UK Trainees

Applications for our spring and summer programmes will be live later this month.

At Cooley, a training contract is more than the start of your legal career. It’s where growth happens professionally, personally and as a future lawyer and it’s where potential becomes progress, through meaningful experience, real responsibility and continuous development.

We don’t believe trainees should spend two years observing from the sidelines. We believe in learning by doing.

A career with Cooley means that you’ll work with some of the world’s most innovative companies. This could mean helping startups and emerging companies take their next step, support game-changing transactions or contribute to business-critical disputes.

From your first seat, you’ll work on real client matters, with teams that values curiosity, collaboration and ambition. You’ll be trusted with meaningful responsibility, supported by dedicated mentors and surrounded by colleagues who are invested in your development.

Our training contract combines challenging work, practical learning and personalised support, helping you build the skills, confidence and connections needed to launch a successful legal career.
Explore our programmes, learn about training at Cooley and meet the people who make our London office distinctive.

Read on to learn more about life at Cooley, our programmes, how to succeed in the recruitment process or where you’ll find us on campus.

Cooley is a global law firm that partners with many of the world’s most innovative companies. From startups taking their first steps to established public companies operating on a global scale, we help clients navigate critical moments throughout their growth journeys. We are particularly known for our work in the technology and life sciences sectors, advising clients on transformative transactions, complex intellectual property and regulatory matters and high-stakes disputes.

Founded in the US in 1920, Cooley has grown into an international firm with offices across the US, Europe and Asia. In 2015, we opened our London office to support our expanding global client base and strengthen our international platform.

Cooley in London
Today, our London office is home to more than 200 lawyers and business professionals who work together to support clients across a broad range of industries and matters, including venture capital and private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions, technology transactions, intellectual property, employment, tax, competition, data privacy, investigations and complex disputes. Working closely with colleagues across the firm’s global network, our lawyers regularly advise on cross-border matters for innovative companies at every stage of growth.

What sets Cooley apart is our collaborative and entrepreneurial culture. We believe everyone has a meaningful role to play in our success, and we encourage our trainees to contribute from day one while receiving support from colleagues who are invested in their development. The London office combines the opportunities of a growing international practice with the resources, experience and reach of a leading global law firm.

Joining one of our programmes will give you the chance to experience in depth what we do as a firm and helps us to get to know you.

Spring and summer programmes

Our spring and summer programmes (vacation schemes) are the gateway to becoming a trainee at Cooley and designed for those who want to build a legal career and gain early exposure to legal practice.

Designed to give you a genuine insight into life at a US law firm, these programmes combine meaningful work experience, professional development and opportunities to build connections across the firm.

Working alongside our lawyers on active client matters, you’ll gain exposure to the innovative companies, investors and founder-led companies that Cooley is known for advising. Depending on the work taking place during your programme, you may attend meetings, participate in conference calls, assist on transactions, conduct legal research, support litigation matters or contribute to wider client and business projects.

What you’ll experience:

• Two weeks of work experience, receiving £550 per week in compensation.
• Real work within one of our key practice areas.
• Direct exposure to clients and high-quality work.
• A range of skills‑based training, workshops, presentations and networking events that will help you develop your commercial awareness, legal skills and understanding of Cooley’s culture.
• Continual feedback and coaching from your supervisor.

With approximately seven participants on each programme, you’ll benefit from a highly personalised experience. You’ll be supported throughout by a supervisor, a trainee buddy and our graduate recruitment team, who will help you make the most of every opportunity and provide guidance as you explore a career with us.

Our goal is simple: to give you meaningful exposure to our work, our people and our culture, while providing a platform for you to demonstrate your potential.

By the end of the programme, you’ll have a clearer understanding of what it means to be a Cooley trainee and whether a career with us is right for you. Offers to successful scheme participants will be for training contracts commencing in 2029.

Dates
Spring programme: 5 April – 16 April 2027
Summer programme: 28 June – 9 July 2027

Eligibility
We can consider only one application from each candidate in a recruitment year.

Candidates may apply to either the spring or summer programme, but we are happy to consider you for both programmes if you are successful in receiving an offer.

Want to learn more about life as a scheme participant at Cooley? Join us at our Meet our Vac Schemers event in October 2026. You can also learn more about our recruitment process before you apply.

Diversity fellowship

As part of Cooley’s ongoing commitment to inclusion, we are proud to offer the UK Diversity fellowship to outstanding university students intending to qualify as solicitors in England and Wales.

The UK Diversity fellowship supports talented aspiring solicitors from underrepresented backgrounds with a unique opportunity to gain early, meaningful exposure to life at an international law firm.

Participating fellows will join up to two of our UK-based programmes, starting with the 2027 summer programme in the London office, this gives you a head start in developing your skills, confidence and understanding of the solicitor career path. Fellows may then return for a second programme the following year. This provides additional time to build confidence, develop practical skills, form relationships across the firm and prepare for the trainee recruitment process. 

Financial support for our fellows includes:

• A paid position in the UK summer programme, receiving £550 per week worked.
• A bursary of up to £12,000, paid in three instalments:
  • £4,000 upon completion of the first UK summer programme and securing a place on the second-year programme. Any fellow who does not receive an offer to join the second year of the programme will receive 50% of this bursary.
  • £4,000 upon completion of the second UK programme.
  • £4,000 upon joining the firm as a trainee solicitor.

