Early Careers
Because aiming high is part of who you are.
Whatever your background or ambition, join a firm with the scale and spirit to make it possible.
Bird & Bird is an international law firm with 31 offices across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region. We are a firm built on a sense of connection and collaboration, where the culture helps us to grow as a firm and develop as individuals and teams.
Our vision is to be the number one law firm in the world for organisations being changed by the digital world or those leading that change. We have a stellar, global reputation for providing sophisticated, pragmatic advice to companies which are carving the world's digital future. We are interested in the world, current issues, and emerging trends. We are an outward-looking, sector-focussed firm, specialising in Automotive, Aviation & Aerospace, Defence & Security, Energy & Utilities, Financial Services, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Media, Entertainment & Sport, Retail & Consumer, and Technology & Communications. We use our sector understanding and legal expertise to unlock the issues and we take a commercial approach when applying the law.
To become a qualified solicitor at Bird & Bird, you can join as a solicitor apprentice or a trainee solicitor. We recruit our solicitor apprentices through our Solicitor Apprenticeship Programme. To become a trainee solicitor, you can apply through two different routes: attending a Vacation Scheme or applying directly for a training contract.
Start your career at an international, sector-focused, and innovative law firm.
Solicitor Apprenticeships
Qualify as a solicitor by undertaking on-the-job training while studying for a law degree and the SQE
Early Bird Scholarship
Supporting, developing, and equipping young people with the skills and mentoring they need to achieve their career potential.
Flying Start Programme
Fly ahead with our two-day online programme for university students, to accelerate your career into law.
Virtual Experience Programme
Immerse yourself in the world of an international law firm and discover what life is like as a junior lawyer at Bird & Bird.
Vacation Schemes
Discover your potential and kick-start your career in law.
Training Contract
Excellence expected, shaped and delivered.
Open Days & Office Drop-Ins
Open Days & Office Drop-Ins
The Nest (Employability Hub)
Achieve your full potential with our useful resources on getting into law and applying to us.
Flying Start Programme
Tuesday 16 July to Wednesday 17 July 2024
Location: UK (Virtual)
Applications open: Thursday 14 March 2024
Deadline: Friday 21 June 2024
Apply now
Early Bird Scholarship
September 2024
Location: London
Applications open: Thursday 14 March 2024
Deadline: Friday 5 July 2024
Apply now
We’re a disability*, neurodiversity and mental health inclusive employer and want to ensure that you have a barrier-free recruitment experience. If you need adjustments during the recruitment process or require assistance completing an application as the result of disability, you can get confidential advice from our Early Careers team at [email protected].
*disability includes: physical impairments, sensory impairments (for example: visual impairment, hearing impairment), neurodivergence (for example: autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and ADHD), mental health (for example: anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, panic attacks, bi-polar) and long-term health conditions (such as kidney, heart or other organ conditions, diabetes, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, HIV)
The early bird catches the worm – take your first steps towards a career in the legal sector with our Solicitor Apprenticeship Programme, Early Bird Pathway (Early Bird Scholarship), Open Days, Office Drop-Ins, and Virtual Experience Programme.
Take flight ahead of the flock with our early career opportunities tailored for undergraduate students not yet eligible for a training contract, including the Flying Start Programme, Office Drop-Ins, and Virtual Experience Programme.
Whether you are a law or non-law student, there are opportunities for you with our Vacation Scheme, Training Contract, Open Days, Office Drop-Ins, and Virtual Experience Programme.
Vacation Schemes Direct Training Contract
Spread your wings and bring your previous experience and knowledge to the legal sector with our Vacation Scheme, Training Contract, Open Days, Office Drop-Ins, and Virtual Experience Programme.
At Bird & Bird, we want to attract and recruit the brightest and best aspiring lawyers from all walks of life. In 2019, we made the active decision to not target individual universities and we no longer travel across the UK to universities to participate in in-person law fairs or events, as part of our sustainability and diversity initiative. Instead, we host internal events, most of which are virtual to ensure they are accessible to all, and partner with a range of organisations and student publications to promote our opportunities to aspiring lawyers, no matter their background or education. We recruit from all universities and degree subjects.
To increase diversity in the legal professional, we also partner with a number of platforms, networks and initiatives to educate and equip aspiring lawyers with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. For example, we work with 10,000 Black Interns, Aspiring Solicitors, Bright Network, GROW Mentoring, Vantage, and Young Professionals.
