Make your mark – choose a career with maximum impact
Applications will be live on Monday 30 November 2026 and will close on Monday 25 January 2027.
Our recruitment process is designed to put you through your paces, but it’s also about sharing our unique culture with you, so you get a real sense of the firm you might be joining.
To be eligible for our 2029 Training Contract, you must have achieved, or be predicted to achieve, a 2:1 or above in your undergraduate degree, and meet one of the criteria below:
If you are applying for one of our offices in England:
- You are currently studying (in your penultimate or final year) or have completed a law degree in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland
- You are currently studying (in your final year) or have completed a non-law degree in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland
- You are currently studying (in your final year) or have completed a non-law degree in Scotland, or
- You are in your final year of or have completed an international qualifying law degree.
If you are applying for our Edinburgh office:
- You are currently studying (in your penultimate or final year) or have completed a law degree in Scotland
- You have completed a non-law degree and you have started (or completed) the accelerated LLB in Scottish Law, or
- You have completed an international degree and you have started (or completed) the accelerated LLB in Scottish Law.
Stage 1: Application form (30 January 2026 – 25 January 2027)
The first stage of our process is an application form. You’ll be asked to share details of your undergraduate degree and any further vocational education, your life experience, and information as part of the Rare Contextualised Recruitment System, which allows us to understand the context in which your experiences have been gained and enables us to identify top candidates from the widest pool possible.
Stage 2: Online assessment (26 January 2027 – 2 February 2027)
Shortly after the close of the application window, everyone who has applied and is eligible to complete a training contract will be invited to complete our online assessment.
Stage 3 : Telephone interviews (22 February 2027 – 8 March 2027)
Candidates who successfully pass the online assessment will be invited to participate in a brief telephone interview with a member of the Early Talent team. The purpose of this conversation is to gain a deeper understanding of your motivations for applying to WBD.
Stage 4: In-person assessment day (12 April 2027 – 23 April 2027)
If you’ve been successful in the telephone interview stage, you’ll be invited to attend an in person assessment day. Our assessment days vary year on year but it will likely involve a critical thinking task and some short interviews, as well as giving you the opportunity to hear from a variety of people at WBD and ask them any questions you may have about the firm.
Remember, it’s a two-way process – by the end of the assessment day, you’ll be able to decide whether WBD is right for you – and we’ll have a better understanding of who you are.
Stage 5: Work placement week and final interview (full week in our offices - 7 June 2027 – 11 June 2027)
Our in person placement weeks form part of our recruitment process. Our placement weeks give you a great insight into our business as well as the responsibility and quality of work that is given to our trainees.
The placement week will also involve a final, strengths-based interview with two of the WBD team. Again, this is also a chance for you to find out more about our business, get a feel for what it would be like to work in our team, and understand if it’s the right place for you.
Hannah Sharps
Early Talent Acquisition Manager
