Traineeship — Glasgow Qualify with a firm consistently rated as a Top Employer
What is the Weightmans traineeship?
You can apply to complete a traineeship with Weightmans in our Glasgow office. Our 24-month training programme will provide you with excellent training and experience across four (six-month) seats in different areas of the business and will include the PEAT2 outcomes which are required for your qualification to solicitor. During this time, you will be given the opportunity to complete a range of different work with a robust support network of supervision and mentoring.
Prior to commencing your training, you will be required to undertake the Professional Education & Training (PEAT1) course. If you successfully gain a position to commence in 2025, and have not yet enrolled on a PEAT1 course, we will fund the cost of postgraduate tuition at the university of your choice (with agreement from the Firm).
Why Weightmans?
Here at Weightmans, people are the most integral part of our culture and business, and so your success is our success. We have great working practices for ensuring a mindful and considerate working culture, as such we are signatories of the Mindful Business Charter.
In many of our offices, we have a unique and open office space accompanied by agile working for a great work-life balance. With a focus on learning and development of our people, we are proud to have consistently high trainee solicitor retention rates.
As much as we work hard, we like to play hard too! Having an appropriate work-life balance is something we value for all our people. Our social calendar is always full, from theatre visits and quizzes to office parties. Each of our offices has an active social committee who are always looking for new members to get involved.
We pride ourselves in our CSR (corporate social responsibility) work and our Glasgow office supports Alzheimer Scotland. As part of our commitment, all staff receive two days of paid CSR leave each year, and each office has a local committee who are always looking for new members, and this may be something you would like to be a part of once you join us.
We offer an excellent salary and benefits. For year one as a trainee solicitor, you would receive a salary of £27,000, which will increase after 12 months to £29,000. As a Weightmans employee, you will also be entitled to our excellent staff benefits including:
- 28 days' holiday
- Healthcare cover
- Pension plan
- Travel loan scheme
- Employee care scheme
- Discounted gym membership
- Dental care scheme
What is the application process?
Applications for positions commencing September 2025 are now open and you can apply via the button below. The closing date for applications is Wednesday 31 January 2024 at 12 noon.
Our application process consists of 4 stages:
Stage 1 — Written application
At this stage, we will look at your predicted/obtained degree score and your answer to an open question. This open question is designed to check your understanding of how a law firm, and Weightmans, works. We will also assess structure, depth, punctuation and grammar. The quality of your answer will determine if you progress to the next stage, therefore we suggest you spend some time on this and proofread before submitting it. We will review all written submissions individually, along with your degree score, in a blind marking process. You must complete this initial application by Wednesday 31 January 2024 at 12 noon. We will not be able to accept applications after this date.
Stage 2 — HIPO-I interactive online assessment
If you are successful at the written application stage, you will then be invited to complete an online assessment called the HIPO-I. This assessment has been designed to test verbal and numerical reasoning along with some situational judgement questions to assess if our values align, you will then be asked to complete a video interview question.
Please note that this online assessment is not timed. You will also be invited to inform us during your initial written application if you require any reasonable adjustments to be made at any point during our recruitment process. If you would prefer to discuss with a member of the Early Careers team, please email earlycareers@weightmans.com or call us on +44 (0)345 073 9900.
Stage 3 — Virtual interview
If you are successful at the HIPO-I assessment, you will be invited to attend a virtual interview with a member of HR and a Partner or Principal Associate from the Firm. The interview will be conducted via Zoom and will include a presentation. Virtual interviews will take place the week commencing Monday 18 March 2024.
Please note, there will be no other dates available.
Stage 4 — assessment centre
If you are successful at the virtual interview stage, you will be invited to attend an assessment centre. This will consist of two parts: a group exercise and a written exercise. Before you attend you will be given the opportunity to attend an online insight session which is designed to prepare you for assessment, walk you through the day and answer any questions you may have. You will also be provided with a written brief. Assessment centres will take place on the following weeks:
- Week commencing Monday 29 April 2024
- Week commencing Monday 6 May 2024
Please note, there will be no other dates available.
Application tips
Watch our video below where Marc Prats from our early careers team provides some hints and tips for those looking to apply for one of our early careers programmes.
We welcome you to contact us if you have any queries regarding this process.
Meet us and find out more
During Autumn we will be attending events and hosting virtual open evenings. Please see further details below.
Law fairs & careers fairs (to attend, please contact the university or organisation directly):
Wednesday 4 October — Glasgow University
Tuesday 10 October — Legal Cheek (online)
Tuesday 10 October — Edge Hill University
Thursday 12 October — University of Leicester
Wednesday 17 October — University of Liverpool
Wednesday 17 October — BPP Online
Tuesday 24 October — De Montford University
Wednesday 25 October — University of Salford
Monday 30 October — University of Nottingham
Tuesday 31 October — University of Northumbria
Wednesday 8 November — University of Birmingham
Wednesday 8 November — University of Leeds
Wednesday 29 November — Liverpool John Moores University
Open Evenings
Do you have any further queries?
Please contact our graduate recruitment team on +44 (0)345 073 9900, earlycareers@weightmans.com or by tweeting your question to @WeightmansJobs with the hashtag #askatrainee.
