Seat structure - London

As a trainee at Herbert Smith, our seat structure gives you an unparalleled opportunity to gain all-round experience. This breadth of experience will also help you decide where your future lies, as spending time in different areas is the best way to find out.

During your two-year training contract you’ll move between four seats of six months each, with the chance to influence which areas you spend your time in prior to each rotation. This will also include the opportunity of a secondment – either with a client or in one of our international offices. In each seat you’ll be working closely with an associate or partner who will encourage you to show initiative and take on responsibility.

Before you choose each of your four seats, you can express a preference as to which practice area or secondment you wish to undertake at that time. We take these preferences into account to ensure each trainee spends time in the seats they are most interested in. Shortly after joining, you’ll also have the chance to discuss your seat interests on a one-to-one basis with our HR team, so we are better placed to offer you a training contract tailored to your particular career aspirations.

From the word go we want to give you the best opportunities and the relevant support to help you make a real difference to your immediate team, our clients, and the firm as a whole.

Our major practice areas are shown below. You can find out more about them by clicking on the links.