UK Trainees
Become a Trainee
To be considered for one of Cooley’s four training places per year, you first must participate in our London summer programme. The programme will give you insight into the breadth of work we do – and the exciting range of clients we are proud to serve and partner with on transformative deals, complex IP and regulatory matters, and high-stakes litigation. It also will provide you with many opportunities to experience the distinctive, welcoming and collaborative spirit of our firm.
During the two-week summer programme, which accepts approximately 10 people per year, you will contribute to meaningful work, engage in professional development sessions, and connect with Cooley colleagues through work assignments and socially. A summer programme mentor, a trainee buddy and the legal talent team will help you make the most of the opportunities available to you, as well as support your integration throughout the programme.
Our summer programme has earned recognition two years in a row from The Legal 500’s Future Lawyers trainee solicitor survey for the quality of experience it offers.
To submit an application, please click on the ‘Apply now’ button below. You will be directed to review the privacy notice for London candidates as part of the application registration process.
The application window for the summer programme opens on 5 October 2023 and closes on 7 January 2024.
Training with Cooley in London will be about a breadth of experience and opportunity; being challenged to achieve more than you may have thought possible and enhanced by being surrounded by a collaborative and brilliant team.
London managing partner
The Upside
Being part of a smaller trainee cohort often leads to a higher degree of hands-on involvement and exposure. We encourage you to apply to Cooley if you are a self-starter looking for responsibility and a training environment where you will learn by doing – and be expected to contribute your opinions to the matters you work on.
Cooley’s two-year training programme is divided into four seats lasting six months each. It will likely include at least one litigation department seat, where your work could span general commercial disputes, white collar crime, intellectual property and trademark, employment, and product compliance. Other seats include corporate commercial/transactional areas, where your work may be a mix of M&A, private equity and venture capital, public companies, capital markets, technology transactions, cyber/data/privacy, compensation and benefits, life sciences, and competition. All seats provide experience representing the most innovative companies and business and technology leaders of the future across a wide array of dynamic industries.
Diversity at Cooley
We are involved in a number of firmwide and office-specific diversity programmes which focus on supporting the talent pipeline and development of existing talent, together with recruitment and working practices. One of the ways we do this is by reviewing trainee application forms on a name-blind basis. To help us find the best talent from a range of backgrounds, we implement the Rare Contextual Recruitment System as part of our application system.
In our dedication to fostering a truly diverse workplace that values and celebrates differences, we offer diversity fellowships to outstanding law students who share this commitment. Award recipients in London will receive paid summer programme positions a year earlier than students are typically eligible to participate and monetary awards to assist with law school tuition.
Meet Cooley
Meet Cooley events are an excellent way to gain a valuable understanding of our work, our people and our culture. These insights will help you make considered decisions about whether you can see yourself developing your legal career with us.
2023 Meet Cooley events and application deadlines:
- 15 November 2023 (in-person event; apply by 1 November 2023)
- 29 November 2023 (virtual event; apply by 15 November 2023)
- 12 December 2023 (in-person event; apply by 28 November 2023)
For the three 2023 events, priority will be given to those who have reached at least their penultimate year of a law degree or final year of a non-law degree, as well as graduates.
Another Meet Cooley event will take place in May 2024 (the exact date will be published here and in our application system in early 2024), with an application deadline of 31 March 2024. This event is aimed at those who are at an earlier stage in their academic pathway. Priority will be given to those who haven’t applied for the summer programme or training contract.
Cooley is a breath of fresh air and not just because the firm has a new tech-filled London office. The firm’s culture is not just clever marketing but a tangible reality; the emphasis on inclusivity emanates from every interaction, vacation scheme and beyond. The time partners and associates put aside to provide feedback during my vacation scheme was unparalleled and the support I continue to receive is significant. Nor is the support purely technical, the Cooley team all work to help you develop professionally giving you the confidence for work beyond your training.
Summer programme 2019, training contract 2021, qualified August 2023