham
Individuals employed in legal services: 8,000
LPC providers: Birmingham City University • BPP • University of Law • University of Wolverhampton
In case you were tossing up between Birmingham and Venice and the extra miles of canals in Brum didn’t seal the deal, then consider this: the city wins hands down for the number of national and international law firms it hosts. DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland, Squire Patton Boggs, Pinsent Masons and Gateley all hire grads in large numbers.
Other nationals to look out for in Birmingham are Bevan Brittan, BLM, DWF, Irwin Mitchell, Kennedys, Mills & Reeve and Shoosmiths. It's also possible to train in Birmingham with ambitious Midlands firms Freeths and Browne Jacobson. And Trowers & Hamlins took on its first Birmingham trainee in 2014.
Birmingham's two biggest native firms are Gowling WLG and Shakespeare Martineau, the result of a 2015 merger between Midlanders Shakespeares and SGH Martineau.
You might want to read up on...
Bevan Brittan • BLM • Browne Jacobson • DLA Piper • DWF • Eversheds Sutherland • Freeths • Gateley • Gowling WLG • Irwin Mitchell • Kennedys • Mills & Reeve • Pinsent Masons • Shoosmiths • Squire Patton Boggs • Trowers & Hamlins
Find out more: The Birmingham legal scene
Leeds
Individuals employed in legal services: 8,000
LPC providers: BPP • Leeds Beckett University • University of Law
Many major national commercial firms have a presence in Leeds and conduct both national and international work from here, as well as regional assignments.
The city is home to an elite 'Big Six' of firms – Leeds' answer to the magic circle. Five of the six are national or international operations: Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland, Squire Patton Boggs and Pinsent Masons. The sixth – Walker Morris – remains a firmly Leeds-based operation, but the quality of its work and the training on offer remains on a par with its Big Six peers in the Leeds market.
Other firms with a significant presence in Leeds include national outfits Bevan Brittan, DWF, Gateley, Irwin Mitchell and Womble Bond Dickinson.
You might want to read up on...
Addleshaw Goddard • Bevan Brittan • DLA Piper • DWF • Eversheds Sutherland • Freeths • Gateley • Irwin Mitchell • Pinsent Masons • Squire Patton Boggs • Walker Morris • Ward Hadaway • Womble Bond Dickinson
Find out more: The Yorkshire legal market
Bristol
Individuals employed in legal services: 7,000
LPC providers: BPP • University of Law • University of the West of England
Bristol is home to an oligarchy of successful and innovative law firms. It's a relatively wealthy city: after London, Bristol has the second highest 'Gross Value Add' (GVA – the regional equivalent of GDP) of any major UK city.
Burges Salmon is the leader of the Bristol pack and the city's biggest independent firm. Osborne Clarke, TLT, VWV and Bevan Brittan are the other main native Bristol firms. Womble Bond Dickinson can also claim local roots as it can trace its UK roots to the 2013 merger of Bristol/Southampton firm Bond Pearce and North Easterner Dickinson Dees.
London firms CMS and Simmons & Simmons also have low-cost 'nearshoring' offices in Bristol. CMS has had Bristol trainees for a while, while Simmons has since 2016. National firms Irwin Mitchell and DWF also recruit a small number of Bristol trainees, as do Exeter-headquartered Ashfords, Foot Anstey and Michelmores. Based in nearby Bath, Royds Withy King also has a Bristol base.
You might want to read up on...
Ashfords • Bevan Brittan • Burges Salmon • CMS • Foot Anstey • Irwin Mitchell • Michelmores • Osborne Clarke • Simmons & Simmons • Royds Withy King • TLT • VWV • Womble Bond Dickinson
Find out more: A rough guide to Bristol
Liverpool
Individuals employed in legal services: 6,000
LPC providers: University of Law • Liverpool John Moores University
Relative to the size of the city, Liverpool's legal market is small. Scouse native Hill Dickinson has more trainees in the city than any other firm, closely followed by BLM, DWF and DLA Piper. Brabners’ 12 trainees are evenly split between Liverpool and Manchester.
