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Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Central England, Cheltenham, Hereford, Leamington Spa, Worcester, Wye Valley, Norwich
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Early Careers

About The Role

Training Contracts with HCR Law
We are passionate about developing talent at HCR and recognise that when selecting our trainees, we are really selecting HCR’s future Partners. We make sure our training programme covers everything our clients expect from our lawyers… the best.

Throughout our two year rotational training contract, you will experience a diverse range of disciplines – a total of four seats across both contentious and non-contentious practice areas. Our training will develop well-rounded technical knowledge through mentorships and interesting, complex work, as well as giving you the chance to build a strong network across the firm and your local community.

We are looking for talented graduates for our 2027 and 2028 intakes. We have two intakes each year, with trainee inductions in March and September.

Important Information & Dates
This application window closes at 23:59 on 18th February 2026. We cannot accept any applications after this date.

First stage interviews will be held throughout the week commencing 13th April 2026, and will take place at a HCR office within your selected region; interviewing offices are marked in bold. This recruitment is for the following regions only:

Region 1 – Birmingham, Leamington Spa, Central England (Northampton) 
Region 2 – Birmingham, Cheltenham, Worcester 
Region 3 – Cardiff, Hereford, Wye Valley (Ross-on-Wye) 
Region 5 – Cambridge, Norwich 

*Region 4 – London, Thames Valley (Reading) is fully subscribed at this time, and we will not be accepting applications for this region.

Assessment Centres will be held at our Cheltenham and Cambridge facilities during the week commencing 8th June 2026.

Your Training, Our Practice Areas & Life at HCR 
While we will ask you about the interests you may have already started to develop, it is our priority that your training is comprehensive and exposes you to a full breadth of practice areas – your learning comes first.

To strengthen your professional network and support system, HCR’s PT group (consisting of over 100 paralegals and trainees) connects you to your peers, all while getting you actively involved in fundraising initiatives, socials and educational fairs.  

Whilst your training is your first step, it is important to consider what type of firm you would like to work for as an NQ – 90% of our trainees go on to secure NQ roles with the firm. Our international relationships have also fostered opportunities for NQs to apply for our international secondments; locations include Madrid, Toronto and Dublin. 

About You

Eligibility & Study Support 
At HCR we measure success against our competency framework. We would expect that as a Trainee Solicitor you will be able to demonstrate skills in line with the following competency areas, and this will be assessed throughout the application process:
 
  • Service and Standards 
  • Relationship Management 
  • Financial Contribution 
  • Marketing the Firm 
  • Technical and Legal 
  • Self-Management 
To be eligible for one of our training contracts, you’ll need to have the following: 
  • Undergraduate Degree – 2:1 or above, although this doesn’t need to be in law. If you have a non-law degree, you’ll need to take the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or SQE Law Essentials. Please let us know if there are extenuating circumstances which we can take into account if you haven't achieved a 2:1. 
  • LPC or SQE – The Legal Practice Course or Solicitors Qualifying Examination must be successfully completed prior to your training contract commencing. This does not need to be completed at the point of your application. Whichever route you choose, the course aims to prepare students for work-based learning while providing a general foundation of practice.
On receipt of a training contract offer, our team will discuss in detail the variety of funding options available to you to aid your academic studies (LPC or SQE). We will discuss opportunities to join the firm ahead of your training contact, which will make you eligible for a wider range of support options as you become an employee of the firm. Alternatively, we can support you via a partial reimbursement facility once you join HCR as a trainee.

About Us

What does HCR believe, achieve and stand for? 
As a Times Best Law Firm, among the UK Top 50, we provide the full range of services that you would expect to organisations, business leaders and individuals. However, in our mission to give everyone the opportunity to experience a different kind of legal service, we take an entrepreneurial approach. We’re flexible and responsive to the needs of our clients, delivering the best outcomes for them. We have more than 1000 lawyers and support staff, including more than 180 partners, and have been awarded the Law Society’s Lexcel quality mark in recognition of our compliance and client care standards. 

With 13 offices in England and Wales, our well-established presence stretches from west to east, ensuring clients can access a full-service legal offering no matter where they’re located. We’ve expanded significantly across all our regions, and are well-respected as a regional firm with a strong London and international presence. 
 
What career progression will HCR offer you? 
HCR’s growth constantly creates opportunities for people who want to go places and make a difference; your career plan can become part of our growth plan. At HCR you can expect to work with friendly, energetic, ambitious people, who love getting stuck into a client problem, and enjoy celebrating a good outcome. Our people value the sense of community provided by the individual personality of each office and the collegiate approach across all our service and sector teams. 
 
Is HCR the right firm for your training? 
HCR suits people who love a challenge and want to work in an environment where careers thrive on the back of hard work and personal merit. Our people enjoy feeling part of something bigger than themselves, and whilst our clients drive our development, it is our people who bring their energy, enthusiasm, and entrepreneurial mindsets together to solve problems and help our clients succeed. Our people tell us they enjoy working on good quality, interesting matters from a wide variety of our clients, because they get the experience they want to develop their careers. We will give you responsibility early, the mandate to make things happen, and we’ll back your good ideas
 
As HCR is an equal opportunities employer, we don’t just accept differences, we celebrate them. We want to attract a diverse and ambitious workforce that reflects all backgrounds and skills to create a workplace that is supportive and inclusive, recognises and nurtures talent, and which works together to achieve the best outcome for our clients. We want you to achieve your absolute best during the recruitment process, please let us know of any changes we can make at any point that will help support your application. 
  
Trainee Solicitor Benefits:
 
  • 28 days annual leave (plus public holidays)
  • Scottish Widows pension scheme (4% employer contributions)
  • Healthcare cash-plan (providing you with financial support for private medical, dental and wellbeing)
  • 1/3 gym membership contribution
  • Electric vehicle scheme
  • Life assurance
  • Annual bonus scheme
  • Flu vaccinations clinic
  • Season ticket loans
  • 'Wills at Work' service
  • Perks at Work benefits portal
  • Cycle to work scheme
 
A note for recruitment agencies – The HCR Resourcing Team is responsible for recruitment across the firm, no agency ownership will be accepted under any circumstances for this role.

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