Dechert is a global specialist law firm with approximately 1000 lawyers across 21 offices. We have some of the world’s leading lawyers advising on both domestic and cross-border matters. The firm is frequently retained to work on the most challenging transactions and disputes, and prides itself on its ability to deliver premium legal services and sound business judgement to its clients. Dechert lawyers bring to their assignments a focus on quality, responsiveness and value for money. We are driven by one key principle: exceptional client service.

Our work

In London, our lawyers are active in Dechert’s core practice areas of corporate and securities, financial services and investment management, finance and real estate, trials, investigations and securities, which incorporates our white collar and commercial litigation teams. Our clients include corporations, financial institutions, sovereign states, quasi-sovereign entities and private and high-net-worth individuals all over the world. Dechert undertakes work for 40 of the Fortune 100 companies, and advises 24 of the top 25 global asset management firms, and 41 of the top 50 global private debt firms.

We run three vacation schemes each year: winter, spring and summer. 

Our two week schemes are designed to give you an idea of what it will be like to be a trainee solicitor at Dechert. Each week you will sit in a different practice group and you are given real work to do by our lawyers. Exactly what you will do will depend on which practice group you sit in but it will include research, drafting and attending meetings. You will also attend training sessions on a range of topics, such as legal writing and negotiation.

Before you start the scheme, we will ask for your practice area preferences and then try to place you in those groups. You will be allocated a supervisor (an associate or partner) and a trainee buddy, but will receive work from people at all levels from across the group

Social events, such as evening activities and dinners, are an important part of the vacation schemes as they enable you to build your relationships with Dechert trainees, associates and partners. Recently these have included dinner at The Ivy, a private pod on the London Eye, indoor crazy golf, lunch at Dishoom, drinks receptions at the Shard, walking tours on London legal heritage and group cookery classes. 

We offer places on both schemes to penultimate-year law undergraduates, all final-year undergraduates (both law and non-law), all graduates, postgraduates and career changers.

Our trainees undertake six seats of four months each. Working closely with partners and associates, and with a small trainee intake, no two trainees’ training contracts will be the same. We run a full training programme, at the beginning of, and throughout, the training contract, which complements our on the job training. Following qualification, our NQs attend orientation in Philadelphia.

The introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) offers a unique opportunity to craft a training contract experience specific to Dechert trainees.

The starting point for your SQE training will be through preparation for the SQE1 and 2 assessments, providing you with all the knowledge and skills you need to excel at the assessments. We will be using the scope that the new route to qualification provides to tailor the training experience to ensure our trainees are able to hit the ground running when they join the firm. Training will focus on our specific practice groups such as litigation and financial services regulation along with modules looking at innovation and legal technology and the law firm as a business.

Non-law students will undertake the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) before starting their SQE preparation, ensuring that you have all the foundational legal knowledge you need to succeed at the next stage of your legal training.

PGDL and SQE fees, plus £12,500 maintenance grant for each year of law school.

• Corporate & securities
• Finance & real estate
• Financial services
• Employment
• Tax
• IP
• White collar litigation
• Commercial litigation
• Antitrust/competition
• Financial restructuring

• Corporate & Commercial

• London

• A4ID
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• Innocence Project London
• Islington Law Centre
• LawWorks (the Solicitors Pro Bono Group)
• Legal Advice Centres
• Prince’s Trust
• TrustLaw Connect

• #10000BlackInterns
• Aspiring Solicitors
• Bright Network
• City Parents
• InterLaw Diversity Forum
• Rare Recruitment
• The Law Collective