You might want to read up on...
BLM • Brabners • DLA Piper • DWF • Hill Dickinson
Find out more: Lawyering in the North West
Newcastle
Individuals employed in legal services: 3,000
LPC provider: Northumbria University
Dickinson Dees, the largest and oldest firm in Newcastle, underwent a 2013 merger with southern firm Bond Pearce, and then a 2017 US merger to become Womble Bond Dickinson. The merged firm remains at the top of the North East legal market.
BD is closely followed by Ward Hadaway – a firm with notable strengths in public sector areas like education and healthcare – and Muckle, which presents itself as the small, friendly, commercial alternative to Newcastle's larger firms.
National firms DWF, Eversheds Sutherland and Irwin Mitchell also offer traineeships on Tyneside, as do small local commercial outfits Watson Burton and Hay & Kilner.
You might want to read up on...
DWF • Eversheds Sutherland • Irwin Mitchell • Muckle • Ward Hadaway • Womble Bond Dickinson
Find out more: The Newcastle legal scene
Nottingham
Individuals employed in legal services: 3,500
LPC provider: Nottingham Law School
The Nottingham legal market is home to two major native firms: Browne Jacobson and Freeths. Both mix commercial work with insurance/personal injury, and have sizeable Birmingham offices. Freeths also has trainees in several other locations including Derby, Leicester, Oxford, Stoke and Milton Keynes.
National firms Eversheds Sutherland, Gateley and Shoosmiths also recruit trainees in Nottingham, as does Anglo-Welsh firm Geldards.
You might want to read up on...
Browne Jacobson • Eversheds Sutherland • Freeths • Gateley • Geldards • Shoosmiths
Find out more: Living and working in Nottingham
Sheffield
Individuals employed in legal services: 4,000
LPC provider: University of Sheffield
Like Liverpool, Sheffield isn't home to a huge number of commercial firms, but it's notable for being the nascent office of two major national outfits: DLA Piper and Irwin Mitchell.
International firm CMS also recruits a handful of Sheffield trainees, a legacy of property firm Nabarro which it merged with in 2017 – in the dim and distant past the office used to be the in-house legal team of British Coal.
You might want to read up on...
CMS • DLA Piper • Freeths • Irwin Mitchell
Find out more: The Yorkshire legal market
Cambridge
Individuals employed in legal services (East of England): 15,000
LPC providers: Anglia Ruskin University • BPP
Mills & Reeve is now pretty much a national firm but still has its roots firmly in East Anglian soil and at the time of our 2018 research had 17 trainees in Cambridge and nine in Norwich. National firms Eversheds Sutherland, Kennedys and Irwin Mitchell also recruit a few trainees a year in Cambridge.
Two other firms with a strong presence in Cambridge are Taylor Vinters and Hewitsons. The former has recently been expanding its London base while the latter is split between Cambridge and Northampton. East Anglia firms Howes Percival and Birketts also recruit in Cambridge. Education and technology are both significant sectors in the Cambridge economy.
You might want to read up on...
Birketts • Eversheds Sutherland • Hewitsons • Howes Percival • Irwin Mitchell • Kennedys • Mills & Reeve • Penningtons Manches • Taylor Vinters
Find out more: Living and working in Cambridge
Milton Keynes/Northampton
Individuals employed in legal services: 1,000/1,000
Freeths, Dentons and Shoosmiths all offer traineeships in Milton Keynes, with the cohorts at the latter two firms being the largest – both had around ten trainees at the time of our 2018 research. Howes Percival recruits trainees in Northampton, as does Hewitsons which also offers seats in MK.
You might want to read up on...
Dentons • Freeths • Hewitsons • Howes Percival • Shoosmiths
Norwich
Individuals employed in legal services: 1,000
LPC providers: Anglia Ruskin University • BPP
Regional firms firm Birketts and Howes Percival both recruit in Norwich, as does Mills & Reeve which has a more national footprint. More than anywhere else in the country, the agricultural sector is a significant focus for lawyers in Norwich, with all three of these firms offering seats in the areas.
You might want to read up on...
