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Linklaters
A global Magic Circle firm offering London trainees experience across major corporate transactions, finance, regulatory matters and disputes.
About Linklaters
Linklaters is a global commercial law firm advising major companies, banks and private capital investors. Its practice combines corporate transactions and finance with regulatory advice, competition, restructuring and disputes. International matters are a central feature, with teams working across jurisdictions to address clients’ commercial objectives and legal risks.
Its London practice has particular strengths in major acquisitions, corporate lending, capital markets and competition law. The firm also advises on issues affecting energy, infrastructure, technology, healthcare and financial services businesses.
For trainees, this creates opportunities to understand how different legal specialisms contribute to the same matter. An acquisition can involve corporate negotiations, financing and merger approvals, while a restructuring may require advice on debt arrangements, regulatory obligations and potential disputes. The breadth of the training contract allows trainees to explore these connections before choosing a qualification practice.
The two-year London training contract comprises four six-month seats. Trainees can express preferences and adapt them as their interests develop. International and client secondments offer opportunities to experience another market or work within a client’s legal team.
In each seat, trainees sit with a Principal, a senior lawyer responsible for supporting their development. A Group Trainee Solicitor Partner provides additional guidance, alongside the Human Resources and Trainee Development team. Regular feedback, departmental seminars and practice-specific training support learning through live matters.
Maintenance grants are £20,000 for SQE study and £12,500 for the PGDL in London, or £11,500 outside London. The qualification pathway includes SQE preparation, with a law conversion course for non-law graduates.
The two-week vacation schemes provide live work, professional development sessions and support from a Principal and trainee buddy. Participants are paid £520 per week and receive a final training contract interview after their scheme.
Practice areas & rankings
Linklaters secured 58 practice rankings in Chambers UK 2027, including 26 Band 1 rankings. Its leading practices include corporate/M&A, corporate finance, competition, restructuring and capital markets. The firm ranked first for the combined number of UK-wide and London Band 1 department rankings.
At the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2026, Linklaters won the Infrastructure category for its work on the financing framework for Sizewell C. Its AI Lawyer cohort also won in the Training and Change Management category for embedding AI within practice groups.
Ranked departmentsChambers UK
Explore the practice areas
Linklaters is ranked Band 1 for Corporate/M&A: £800 million and above in London in Chambers UK 2027. The practice handles complex international acquisitions for major businesses across sectors including energy, healthcare and technology. Its corporate teams draw on the firm’s finance capabilities to support substantial transactions. Recent work includes advising Rio Tinto on its US$6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium.
The firm is ranked Band 1 for Capital Markets: Debt UK-wide in Chambers UK 2027. Its work includes sovereign bonds, liability management, convertible bonds and green financing transactions. Teams advise across the UK, Europe and the US, working closely with banking specialists. A recent matter involved establishing an €8 billion bond programme for The Magnum Ice Cream Company and its inaugural €3 billion note issuance.
Linklaters is ranked Band 1 for Competition Law in London in Chambers UK 2027. It advises on merger approvals, regulatory investigations and challenges to competition decisions. The practice also handles damages claims and collective proceedings. Its international network supports transactions requiring clearance in several jurisdictions. Recent work includes representing Microsoft in the investigation into the UK public cloud infrastructure market.
The firm is ranked Band 1 for Restructuring/Insolvency in London in Chambers UK 2027. The practice advises on major domestic and international restructurings, insolvency proceedings, investigations and distressed investments. Its work benefits from financial regulatory and disputes expertise. Matters can involve balancing the interests of lenders, investors and businesses while identifying a workable route through financial difficulty.
Awards
Innovative Lawyers in Sustainability and ESGFT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2024
Awarded for developing the Sector Transition Acceleration Contract, targeting Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions.
Firm History
1838 → John Linklater (21) qualifies and joins Julius Dods as a partner, forming Dods & Linklater.
No other person in the firm’s history has been made a partner immediately on qualification.
1843 → John’s brother, James, becomes a partner. Firm renamed Dods & Linklaters.
1845 → Dods leaves. Firm becomes J. & J.H. Linklater.
1855 → J. & J.H. Linklater & Hackwood.
1865 → JJ. & J.H. Linklater, Hackwood & Addison.
1870 → Linklater, Hackwood, Addison & Brown.
1879 → The last Linklater leaves the firm.
1895 → Linklater, Addison, Brown & Jones.
1907 → Jones departs. Firm rebrands as Linklater & Co.
1918 → Linklater & Co merges with Surtees, Philpotts & Co.
1920 → Merges with Paines, Blythe & Huxtable, becoming Linklater & Paines.
1962 → Opens office in Milan.
1972 → Opens office in New York.
1973 → Opens offices in Brussels and Paris.
1995 → Relocates London office to One Silk Street.
1998 → Forms Linklaters & Alliance with leading European firms.
2002 → Merges with multiple firms, rebranding as Linklaters.
2004 → ’Clear blue water’ strategy halved partners, boosting profitability by 25% in a year.
2005 → Merges with Yasuda and Wani, becoming Japan’s first fully merged law firm.
2008 → Becomes the largest law firm by revenue.
2012 → Forms integrated alliance with Allens
2013 → Forms alliance with Webber Wentzel.
2024 → 31 Offices and Counting
(please note these are highlights and the firm's history is far more complex)
The application process
Click on each stage to find out more.
Candidates complete an online form covering personal information, academic results, work experience and extracurricular activities. Applications for the current vacation schemes and direct training contract close on 3 December 2026.
The 2027 spring scheme runs from 5 to 16 April. Summer schemes run from 21 June to 2 July and from 5 to 16 July. Direct training contract opportunities cover 2029 and 2030 starts.
Describe your experience clearly, showing your individual contribution and its impact. Prepare examples of collaboration, taking responsibility, adapting to change and learning from feedback. Connect your interest in Linklaters to specific work and explain what you find commercially interesting about it.
Linklaters: quick answers
How much does Linklaters pay trainees?
Linklaters pays first-year trainees £56,000, rising to £61,000 in the second year. Newly qualified solicitors at Linklaters earn £150,000.
When are the Linklaters application deadlines?
Linklaters has more than one deadline in the 2026/27 cycle: the summer scheme closes on 2 Dec, the spring scheme closes on 3 Dec and the training contract closes on 3 Dec. Deadlines can change and popular schemes may close early, so check the live application deadlines tracker.
How many trainees does Linklaters take on?
Linklaters takes on around 60 trainees in each intake, so places are competitive and strong applications matter.
What tests does Linklaters use in its applications?
The Linklaters Online Assessment comprises three modules based on the firm’s Success Framework. Candidates have five days from submitting their application to complete it. Allow approximately an hour. There is no overall or individual question time limit, although the critical reasoning element records time and considers both accuracy and speed. Candidates receive a personalised feedback report. Use the linked preparation hub before starting. Practise analysing information carefully, identifying assumptions and reaching conclusions supported by the material. Detailed module content should be checked in the assessment invitation.
What grades do you need to apply to Linklaters?
To apply to Linklaters you will generally need a 2:1+ degree. At A-level, Linklaters asks for AAA. Requirements can flex where there are mitigating circumstances, so always check the firm's own criteria if your grades differ.
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