The Discover Vacation Placement & Mentoring Programme offers aspiring solicitors from under-represented backgrounds the opportunity to experience life at a leading law firm.

You’ll spend one week in one of our offices — Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, London or Manchester — working alongside solicitors, contributing to projects and immersing yourself in our culture.

Before your placement, you’ll be paired with a professional mentor who’ll help you prepare, guide you throughout the week, and continue supporting you as you move towards our training contract assessment centre.

This is more than just work experience. It’s a chance to gain confidence, make meaningful connections and be supported every step of the way.

Discover supports our diversity, equity and inclusion goals by helping to widen access to the profession and build a more diverse future generation of lawyers.

You’ll be paid for your time — details of the current rate can be found on our FAQ page.

During the week, you’ll:

• experience the work of a trainee solicitor, from handling real case files to attending meetings

• take part in a business development challenge that showcases your ideas and creativity

• learn from your mentor, trainees and lawyers who will support you every step of the way

• join social activities that give you a genuine feel for our people and our culture.

Mentoring is at the heart of the discover programme — and of Shoosmiths. That’s why we’re also proud to partner with GROW Mentoring, a charity with diversity, inclusion and social mobility at its core. Over 40 of our legal advisors currently mentor GROW mentees every year, helping the next generation of legal professionals build confidence and thrive.

The Discover Vacation Placement & Mentoring Programme is a diversity access scheme and forms part of recruitment for Shoosmiths’ training contracts.

To apply, you must:

• be an aspiring solicitor interested in qualifying in England or Scotland

• be a penultimate year law undergraduate, or a final year law or non-law undergraduate student. Scottish Diploma, GDL, LPC and SQE students are welcome to apply, as are graduates and career changers

• be eligible to work in the UK and not currently hold a training contract

• identify with at least one under-represented group in law:

  • Black, Asian or minority ethnic

  • LGBTQ+

  • disabled, neurodivergent or have a long-term health condition

  • socially mobile:

    • first-generation to attend university and educated at a non-selective state school, or
    • care-experienced, or
    • came to the UK as a refugee.

You’ll be assessed throughout your placement, and if successful, you’ll be invited to our in-person training contract assessment centre. There’s no need to apply separately — by applying for discover, you’re already being considered for a training contract.

Placement details

Applications for this year have now closed. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive updates and be the first to know when future opportunities become available.

If you’re not eligible or can’t attend the placement this time, there are plenty of other ways to connect with us. We run a full programme of virtual insight evenings and in-person events throughout the year to help you learn more about life as a Shoosmiths trainee. You can also apply directly for a training contractwithout completing a placement.

If you’re not ready to apply yet, sign up to our mailing list to stay up to date with future opportunities.