Birketts • Howes Percival • Mills & Reeve
Reading
Individuals employed in legal services: 1,500
LPC providers: University of Hertfordshire • University of Law Guildford • University of Law
Reading was home to a cohort of seven trainees at Shoosmiths during our research in 2018 while both Bristol firm Osborne Clarke and London/Guildford outfit Penningtons Manches have a handful of trainees here. Blake Morgan and Gateley have just a couple of trainees here, while native Blandy & Blandy has five trainees its haunted town-centre office.
You might want to read up on...
Blake Morgan • Blandy & Blandy • Gateley • Osborne Clarke • Penningtons Manches • Shoosmiths
Find out more: To be a lawyer in the Thames Valley
Southampton
Individuals employed in legal services: 1,750
LPC providers: Bournemouth University
National firms Blake Morgan, Womble Bond Dickinson and Shoosmiths all recruit trainees in Southampton, being home to nine, eight and seven trainees respectively at the time of our 2018 research. Other recruiters in the city include BLM, Irwin Mitchell, Coffin Mew, Lester Aldridge and Trethowans.
You might want to read up on...
Blake Morgan • BLM • Irwin Mitchell • Shoosmiths • Trethowans • Womble Bond Dickinson
Cardiff
Individuals employed in legal services: 5,000
LPC providers: Cardiff Law School • Swansea University • University of South Wales (Glamorgan)
Wales' commercial legal market is petite, reflecting the nation's small population of just three million, and a GVA which is over 25% below the UK average.
Eversheds Sutherland is the only major national firm to offer training in Cardiff with particular strengths in energy, environment and climate change.
Other firms recruiting trainees are natives Hugh James, Capital Law and Acuity Legal, and Anglo-Welsh firms Blake Morgan and Geldards.
You might want to read up on...
Blake Morgan • Eversheds Sutherland • Geldards
Find out more: The Welsh legal scene
Exeter
Individuals employed in legal services: 1,750
LPC provider: University of Law
Three mid-size commercial firms dominate the Exeter market: Ashfords, Foot Anstey and Michelmores. All three are natives of the city and have been around for decades. Ashfords and Foot Anstey both have trainees in Taunton and Plymouth too. Smaller South West firm Stephens Scown doesn't quite square up to the local 'big three' but does score top rankings for family law and property and is a big noise in Cornwall.
Tourism, farming and the environment are all big business in the South West so expect work at these firms to involve issues like waste management, leisure centre construction, yacht building, and mushroom farming (honestly!).
International firm Trowers & Hamlins has recruited trainees into its Exeter offices for a fair few years now, while Browne Jacobson's new office here may soon also have trainees.
You might want to read up on...
Ashfords • Browne Jacobson • Foot Anstey • Michelmores • Stephens Scown • Trowers & Hamlins
Find out more: Doing business in the South West
Plymouth
Individuals employed in legal services: Not known - 22,000 (South West)
Plymouth is a bigger city than you might expect: it has 250,00 inhabitants and when it comes to business and lawyers is mainly notable for its marine work – think yachts rather than supertankers.
You might want to read up on...
Ashfords • Foot Anstey • Womble Bond Dickinson
Find out more: Doing business in the South West
Leicester
Individuals employed in legal services: 1,500
LPC provider: De Montfort University
Leicester is a city noted by firms and lawyers for the quality of its university's LLB course. Its professional legal scene is tiny. Two native firms are Spearing Waite and eight-partner outfit BHW Solicitors.
A couple of regional firms have an office here and recruit trainees; they include Freeths, Gateley, Howes Percival, Shakespeare Martineau and Weightmans.
You might want to read up on...
Freeths • Gateley • Howes Percival
Oxford
Individuals employed in legal services: Not known
Oxford has a fairly small commercial legal market. Regional firm Royds Withy King is one of the biggest trainee recruits here, with six rookies among its ranks in summer 2018. Both Freeths and Penningtons Manches are here because of mergers with smaller local firms: Freeths merged with local private client firm Henmans in 2013 while Penningtons Manches shacked up with eminent family bods Manches in 2014.
