Frequently Asked Questions

Each year we aim to recruit up to 40 trainee solicitors.

Our London trainees join us in the spring and the autumn each year (20 trainees in each intake).

Early in your final and fourth seat, trainees will be informed about the newly qualified (NQ) vacancies available in the various London practice areas and international offices. The Early Careers Development Team facilitate the process with a briefing session, 1-2-1 meetings and a workshop to prepare for the interview process. Once trainees have submitted their NQ preferences, practice groups will conduct interviews. Following this and considering performance during the qualifying work experience, the practice groups will determine which trainees they would like to offer.  

It is important to note that availability of NQ positions for  all practice groups is not guaranteed for each NQ process and roles will be driven by business requirements. In addition to this, there may be competition for some roles within smaller niche groups. It is therefore important to keep an open mind across all four seats to enable you to have a range of options for qualification.  

If trainees are not awarded a role following the first round, they may be able to apply for roles in the second  round of the qualification process. The roles available in the second round are determined by numerous factors including, roles available from first round and new roles becoming available.

We’ll pick up the bill for all your course fees and SQE exams.  We also provide maintenance grants to our future joiners whilst completing the pre-requisite courses prior to commencing their training contract. The current maintenance grant for full-time study during the PGDL is £10,000 outside London and £12,500 within London. The current maintenance grant for SQE studies is £20,000 in London.

Hardship Funding

In addition to the maintenance grant, the firm also offers Hardship Funding to future trainees that have little or no parental support or other means of financial assistance.

If you need to do the PGDL you would normally start this around 2 years before your training contract start date. So, for example, if you are joining us as a trainee in September 2029 you would start your PGDL course in September 2027.

You would normally start your SQE course 12 months before starting your training contract. So, if you are joining us in March 2030, you would start your SQE course in February/March 2029. 

We accept applications from candidates who have already started or completed the PGDL, LPC and/or SQE exams.  If you receive a training contract offer from us, we will discuss with you about any further study required.

Additionally, you can get in touch with us to discuss details about the firm’s retrospective funding and maintenance grant.

We would encourage you to apply for a direct training contract if you already have a good amount of experience in either a commercial law firm (e.g., through vacation schemes or paralegal work), a professional services firm or in a professional setting relevant to the industry sectors that we serve.  If you haven’t yet had the opportunity for this type of work experience, we recommend applying for one of our vacation schemes instead.

Around the second month of the final seat, trainees will be informed about all the newly qualified (NQ) vacancies available in the various London practice areas and international offices. Trainees will also be invited to attend a qualification briefing held by the Training Principal and Early Careers Development team to explain the process and give you an opportunity to brush up on your interviewing skills.

Trainees will then be invited to submit preferences to the Trainee Development.

The partners in the practice groups will interview all trainees who express an interest and will confirm to Trainee Development which people they wish to offer roles to. 

There will however be competition for some roles in smaller niche groups. Therefore, it is important to keep an open mind so our trainees have a range of options available to them. 

If trainees are not awarded a role following the first round, they may be able to apply for roles in the second round of the qualification process. Further roles sometimes become available at this stage also.

We would encourage you to apply for a direct training contract if you already have a good amount of experience in either a commercial law firm (e.g., through vacation schemes or paralegal work), professional services organisation or in a professional setting relevant to the industry sectors that we serve.  If you haven’t yet had the opportunity for this type of work experience, we recommend applying for one of our vacation schemes instead.

If you are successful in securing a space on a vacation scheme, you will complete a training contract application interview before the end of the scheme.

If your vacation scheme application is unsuccessful, you will need to wait until the following year (from September 2027) to complete a training contract or another vacation scheme application.

We ask law students to complete summer vacation scheme applications in their penultimate year of study. If you are spending time abroad in your third year, you’ll need to travel back to the UK to attend our assessment centre.

No, unfortunately we don’t offer this.

Yes, there are no restrictions to reapply to the firm.

If you apply for Lift Off we will automatically consider you for a summer vacation scheme at the same time so there is no need to submit a separate vacation scheme application.   