To level the playing field, we no longer offer ad-hoc work experience to Bird & Bird employee contacts or clients. Instead, we promote our Virtual Experience Programme to all aspiring lawyers. Furthermore, at the application stage of our recruitment process, we no longer ask a candidate to indicate if they have a link to the firm. This is so candidates know that they will be given a fair chance at being selected whether they know us already or not. To increase accessibility to our opportunities, our Flying Start Programme, Open Days, and Virtual Experience Programme are entirely online, and we host and attend the majority of our events virtually. We are also recruiting the majority of our candidates online, with online application forms, critical reasoning tests, video interviews, and (mostly) virtual assessment centres.
From application form to assessment centre, we actively consider how to create a barrier-free recruitment process. We look for the candidate’s potential to achieve, rather than disproportionally focus on what has happened in the past. However, to ensure we understand how a candidate’s background may have impacted their performance we introduced a Contextual Recruitment System (CRS) into our recruitment process in 2018. From that date, we have used contextual data to help us identify candidates with the greatest potential despite significant academic, personal, or socio-economic disadvantage and recognise the achievements of candidates in the context in which they were gained. We also operate blind application form screening, which means that all unnecessary identification information is removed from an application form before being reviewed by the team, in order to minimise bias. Similarly, we do not share a candidate’s application form with interviewers so that all decisions are based solely on what takes place in the interview.
To increase support, we offer confidential advice to candidates with a disability, neurodiversity, mental health, and long-term health problems on adjustments at each stage of the recruitment process. We know that not everyone has previous experience of psychometric testing, so all candidates receive a practice Watson-Glaser test and video interview prior to the real assessments, alongside useful tips and guidance to help tackle these new experiences. We have also removed the time limit from the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Test for all candidates, with the aim of focusing on a candidate’s performance rather than output under time pressure. At the assessment centre stage and prior to our Vacation Schemes, all candidates receive a preparation guide outlining their upcoming assessments and tips on how to be successful at each stage, to ensure transparency, fairness, and a level playing field for all candidates.
We know an inclusive culture, alongside a diverse workforce, makes us more innovative and agile.
The ability to connect the dots and leap to inspired solutions can't be underestimated. We believe it’s this pioneering approach that unlocks a world of opportunity. So, we work tirelessly to build a culture that makes it possible – possible for our people, our clients and our communities. We stay curious and work in truly international teams. It's what our clients value and it helps us to be the firm we want to be.
Global D&I UK D&IThe shift to a more sustainable way of doing business needs people who embrace change and spark innovation. We’re up for the challenge, are you?
Sustainability is a core strategic initiative for us – It’s vital to our people, our clients and our planet. We embrace the step change needed to transform our business; not just minimising our environmental impact but, as a global citizen, making a positive contribution towards a more sustainable future.
We believe that technology can be a force for good. Our work with some of the world’s most cutting edge companies gives us first-hand insight into the innovative approaches that create a new blueprint for sustainable living, so where possible we apply this to our own firm too.
We routinely manage our buildings responsibly, consider the impact of business travel, reduce waste and consumption and recycle wherever we can. More importantly, we commit to business decisions that support our sustainability pledges alongside our long-term economic growth strategies.
The ability to help isn't always enough. In today's world, more often than not, what's needed is time. We believe Pro Bono is time well spent.
For us pro bono isn’t an add on. We are passionate about making a positive difference to people’s lives, and giving back to the communities we work within.
We give pro bono our time, consideration, and full expertise. Because our culture is focused on making it possible. Possible for our people, our clients and our communities. We believe we can open up possibilities for individuals and organisations in need, by contributing the time, legal expertise, skills, and resources needed to progress their cause.
It’s all the more satisfying when we can work together, with our clients and other key stakeholders to foster and develop collaborative opportunities that have a greater positive social impact as a result.
We believe in taking an active role in supporting our communities to make a difference.
We’re an outward-looking firm. We're interested in the world, current issues and emerging trends. We work with great clients doing great things. Things that have a real impact on the way the world does business, and how we all live. So, it's not surprising that we also want to have a positive influence by supporting our local communities.
We work alongside our clients to champion initiatives that make an impact on the community around us. Our people dedicate time through volunteering and fundraising, and partner with charities across the world to truly amplify our impact.