Private client work for wealthy Oxfordshire folk is the name of the game here: all the Oxford offices of firms we cover in Chambers Student work in this field.
You might want to read up on...
Blake Morgan • Freeths • Penningtons Manches • Royds Withy King
Guildford
Individuals employed in legal services: 1,500
LPC providers: University of Law
Wealthy Guildford is your stereotypical Southern commuter town, but it's a nice place to live and work in its own right too – so our Guildford sources tell us every year. Or if you want, London is just a 35-minute train journey away.
Partners at top local firms Penningtons Manches and Stevens & Bolton are often ex-City types who want to lead the hectic lifestyle and surrounding of London behind them, but still want to do high-quality commercial work.
A couple of London firms want a piece of the Guildford action too: Charles Russell Speechlys takes trainees here, and although Clyde & Co doesn’t hire into its Surrey base, it does offer Guildford secondments to London trainees.
You might want to read up on...
Charles Russell Speechlys • Clyde & Co • Penningtons Manches • Stevens & Bolton
Find out more: A beginner's guide to Guildford
Other cities and towns
The UK's smaller cities and market towns are littered with law firms left right and centre. Many of these will be high-street firms catering for local individuals and undertaking work like conveyancing, personal injury, family law and crime; some of their work may be funded by legal aid.
But smaller cities and towns also have a surprising number of commercial firms in them – or outposts of commercial firms headquartered in a larger city in the region. There is a direct relationship between the economic health and wealth of a city and the presence of (small) commercial law firms. Case in point: Salisbury. This small wealthy city of 40,000 people supports two independent firms: Trethowans and Wilsons. Likewise the small, sleepy town of Gerrards Cross is home to B P Collins – the Buckingham town is the third wealthiest postcode in the country. But you'll find commercial firms dotted up and down the country: from Truro on Cornwall's Atlantic coast to Grimsby on the Humber in the North East, via such places as Cheltenham, Henley, the Black Country, Stoke and Derby.
You might want to read up on..
Ashfords • Birketts • Blake Morgan • Blandy & Blandy • Blaser Mills • B P Collins • Charles Russell Speechlys • Cripps Pemberton Greenish • Dentons • Foot Anstey • Freeths • Geldards • Higgs & Sons • Howes Percival • Irwin Mitchell • Kennedys • Royds Withy King • Stephens Scown • Trethowans • VWV • Wilkin Chapman • Wilsons
Scotland
Individuals employed in legal services: 19,000
As Scotland is a separate jurisdiction to England and Wales, the Scottish legal recruitment market is not covered by Chambers Student. To become a solicitor north of the border, you must first complete a four-year Scottish LLB followed by the Scottish LPC-equivalent – the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (or PEAT 1) – and then a traineeship (PEAT 2). 'PEAT' stands for Professional Education And Training and is the Scottish Law Society's new name for the two main steps in the process of becoming a Scottish solicitor. Note that English LLBs and LPCs are not valid, and that there is no equivalent to the GDL in Scotland. To become a Scots lawyer you essentially must study a degree in Scots law.
The Scottish Law Society's website has more details on the standard route into the profession, an alternative route for those not doing the LLB (the skinny: it's complicated), and how England-and-Wales qualified solicitors can cross-qualify in Scotland.
Scotland historically had an elite 'Big Four' of commercial firms: Dundas & Wilsons, McGrigors, Maclay Murray & Spens and Shepherd & Wedderburn. The first three have now merged with CMS, Pinsent Masons and Dentons respectively and their names have disappeared from the legal market. Only the last of these still exists today as an independent firm and also offer London-based traineeships. Other major native Scottish firms include Brodies, Burness Paull, Harper Macleod and Dickson Minto.
Find out more: Becoming a lawyer in Scotland
While Chambers Student does not cover the experience of Scottish trainees this website does feature a number of firms which offers Scottish traineeships:
You might want to read up on...
Addleshaw Goddard • BLM • CMS • Dentons • DLA Piper • DWF • Pinsent Masons • Shoosmiths • Womble Bond Dickinson