If you're keen to embark on a career in law, a vacation scheme with us could be the perfect stepping stone. Our schemes will give you a real insight into our firm and the opportunity to learn about how the law is applied in our core industry sectors

The Programme

At Clyde & Co, we strongly believe the legal sector should be accessible for all and should have as few barriers as possible. That’s why we’re delighted to announce that this year we’ll once again be running our Bright Futures programme.

Our 3-day Bright Futures programme is aimed at people from lower socioeconomic status groups who have not yet had an opportunity to gain commercial work experience. The purpose of this programme is to develop soft skills and prepare students for the world of work. You also have the opportunity to secure an offer on one of our vacation schemes the following year. During the 3 day programme in London, you’ll learn about the firm from our partners, participate in various development and upskilling sessions and learn about your own strengths with an L&D professional to understand how to maximise your potential. You will also spend half a day shadowing a trainee allowing you to experience one of our teams and network with various fee earners.

You'll receive £520 salary for the week, plus we cover up to £200 in travel expenses and can help towards accommodation costs if you live outside of Greater London.

At the end of the programme, you will take part in an assessment centre which will decide if you will be fast-tracked on to our London 2028 Vacation Scheme.

Programme dates 2027: 3rd August - 5th August 2027

Deadline to apply: 19th November 2026

For more information and apply please visit our website.

We do recommend for you to complete our Firm Essentials virtual programme on Forage before applying. Please see the link here: https://www.theforage.com/short-courses/clyde-co/company-pathway-clyde-and-co

Once this has been completed, please submit your application form where you'll need to complete your basic personal information. No lengthy written tasks for you to complete here.

We do not recruit on a rolling basis; however, we reserve the right to close applications early if we receive extremely high volumes.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this programme, candidates must be:

• Either first year law or penultimate year non-law undergraduate students on a 3-year degree
• OR if on a 4-year degree, you must be a second-year law or penultimate year non-law undergraduate student
• You do NOT need to have previous law experience, but you should have achieved AAB or equivalent at A level, be on track for a 2:1 degree, be commercially minded and able to tell us why you think you would be a good fit for Clyde & Co.

Candidates must have attended a state / non-fee-paying school (unless on a full scholarship) AND meet at least one of the following criteria:

• You were eligible for free school meals (you do not have to have received them).
• You spent time in local authority care.
• You are or have been a carer.
• You had refugee or asylum seeker status as a child.
• You have experienced homelessness.

We use RARE a contextualised recruitment system to ensure fairness and equality and review applications holistically.

Please note that to be eligible to participate in this scheme, you will need to have the right to work in the United Kingdom for the duration of the scheme. This Bright Futures role, as well as the vacation scheme, is not eligible for a skilled sponsor visa. If you are on a student visa, you will not be eligible to participate in the scheme during your term time. Please contact earlycareers@clydeco.com if you have any questions about this.

Strengths Based Assessment

During our process we are assessing candidates based on the strengths that will deliver success in a trainee role. This is great for the individual, doing work they love, and great for the employer, having team members who love what they do.

Recruitment Process

• We do recommend for you to complete our Firm Essentials virtual programme on Forage before applying.
• Complete an online application. This is where you'll need to complete your basic personal information. No lengthy written tasks for you to complete here.
• 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 consisting of a Strength Based Interview, with fee earners or early careers
• Offers and feedback

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 assessment process.

We recommend attending our Virtual Insight Events before submitting an application, so that you understand the next steps and online assessment Events | Clyde & Co Careers

Please note: You should only apply to one programme per recruitment cycle, but you can attend multiple virtual events.

The Firm

Clyde & Co has grown to become a leading global law firm in our core sectors. With a headcount of over 5,000 staff operating from over 70 offices and associated offices across six continents, we offer a comprehensive range of legal services and advice to businesses operating at the heart of global trade and commerce.

From developed to emerging markets, we aim to support our clients by putting the power of our globally integrated firm at their disposal with a range of seamless and efficient services and the very best, commercially minded, legal advice.

This, together with our sector expertise and regional understanding, allows us to help clients identify and manage risk and liability, navigate challenges, harness commercial potential and achieve sustained growth in today's complex and volatile business environment.

We are committed to being a responsible business which means taking responsibility for the impact we have on the environment and seeking to reduce it as much and as quickly as possible. It means taking responsibility for giving back and being a positive contributor to the communities in which we operate. And it means taking responsibility for fostering a truly diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace so that all our people can flourish and fulfil their highest potential, for the benefit of them, the firm and our clients.

Our Values

Our values are the principles that guide the decisions we make, unite us in our endeavours and strengthen our delivery, for our clients and our firm. We:

• Work as one We are a globally connected team of talented people who act with a firm-first mentality to achieve success
• Excel with clients We aim high and challenge ourselves to deliver unique excellence for our clients, keeping them at the centre of everything we do
• Celebrate difference We help each other to be at our best and believe our differences result in greater achievement
• Act boldly We seek new opportunities, take action and learn as we go, recognising that curiosity drives our development and contributes to growth

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Clyde & Co, one of our core values is to 'Celebrate Difference'. Our DEI strategy is guided by the principle “For everyone. By everyone.”, recognising that every colleague has a role in creating an inclusive culture and delivering value for our people, clients and communities. Our 2030 aspirations include reducing the gaps to gender and ethnicity representation, enhancing our diversity data self-identification rates and ensuring positive engagement scores across our DEI measures.

Our key initiatives translate this strategy into practical action. For example, targeted sponsorship and leadership accelerator programmes that support career development and progression for underrepresented groups. We recognise the importance of broadening access to the profession, and through our Legal Insight for Future Talent (LIFT) programme, we provide hands-on experience, skills training and mentorship opportunities to individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Our market leading Family Leave policy, offered to prospective parents regardless of gender, parental role or route to parenthood, continues to drive gender equality and our Workplace Adjustments policy enables all colleagues to participate in, and contribute to, the firm’s success. All our work around diversity, equity and inclusion is done in partnership with our colleagues through our global Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which provide community, awareness, and education for all. Our global ERGs cover Gender, Parents and Carers, Pride, Disability, Neurodiversity and Accessibility, Mental Wellbeing, Faith, and Culture and Heritage.

Application deadline:
Thursday, 19 November 2026 at 23:59 (UTC)
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