Our 2024 legal placement applications are now closed. Applications for our 2025 summer placements will open in October 2024.
Legal/Management Services Summer Placements
Legal Placement: What do we offer?
We offer a number of paid summer placements in June and July in our Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and London offices. Our placement will give you the opportunity to work within one of our leading legal teams for three weeks. Throughout the placement, you will benefit from first-class training from some of the best professionals in their field. This training will cover a wide range of legal disciplines, giving you a well-rounded introduction to the firm and its specialist teams.
You will be allocated a 'buddy' for the duration of your experience who will keep in touch on a daily basis, providing you with useful advice and helping you integrate into the team.
Alongside a variety of legal tasks, your placement will include dedicated time to get to know your fellow placement students and our current trainees.
Our summer placement is an incredible way to explain your knowledge of how commercial law firms operate and kick-start your career with the firm. All placement students get the opportunity to be fast-tracked to the third stage of our Trainee Recruitment Process.
Who is eligible?
Scotland:
- Third-year (or above) Scots Law LLB students
- First-year (or above) Accelerated LLB students
London:
- Second-year (or above) English LLB students
- Graduate Diploma in Law Students
Application process
Stage one - complete an application form
When summer placement applications open, you will find a link to the application on this page. The application includes questions about your university, work experience and extracurricular activities, along with skill-based questions. Here are some tips for your application:
- Complete the full application - don't miss out sections
- Answer the question - if a question asks about your skills, be sure to reference skills in your answer
- Triple check your spelling and grammar - and check again!
- We want to hear about all your work experience (paid, unpaid, legal, and non-legal) - we are interested in it all.
- We carry out interviews on a rolling basis so we could encourage you to get your application in ahead of the deadline
- It may seem obvious, but spell Shepherd and Wedderburn correctly!
Please note: we use the Rare Contextualised Recruitment System as part of our application process in order to widen access to the profession for those from less socially mobile backgrounds.
Stage two - undertake online verbal and numeric testing
If you are successful in processing throughout the application stage, you will be invited to understand testing via SHL, an online assessment provider. We would recommend you practice a number of mock assessments before undertaking the tests. You can find sample tests by following this link: Practice Tests | SHL Direct
Stage three - assessment centre (prepared presentation and panel interview)
Once you have passed the test section you will be invited to attend an interview with two members of the firm - one panel member is legally qualified and the other part of the graduate recruitment team. The interview is split into the following two parts:
Presentation
You will be required to present on a scenario we will give you at least three days before your interview. The presentation should be five minutes long and should detail how you would approach and resolve the legal issue assigned to you. Your presentation will be scored on timekeeping, structure, clarity and relevance to Shepherd and Wedderburn
Interview
A more traditional interview will follow your presentation. The panel will ask questions designed to find out more about you, your skills and experience. It is natural to feel nervous during an interview, but rest assured that our interviewers want to hear from you - be yourself and try not let those nerves go!
Hear from your previous summer placement students:
"I found the experience invaluable in showing me what the real work of a solicitor is like in a commercial law firm." (incoming 2023 trainee)
"The placement was transformative - we received so much practical knowledge and insight that we were definitely not the same law students leaving the process as we were when we entered into it." (incoming 2023 trainee)
"We found out a lot about the firm's approach to diversity and inclusion and sustainability." (incoming 2023 trainee)
"The advice, support and accessibility was immeasurable and I really could not recomend it enough." (incoming 2023 trainee)
Management services summer placements
Each year we provide a number of six-to-12-week placements within our management services teams in our Edinburgh office. We generally have opportunities available in:
- Marketing and communications
- Business development
- HR
- Finance
- Document management
- Facilities
- Practice Development
- Anti-money laundering
Our management services summer placement is perfect for anyone who aspires to have a career within a business service function. If you are studying for a relevant degree or have a genuine interest in any of the above areas please send your CV and covering letter to graduateteam@shepwedd.com.
Shepherd and Wedderburn is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information that we collect as a "data controller". The information provided by you will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy for Applicants and Work Placement Students. If you are successful in obtaining paid employment with us, we will hold your information in accordance with our Personnel Data Retention Policy, which will be provided to you at the relevant time.
