Join Us
Training Contracts
Welcome to the Trainee Solicitor section of our website. I am the partner in charge of recruiting and overseeing our Trainees. We have put together this section to show you why we think that FSI is a good place for you to train, what you can expect of your trainee life, and hopefully convince you to apply to join us.
As a former FSI trainee, I enjoyed my training here and qualified into our corporate commercial department where I have remained ever since. I believe that this gives me a pretty good insight as to what it is actually like to be a trainee at our firm and allows me to support our current trainees through these important two years.
As we generally have no more than six trainees in each year, each of our trainees is really important to us and is a most valued member of the firm. We are not looking for a “clone” FSI trainee - all our trainees are very different, and will come from varied backgrounds, some from other careers and some straight from their studies. We are looking for well-rounded and interesting individuals who will work well in our existing teams. We place a lot of responsibility on our trainees. You may be the only trainee in a department, and so have to manage work from lots of different lawyers, have to deal direct with clients and other professionals, and so we are looking for people who will rise to this challenge and will deal enthusiastically, confidently and professionally. We hope that our trainees will seek to qualify and stay with us as assistants and partners going forward, and I am delighted that in the last couple of years two out of three qualifiers were able to stay on with the firm.
We know that it is very stressful to secure your training contract, and that the application process differs from firm to firm. As you will see from our application process, crucially we like receiving your individual covering letters and CVs, rather than asking you to complete a long online application form. All of your letters are carefully read by our graduate recruitment team, not just left to the mercy of a computer program.
FSI is divided into seven core departments: Corporate, Property, IP Media, Commercial Litigation, Family, Private Client and Employment. Our clients include national and international businesses of all sizes, charities, trusts, government bodies and successful individuals. You will get to work with ‘real people’ often running their own businesses, and helping them through difficult commercial issues. We also work on an international level, through our membership of Meritas, an international alliance of independent law firms, as well as acting for many international clients. Even if you already have an idea of what work you are interested in doing in your future career, we want you to qualify as a well-rounded lawyer with wide legal knowledge which you can put to good use in your career.
Sara Wax