Fellows must not be the recipient of an inclusion award from another law firm paid between 1 September 2026 and 31 August 2027.

Eligibility
We welcome applications from outstanding university students who:

• Are enrolled full‑time at a UK university, with an anticipated graduation date from a UK law school no later than 2029.
• Demonstrate a commitment to promoting inclusion.
• Will not receive an inclusion award from another law firm between 1 April and 31 August 2027.
• Can participate in the 2026 UK summer programme (28 June – 9 July 2027).

Meet Cooley open days

Across each Meet Cooley event, attendees will have the chance to:

• Meet trainees, associates and partners from across the firm
• Learn about Cooley's practice areas, clients and culture
• Take part in interactive workshops and skills sessions
• Gain insight into the trainee recruitment process
• Receive practical application advice and tips from our graduate recruitment team
• Build connections with fellow aspiring lawyers

Our events are designed to be informative, engaging and interactive, giving you an authentic insight into life at Cooley and helping you make more informed decisions about your future career.

Key dates:

• In person event: 3 November 2026
  Registration for this event closes 13 October 2026
• Virtual event: Monday, 9 November 2026
  Registration for this event closes 3 November 2026

Please visit our website to submit your application.

We believe the best way to learn is by doing. From the outset of your Qualifying Work Experience, you will be trusted with meaningful work and encouraged to contribute to matters that have a real impact on our clients.

You will work directly with associates, partners and, where appropriate, clients, while receiving close supervision and feedback.

Trainees are often surprised by the responsibility they receive. Associates and partners invest time in briefing trainees, providing feedback and identifying interesting work that supports their development.

Cooley aims to combine outstanding client service with being a great place to work. The London office creates opportunities for people to connect through informal gatherings in Arthur’s café space, office-wide events, trainee-led activities and sports and social groups.

Training contract
Our two-year training programme is divided into four six-month seats. It is designed to provide experience across contentious and transactional practices and help you develop the technical, commercial and interpersonal skills needed for a successful legal career.

One compulsory seat is within corporate, which includes mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, private equity and venture capital. A second compulsory seat is within business litigation and may involve commercial disputes, investigations, international arbitration, employment or product compliance and litigation.

Other seat choice may include life sciences, debt finance, technology transactions, cyber/data and/privacy, compensation and benefits or financial regulation. Options evolve with client demand and business needs, and the firm works with trainees to understand their interests and career ambitions.

Alongside on-the-job learning, you will also take part in a comprehensive development programme delivered by partners, associates and the professional development team. Training covers practice-specific knowledge as well as skills such as building professional relationships, communicating with impact and collaborating effectively in a hybrid environment.

Every trainee has an extensive support network, including an assigned supervisor, a trainee buddy in the year above, a partner mentor, the graduate recruitment team, the professional development team and the training principal. This support is designed to help you ask questions, act on feedback and take ownership of your progress.

Additionally, trainees are heavily involved in the firm’s pro bono work, community initiatives and sustainability projects. These opportunities will allow you to use your skills for causes that matter while building relationships across the firm.

Law school support
Cooley’s London office follows the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) route to qualification.

Future trainees will complete their law school studies with The University of Law, alongside other future Cooley trainees, before joining the firm.

For candidates from a nonlaw background, this will include completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) before progressing to SQE LLM. The specific course pathway will depend on your academic background and qualification requirements at the time.

To support future trainees throughout this stage of their journey, Cooley funds all required law school tuition fees and provides a maintenance grant of £20,000 per year while studying.

Our aim is to ensure trainees can focus on developing the legal knowledge, practical skills and commercial awareness needed for a successful career at Cooley, with the financial and professional support to thrive before they begin their training contract.

Salary and benefits
Our starting salary for first year trainees is £55,000, rising to £60,000 for second-year trainees. The current newly qualified salary is £157,000.

Our benefits include 25 days of annual leave, GymFlex membership or a fitness and nutrition contribution, a season-ticket loan, critical illness insurance, private medical insurance, life assurance, pension contributions, income protection, fertility treatment support, childcare vouchers, Modern Health employee assistance, wellbeing programmes, and sports, social and celebratory events.

Our recruitment process
Cooley recruits London trainees through its spring and summer programmes. All applications are submitted through the online application system and may be reviewed before the final deadline.

The minimum academic requirements for our spring and summer programmes are a 2.1 degree classification in any discipline and 128 UCAS points, equivalent to ABB at A level, excluding AS levels and general studies. Candidates who do not meet these requirements may still be considered where there are clear mitigating circumstances and evidence of excellence elsewhere.

Reasonable adjustments
Cooley is committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Candidates are encouraged to request reasonable adjustments at any stage of the process. These could include additional time for assessments, rest breaks, accessible materials, assistive technology or changes to an interview or assessment format.

All requests are considered individually and handled sensitively. For more information, please email Sarah Donoghue.

Events
Meet our people at campus events, law fairs, virtual sessions and open days.

Social media
LinkedIn
X
Instagram
Facebook

FAQs
For more information, please visit our FAQs page page. If you can’t find your answer there, please email us.

Contacts
Sarah Donoghue, Senior Graduate Recruitment Manager
Rachael Driscoll, Legal Talent Coordinator
Abby Thompson-Tebb, Talent Assistant

Address: Cooley (UK) LLP, 22 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4BQ
Email: graduaterecruitmentteam@cooley.com
Telephone: +44 20 7583 4055

Privacy notice for London candidates
Trainee recruitment brochure