Career progression

Everyone has different ideas as to what their ideal career path will be. Some of you may discover an interest in an area of the law that you may not have considered before. Others may want to change direction some way down the line.

Herbert Smith can help you further your career in whatever direction you choose. That’s why we provide flexible training and development, designed to give you experience in all areas and to help you find out what’s right for you.

We are committed to supporting all our staff right throughout their careers with us. Here are just a few examples of the training and development we currently provide:

At associate level
On qualification you can apply to take a sabbatical for up to two months before you commence your career. Then, as an associate, you’ll have ongoing training and development, along with opportunities for international or client secondments as your career progresses. Courses include presentation skills, influencing relationships, negotiation, professional impact, time management and stress management, supervisory skills, people management and motivation. We develop our lawyer’s skills in business development, client interviewing and client contact. Specific training is also provided for each practice area, including formal and informal knowledge sharing and language training according to individual needs.

All our lawyers attend a further development centre after they have been qualified for two years. Key areas include personal development, people management, organisation skills/delegation skills, managing finance skills, business development and client relationship skills.

At partner level
All our new partners attend a tailored induction to support them in their transition to partnership. What’s more, we continue to develop their people, business and practice management skills as well as their leadership and business development skills on an ongoing basis. 

The ambition of most of our trainees is to be a partner and this could happen within seven or eight years. However, we can also offer our “of counsel” and PSC (professional support consultant) roles as alternative career paths. These are suitable for senior associates and PSLs (professional support lawyers) who want ongoing challenges and interesting work but who don’t necessarily want to become partners.