If you are offered a place on Lift Off we will automatically offer you an assessment centre place for the summer vacation scheme.  If you aren’t offered a place on Lift Off, we will consider your application for a vacation scheme and a decision about whether we will be inviting you to an assessment centre will be communicated to you by email.

As Lift Off takes place after the winter vacation scheme we ask candidates to apply for either a winter vacation scheme or Lift Off.

You may make one application per *recruitment cycle for Lift Off, a vacation scheme or a direct training contract (in any location). If you applied for Lift Off and were unsuccessful, you may reapply for a vacation scheme or training contract in the next recruitment cycle. 

*Our recruitment cycle runs between 1st September and 31st August each year.

Yes, this is a 2-day programme so all participants will need to be available for both dates.

If you have completed an undergraduate degree in another country and are completing or have completed a two-year LLB in the UK, you would be eligible to apply for any of our programmes that are open to penultimate year students.

For solicitor apprenticeships we look for a minimum of AAB at A’ level (or equivalent).

For all other programmes we look for a minimum of AAB at A’ level (or equivalent) and a 2.1 (predicted or achieved) at degree level. 

Please complete an application and explain how your grades were impacted so we can take this into account when reviewing your application. There is a section for this on our application form. 

Yes, we accept applications from candidates who have completed the LPC.  If you receive a training contract offer from us we will discuss with you about any further study required.

Please visit our Candidate Preparation hub to find out more and to access practice tests.

We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are fully inclusive and as barrier-free as possible. This includes making adjustments for candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions. We do ask you about adjustments on your application form.  However, if you wish to discuss adjustments or issues at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact our Early Careers Recruitment team who will be happy to help you.

Some adjustments we have made in the past include (but are not limited to) providing extra time for timed assessments, offering alternative interviews, and additional guidance and support, where appropriate, at each stage.

Yes. We often invite candidates to take the online assessments before the application deadline. We, therefore, encourage applicants to apply to us as early as possible, but only after you have had enough time to thoroughly research the firm.

For technical issues with your application form, please log a ticket via the Rare portal.  For technical issues with your online assessments, first-line support is available through the Cappfinity knowledge base (which is accessible from your assessments).  If you cannot find the answer to your query there, please contact the support team at support@cappfinity.com.

You may make one application per *recruitment cycle for Lift Off, a vacation scheme or a direct training contract.

*Our recruitment cycle runs between 1st September and 31st August each year.

We only consider one application per recruitment cycle (either Lift Off,  a vacation scheme or a direct training contract application). However, you are welcome to reapply to the firm in future recruitment cycles (which start in September each year). 

Yes, we accept applications from candidates who require visa sponsorship.

You’ll have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of how a global law firm works. You’ll have a campus ambassador induction day followed by regular catch-ups with your trainee mentor and the early careers recruitment team. This in depth insight into our firm and training contract opportunities, will be invaluable  

If you choose to apply to our Lift Off programme or vacation scheme.

We aim to recruit campus ambassadors at our target Universities which include Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Exeter, KCL, LSE, Nottingham, Oxford, Queen Mary, UCL, Warwick.

• All applicants will submit a short application form including your education, work experience and motivational questions. 
• Shortlisted candidates will be asked to submit a short creative video showcasing your ideas for promoting Hogan Lovells Cadwalader  at your university. We encourage you to be as creative as possible and touch on any societies you are involved with, students you would target, and promotional ideas that you have.
• We will then invite candidates with the strongest videos to a final stage online interview with the Early Careers team, focusing on your motivations for the role and knowledge of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader . 

We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are fully inclusive and as barrier-free as possible. This includes making adjustments for candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions. If you wish to discuss adjustments or issues at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact our Early Careers Recruitment team who will be happy to help you.

Some adjustments we have made in the past include (but are not limited to) providing extra time for reading and writing, different interview formats, extra time at interviews, and additional guidance and support, where appropriate, at each stage.

Yes. We often screen candidates’ applications before the application deadline. We therefore, encourage applicants to apply to us as early as possible, but only after you have had enough time to thoroughly research the firm.

For technical queries, please visit the candidate support centre.

If your query is about the content of the form, please contact the Early Careers Recruitment team.