The Firm

Clyde & Co is a leading global law firm, helping organisations successfully navigate risk and maximise opportunity in the sectors that underpin global trade and commercial activity and enable global prosperity, namely: insurance, aviation, marine, construction, energy, trade and natural resources.

Globally integrated, Clyde & Co offers a comprehensive range of contentious and non-contentious legal services and commercially-minded legal advice to businesses operating across the world. It is committed to operating in a responsible way by progressing towards a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the communities and clients it serves and provides an environment in which everyone can realise their potential, using its legal and professional skills to support its communities through pro bono work, volunteering and charitable partnerships, and minimising the impact it has on the environment including through a commitment to the SBTi Net-Zero standard and the setting of ambitious emissions reduction targets.

The firm has 490 partners, 2400 lawyers, 3200 legal professionals and 5500 people overall in nearly 70 offices and associated offices worldwide.

Our Middle East and Africa footprint

Located in commercial hubs across the Middle East and Africa, our 9 offices allow us to support international investors and local organisations with a full-service offering of local specialists across most business sectors and areas of law.

Our services: Commercial, Commercial Disputes, Corporate, Cyber Risk, Data Protection & Cybersecurity, Employment & Immigration, Finance, Global Recoveries, Insolvency & Reorganisation, Intellectual Property, International Arbitration, Projects & Construction, Real Estate, Regulatory & Investigations, Technology

Our sectors: Aviation, Education, Energy & Natural Resources, Government & Public Bodies, Healthcare, Hospitality, Infrastructure, Insurance & Reinsurance, Marine, Retail & Consumer, Technology, Communications, Media & Entertainment, Trade & Commodities

Clyde & Co in the Middle East and Africa

With over 34 years' experience in the region and the largest presence of any international law firm in the Middle East, we pride ourselves on being able to help clients recognise and overcome the challenges of doing business in the Middle East and Africa.

In the Middle East, our more than 55 partners and 150 legal professionals work from five offices located across the region. Our Dubai office acts as a central hub for our Middle East and Africa regional operations that include, in the Middle East, offices in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Doha in Qatar, Cairo in Egypt and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Our large regional presence enables us to support our clients across the full spectrum of their corporate and commercial needs throughout the GCC and wider Levant.

Our deep sector knowledge covers insurance, energy, transport, infrastructure, marine and trade as well as aviation, education, finance, healthcare, hospitality, and technology.

What is a training contract?

A training contract is a two-year placement that is undertaken by trainee solicitors who are looking to qualify in England & Wales, and have completed the PGDL and SQE LLM in Legal Practice for non-law graduates or SQE LLM in Legal Practice for those that hold a law degree. For those that accept a training contract with us, Clyde & Co will provide support for your tuition fees.

The final step before qualification, it can be likened to an apprenticeship: an opportunity to put all your academic knowledge to vocational use. Trainees will spend two years getting a practical legal education overseen by senior solicitors at the firm.

What does the role involve?

As a trainee lawyer, you can expect tasks to be very varied. To keep things simple, here are a list of tasks that you can expect to encounter during your time at Clyde & Co:

- Legal research

- Drafting documents as part of transactions and litigation, including facility agreements, witness statements and pleadings

- Communicating and meeting with clients

- Document review

- Bundling documents in preparation for trial

- Assisting case-handlers with active files

- Upholding the firm's reputation at external events

- Developing legal knowledge by attending both internal and external training sessions

- Managing workload as well as getting involved in pro bono

What we're looking for

We’re looking for candidates genuinely interested in the law and committed to a career in the Middle East upon qualification. Whilst our programme is open to both law and non-law students and graduates from universities near and far, regional focus is important to us. UAE nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

• We will focus on candidates with advanced or fluent Arabic language skills.
• You will need to have a law degree or a non-law degree plus the PGDL (Post-Graduate Diploma in Law) by September 2026. You would then start your SQE course, ready to join us as a trainee in September 2027.
• You will be expected to have AAB at A-level and a 2:1 degree, although we will take into account mitigating circumstances using the Rare contextualised recruitment system.
• If you are currently studying or have achieved an LPC qualification, please ensure you document this on your application form.

What we offer

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package as a newly qualified solicitor. As a trainee, you will also be entitled to a range of rewards and benefits:

- Private medical including health checks

- Financial support relating to tuition fees

- Maternity and paternity pay

- Flexible working arrangements

We'll make sure you have plenty of support and guidance throughout your programme. You can also look forward to a tailored induction programme and on- going internal training designed to ensure you have the skills, knowledge, and commercial acumen you need to become a well-round solicitor.

Recruitment Process

• Complete an online application
• Online assessment – consisting of a critical reasoning test as well as our Clyde & Co strengths-based assessment, which contains a mix of question types including written and order ranking.
• Video Interview - If you perform well in our initial online assessment, you will then be invited to complete a pre-recorded video interview.
• Virtual assessment centre (plus an Arabic proficiency exercise will be added for Arabic-speaking candidates).
• Offers and feedback

Please note you can only apply to one training contract or vacation scheme vacancy per year.

Reasonable Adjustments

Please let us know if you need us to make adjustments or changes to the assessment process to help you best demonstrate your suitability for the role. We will do our best to accommodate your request. If you wish to discuss anything regarding the process, please contact Early Careers (EarlyCareers@clydeco.com).

You can find out more about the interview process and examples of adjustments we can put in place via this link A guide to reasonable adjustments, support and accessibility for our

Application deadline:
Monday, 5 January 2026 at 23:59 (UTC)
(i) Times are displayed in your local time zone