You will undertake four six-month seats, rotating across each of our practices.
UK Training Contracts
Emerging legal talent helps clients meet global challenges. Our London trainee program enables graduates to grow alongside leading industry professionals.
As King & Spalding's first international office, London is a key hub for our global offering to clients. The London office represents our clients on significant and strategic matters in the UK and around the globe. Multidisciplinary and multijurisdictional in its approach, the London team blends the traditional, high-end legal advice of City lawyers with authentic global perspective for London-based and international clients, including many FTSE and Fortune 100 companies.
The London group combines transactional, investigations and dispute resolution experience to ensure that our clients can enjoy sustained, long-term success.
Our trainee solicitors are a vital dynamic of the King & Spalding team, helping us to guide clients through evolving challenges. Our trainee program gives graduates the chance to join a growing office and to develop and learn from – and alongside – leading experts in the legal profession.
UK Training Contracts
Our London office recruits four trainees per year, split across two intakes: March and September.
London trainees gain direct experience in multiple practice areas and industries, including International Disputes & International Arbitration, Energy & Projects, Finance & Restructuring, Fund Finance, Special Matters & Government Investigations, Corporate, and Real Estate & Funds.
The seat rotations will provide you with broad training across a range of practice areas and skillsets, with substantial responsibility and exposure to our clients from day one, within a positive, supportive and collaborative environment.
Our trainees also benefit from opportunities to undertake part of their training in our overseas offices and on client secondments.
We are recruiting for March and September 2029 start dates.
We welcome applications from all degree disciplines and all universities. We are looking for candidates who can demonstrate keen motivation, intellectual curiosity, innovative thinking, initiative and a strong desire to grow and develop within a top 20 global law firm. To be eligible to apply for a training contract with us you should be in the penultimate year of a law degree, final year of a non-law degree or have already graduated.
- To initiate the application process, use the "Apply Now" button above to complete the online application form.
- We recommend taking the time to research and get to know the firm ahead of submitting your application form. There are a number of events where you can find out more about us. See the “Meet Our Team” section of this page for more details.
- Shortlisted candidates are invited to a half-day, in person assessment centre at our London office. During the assessment, candidates will undertake an interview with two partners/counsel, a written exercise and a negotiation exercise. There will also be an opportunity to meet some of our current trainees to find out more about life at King & Spalding.
- The final stage in the process is a partner panel interview. You will have the opportunity to meet a number of partners across the various practice groups at King & Spalding’s London office. The format of the interview is a short presentation, followed by a Q&A.
Application Timeline
Applications Open
September 2026 - February 2027
Assessment Centres
March 2027
Final Panel Interviews
April 2027
King & Spalding is a disability inclusive employer. Please email Rebecca Babb should you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process. We would be happy to schedule a confidential call to discuss the application and assessment process and to understand how we can best support you through this process.
Meet the Trainees
Alice Konneh
“My time as a trainee at K&S has been an invaluable learning experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed sitting with partners and seeing first-hand how work progresses from inception to completion. At K&S, trainees are entrusted with significant responsibility from an early stage, which has accelerated my development and instilled a strong sense of ownership of the matters I work on.”
Ben Gray
“At K&S, you are given real responsibility and are made to feel like part of the team from the start. Sharing an office with a Partner and working in lean teams means you are close to the key aspects of the case or deal, giving you real insights and opportunities to learn and develop over the course of the Training Contract.”
Paul Iwkin
“The programme blends approachable teams with first-tier work. Trainees are trusted with real ownership, work on substantive matters from day one, and develop international experience through secondments and cross-office collaboration.”
“
King & Spalding’s Singapore secondment is a great opportunity for trainees to experience working and living in a different culture. The size of the Singapore office allows trainees to work across diverse practice areas like finance and arbitration and offers close collaboration with partners on a day-to-day basis. By coming to Singapore, you will also get the opportunity to gain a sharper understanding of how cultural and procedural differences shape dispute resolution and business.”
– Anton Strukoff, Current Trainee
“
My secondment to the Dubai office offered me a fantastic opportunity to experience different cultures, to develop relationships across the firm, and to work in a new jurisdiction.”
– Catherine Munro, Associate
What We Offer
Lawyer Development Programs and Resources
Meet Our Team
We are running a series of events where you can meet us, either online or in person. These events will give you the perfect opportunity to learn more about life at King & Spalding. We will update with a list of our 2026/2027 events from September 2026.
Contacts
King & Spalding International LLP (K&S) commits to fostering a diverse, inclusive workplace, ensuring all employees and applicants are treated fairly and with dignity, in compliance with all applicable laws and regardless of protected characteristics such as age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion, or sexual orientation.