Legal Summer Placements

A summer placement is a chance to work with people at the top of their profession, and get a flavour of life at a commercial law firm.

Applications for our 2027 legal summer placements are now open, apply here.

We offer paid summer placements in June in our Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen offices; and in June and July in our London office. They give you the opportunity to work in one of our legal teams for three weeks. You’ll also receive high-quality training on a wide range of legal disciplines, delivered by experts in those fields. You will be allocated a ‘buddy’ who will keep in touch daily and help you to get the most from your time with us.

All in all, it’s a thorough introduction to our firm and our teams. It’s also a great way to kick-start your career with us, as all placement students get the opportunity to be fast-tracked to the fourth stage of our Trainee Recruitment Process.

Not everyone is eligible, and there is a thorough application process.

Who is eligible?

In Scotland

Third-year (or above) Scots Law LLB students
First-year (or above) Accelerated LLB students

In London

Second-year (or above) English LLB students
Graduate Diploma in Law Students

Application process

The application process has four distinct stages:

01 Application Form

Our summer placement applications are now open, please apply here.

The form will ask you to provide information about your time at university, any work experience you have, your skills and extracurricular activities.

What we’re looking for from you

Organisational skills – planning and prioritising your activities to work effectively.
Commercial awareness – understanding what we do and how we work with clients.
Communication and interpersonal skills – communicating well in writing and in person, showing attention to detail and working collaboratively with others.

Tips for your application:

Complete the application form in full – don’t miss anything out.
Answer the question. Make sure you provide us with relevant information and think about the skills we’re looking for.
Check your spelling and grammar – and then check again. It may seem obvious, but spell Shepherd and Wedderburn correctly!
We want to hear about all your work experience (paid, unpaid, legal and non-legal), so don’t leave anything out.
We know you’ll probably apply to a few firms, but please don’t copy and paste your answers. We want to know why you should work for us.

02 Online Testing

If you are successful at the application stage, you will be invited to undertake task-based psychometric testing via online assessment provider, Arctic Shores.

Further guidance and information about the test can be found here and we would recommend that you take a look at the demonstration test.

03 Presentation and Short Interview

If you pass the test section, you will be invited to attend a virtual interview with two members of the HR team. This stage has two components: you will be asked to deliver a five minute presentation, which will be followed by a short interview.

At least three days before your interview, we will send you a choice of two presentation topics. You can pick whichever is of most interest to you. Your presentation will be scored on timekeeping, structure, clarity and relevance to Shepherd and Wedderburn.

04 Interview

If you are successful at the presentation stage you will be invited for an in-person competency-based interview with two members of the firm – one who is legally qualified, as well as a member of the HR team.

It is natural to feel nervous during an interview, but rest assured that our interviewers want to hear from you so that they can find out more about you, your skills and your experience. So, try to relax and be yourself.

01 Application Form
+ -

01 Application Form

Our summer placement applications are now open, please apply here.

The form will ask you to provide information about your time at university, any work experience you have, your skills and extracurricular activities.

What we’re looking for from you

Organisational skills – planning and prioritising your activities to work effectively.
Commercial awareness – understanding what we do and how we work with clients.
Communication and interpersonal skills – communicating well in writing and in person, showing attention to detail and working collaboratively with others.

Tips for your application:

Complete the application form in full – don’t miss anything out.
Answer the question. Make sure you provide us with relevant information and think about the skills we’re looking for.
Check your spelling and grammar – and then check again. It may seem obvious, but spell Shepherd and Wedderburn correctly!
We want to hear about all your work experience (paid, unpaid, legal and non-legal), so don’t leave anything out.
We know you’ll probably apply to a few firms, but please don’t copy and paste your answers. We want to know why you should work for us.

02 Online Testing
+ -

02 Online Testing

If you are successful at the application stage, you will be invited to undertake task-based psychometric testing via online assessment provider, Arctic Shores.

Further guidance and information about the test can be found here and we would recommend that you take a look at the demonstration test.

03 Presentation and Short Interview
+ -

03 Presentation and Short Interview

04 Interview
+ -

04 Interview

Inclusive recruitment

We want our recruitment process to be as inclusive as possible and allow everyone to show us their strengths.

We use the Rare Contextualised Recruitment system to ensure we recognise a candidate’s potential by taking account of their socioeconomic and educational background.

We are also a Disability Confident Leader, which means we’re keen to support applicants who may need adjustments to help them during the recruitment process. Contact Jaimee-Leigh Lawrence if you need any adjustments to support you during any stage of the process.

Key Contacts