Vacation Schemes
Our vacation schemes are so much more than two or three weeks of work experience in a law firm. They're a launch pad for your career. Around three quarters of our trainees are recruited through the vacation scheme, so it's a fantastic opportunity for you to stand out and get started on your journey. Apply today to develop your skills, build your network and experience life at the firm.
With three-week programmes running in the summer and a two-week programme running in the winter, our vacation schemes are the perfect way to take the first steps into your journey as a lawyer.
You'll be treated like one of the team and experience the recognition and support you’ll get as a Hogan Lovells trainee – getting involved in major client projects across a range of practices and jurisdictions. We’ll give you an authentic, challenging and rewarding experience, so you can get a real taste of your career ahead. Whether you find yourself drafting documents, attending client meetings, researching cases or even in court, you'll be guided by our experts and working alongside similarly talented and ambitious potential lawyers.
At the end of the scheme, having experienced exactly what it’s like to work as part of our team, advise our clients and develop skills on real projects – you’ll have an automatic interview to earn a training contract with us.
Who can apply?
If you’re in your penultimate or final year of study, or if you've already graduated, you’re eligible to apply. It’s the same for both our summer and winter vacation schemes.
Winter
Scheme runs 4 – 15 December 2023
Applications open: on 18 September 2023
Applications close: 31 October 2023
Summer
Summer 1 : 24 June – 12 July 2024
Summer 2 : 22 July – 9 August 2024
Applications open: 18 September 2023
Applications close: 5 January 2024
Salary - £500 per week
The key traits of every Hogan Lovells lawyer
Intellect and intellectual curiosity
We challenge conventional thinking and that often means doing work with little precedent. You’ll need to be ambitious and able to look beyond the obvious to deliver something unique and exceptional. We also look for a strong academic record from GCSE onwards up to a 2.1 across your degree and above (or equivalent).
Commercial awareness
Clients need us to be their trusted advisors across their business. You’ll need to be comfortable speaking their language and interested in how business works.
Communication and interpersonal skills
When working with clients it’s important to be able to communicate in both a clear and concise way. Good verbal and written communication skills are a big part of being a successful lawyer.
Team working & building relationships
No one can do what we do alone. You’ll need to relish being part of a team, where everyone pitches in and achieves great things as a collective.
Resilience
You’ll have a rigorous attention to detail, be calm in the face of complexity and deadlines and happy to put in extra hours if that’s what it takes to deliver exceptional work. You’ll need to be comfortable adapting to new surroundings, respond to cultural nuances and tackle the unpredictable with confidence.
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Frequently Asked Questions
If I am a final year or non-law graduate is it better for me to complete vacation scheme application or a training contract application?
If you have not completed a vacation scheme with another commercial law firm, or worked as a paralegal, we recommend that you apply for the vacation scheme.
If you are successful in securing a space on a vacation scheme, you will complete a training contract application interview before the end of the scheme.
If your vacation scheme application is unsuccessful, you will need to wait until the following year (from September 2024) to complete a training contract or another vacation scheme application.
If I am completing a year abroad as part of my law degree, when should I apply for a summer vacation scheme?
We ask law students to complete summer vacation scheme applications in their penultimate year of study. If you are spending time abroad in your third year, you’ll have the option to interview with us virtually, through our online assessment day platform TopScore.
If I have completed an undergraduate degree in another country and am now completing a two-year LLB in the UK, which programme should I apply for?
If you have completed an undergraduate degree in another country and are completing or have completed a two-year LLB in the UK, you would be eligible to apply for either the winter or summer vacation schemes or complete a direct training contract application.
Can I find out more about the online Watson-Glaser critical thinking test?
- We use the Watson-Glaser critical thinking test.
- The online critical thinking tests assess how well you can absorb and analyse information.
- They measure your ability to evaluate arguments, deductions, inferences, and conclusions.
- They're good predictors of success in roles where you need to see things clearly from many angles and separate facts from assumptions.
- To get a feel for the intellectual demands you'll experience from day one, you can take our practice test.
- Be sure to read the feedback you receive as it will help you with the formal assessments.
Vacation Schemes
Are you ready?