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Our training contract comprises of four seats across a broad range of areas with the opportunity to take part in our Virtual Trainee Programme. Join a firm with a dynamic culture that really is refreshingly human and achieve your full potential.
There are many great reasons why you should consider a training contract at Foot Anstey.
Gain valuable insights through direct interaction with some of the most experienced professionals in our firm including partners and senior leaders across the business.
Our innovative Virtual Trainee Programme and secondment opportunities offer you excellent opportunities to work directly with clients.
We offer support for trainees with sponsorship for SQE and PGDL course fees, as well as grants to support you financially whilst you study.
We have an A* rating from Legal Cheek for our quality of peer support. Plus, an A for our training, quality work, peer support, partner approachability, eco-friendliness and work/life balance.
Experience four different seats (each six months in length) across a variety of teams and get a real breadth and depth of experience.
There are many great examples of our people progressing their careers through the firm.
At Foot Anstey, our recruitment process is designed to identify people who have the key qualities to succeed and thrive. We aim to discover whether our firm is the right fit for you, and if you have the potential to excel and grow with us.
For further details on what we look for and the different stages of our application process, visit our dedicated page on applicationg guidance at the link below.
We pride ourselves on being a supportive employer, and we’re always looking at what our people need; to enjoy the best of work and life.
From fertility checks to enhanced parental leave.
From birthday leave to taking a sabbatical.
From our health cash plan to free eye tests.
From saving money on everyday purchases to investing in your pension.
Hear from some of our recent Trainees. Find out why they joined, what their highlights have been, and how they see their future at Foot Anstey.
We’re excited to hear from you and help you start your career journey. Check out our FAQs below and if you have any other questions, complete our contact form or get in touch directly.
For our vacation schemes, applications open from Monday 9 September 2024 and close at midday on Friday 3 January 2025. For our training contract, applications open from Monday 2 December 2024 and close at midday on Friday 21 March 2025. Try not to leave your application until the last minute. Take your time to create the best possible application you can.
We welcome you to make one application (either a vacation scheme OR training contract) per application window.
Our vacation scheme is a great way to experience Foot Anstey and find out more about the work you could be doing here. At the end of each vacation scheme, you’ll have the opportunity to complete an assessment day for a training contract. If you already have plenty of work experience and would prefer to apply directly for a training contract, feel free to do so
No. Some people do a vacation scheme here or at another firm, or don’t do one at all. However, they are a useful way to get an insight to and help you make decisions about firms. But we know a lot of people don’t have that opportunity, and we want to be fair to everyone in our recruitment process, so it isn’t a prerequisite.
Our application process is designed to identify individuals who have the key qualities to succeed and thrive. For further information and the different application stages, find out more here.
Vacation schemes are typically run in our Bristol office.
If you are successful in obtaining a training contract, during your onboarding process we will ask you to select a base office between Bristol, Exeter or Southampton. Our trainees work across all three locations (and occasionally others) depending on the location of their seat. We don’t require individuals to relocate for each of their seats but provide support for trainees to spend a reasonable amount of time in the relevant office with their supervisor.
Our retention rate fluctuates on a yearly basis, however we consistently have had high levels of retention and would love everyone who starts with us to enjoy a career with Foot Anstey.
Yes. We take mitigating circumstances into consideration when reviewing applications. There is space on the application form for you to let us know what your mitigating circumstances relate to.
Yes. As a firm we recruit contextually taking into account factors such as the school or college a candidate has attended and the average grades achieved in that year. Every application is personally reviewed by a member of the team; in the spirit of being refreshingly human your academics would not be the sole factor in our decision.
Yes. The firm can sponsor work permits for training contracts and the Early Careers team are on hand to provide 1:1 advice based on your requirements.
For all future intakes, we will be supporting all our trainees through the SQE route.
For trainees starting with us in September 2026 and beyond, if you have previously self-funded the LPC, we will require you to take the SQE 2.
This fluctuates from year to year, however typically we recruit 12-15 per year.
We have two main routes to qualify as a solicitor, one is through our training contract and the other is our Advance programme which supports existing paralegals through the SQE. To find out more about paralegal opportunities, please take a look on our legal careers page.
Our intention is that trainees will stay with us on qualification; however, this isn’t always possible based on the individual teams that trainees want to qualify into and the available qualified positions in those teams. In this instance, trainees will be encouraged to explore other opportunities available within the firm.
Yes. We use a system which asks trainees to rank each seat in order of their personal preference. The system allocates seats based on those preferences and the number of seats available within each team to ensure a fair and consistent result is achieved.
Yes. The firm will provide a maintenance grant, in addition to funding the PGDL (as required) and SQE, for those who haven’t already completed the course/exams.
Yes. The firm covers the cost of the exams in addition to the cost of the preparation course.
Yes. The Early Careers team will be able to discuss the options for study, including studying online or/on a part time basis.
Internal applicants are encouraged to apply for our Aspire programme or the direct training contract.
Please complete the below form with any questions you have for our Early Careers team.
