Taylor Wessing - True Picture

Taylor Wessing training contract review 2024       

The Firm

Taylor Wessing is not like other firms. After all, how many firms can say they have their own photo portrait prize, showcased in the National Gallery? Though, if you asked us to capture the firm in a single snapshot, it would be tricky to pick just one of its best sides. Firstly, the Taylor part of its namesake is the eldest, with its roots traced back to 1788, meaning its name has been around for nearly quarter of a millennium. So, it has certainly seen a lot of things, but that’s hardly the reason why trainees flocked to the firm. One newbie clarified that “I went for TW, because it was forward-thinking.” In what sense? Well, “they embraced tech, and that stood out for me.” Indeed, a quick look on the firm’s website confirms this, with a chunk of the firm’s insights directed towards topics of the future, such as the metaverse and AI.

TW also happens to be a whizz with life sciences, picking up marks in Chambers UK for both its transactional and for IP/patent litigation life science practices. It also has a good grip in London of the City classics like banking & finance, corporate/M&A, IP, IT, and employment. And just when you think you’ve got the picture perfect, it receives top marks for private wealth, and defamation and reputation management in Chambers High Net Worth. In fact, many were keen to acknowledge the TW’s private client practice: “It’s another aspect of the firm where we’re seen as leaders,” trainees noted, “and that combination of slightly atypical corporate law drove my interest.”

“Everyone was incredibly willing to help, and I felt there would be good support during my training contract.”

Other than the firm’s practices, another oft-cited appeal was the culture. “TW stood out to me as a vibrant and exciting place. When I did an assessment day, everyone was friendly,” one trainee recalled, “everyone was incredibly willing to help, and I felt there would be good support during my training contract.”  TW takes on trainees in its London HQ, who are hired either through internal applications or through the vac schemes. Though last year the firm announced they would also be taking two trainees on in their Cambridge hub, one starting in 2024 and another in 2025.

The Seats

Trainees sit four six-month seats and are able to put up to seven preferred choices, which can include the “three or four client secondments available every cycle.” International secondmentsare also on offer, with one recent placement in Germany from the patents team and one in Dubai from the private equity team. Overall, general seat allocation was described as “a little bit of a lottery.” Trainees understood that “talent does the best they can, and that it’s hard when everyone wants to do the same thing,” but noted that “the process is constantly brought up as something they could do better with.” Though moving forward, we heard the firm “has taken recent steps to demystify the process,” like revealing the stats on which seats were popular in the previous cohort.

The firm’s corporate offering is made up of corporate tech and life sciences, corporate real estate, corporate finance, private equity and private capital. The corporate technology and life sciences  team was said to have been “growing exponentially in the last couple of years,” given it is one of the departments the firm is known for.The group is split between M&A and funds work and juniors are encouraged to do work for both. Funding involves raising capital for start-ups and “the team represents the companies and sometimes the funds.” As they mainly do company side work, they advise these companies on the legal due diligence the fund wants to carry out. So, trainees were “on calls with clients, advising them on what documents go into the data room.” Alongside due diligence, “you’re involved in the ancillary docs such as board minutes, shareholder resolutions, and some shareholder consents,” one source told us.Trainees are then “responsible for drafting those” as well as “reviewing the existing agreements to see what docs are needed and also drafting those, like director resignations, consents to act, and disclosure letters.” Finally, once all the documents have been agreed, trainees are “responsible for making sure they are sent for signing and are completed.”

M&A was described as “similar to funds, as you’re figuring out what ancillary docs are needed and working on that.” Trainees work either on the buy or sell side, one explained that “if you’re on the buy side, you are involved in project management and due diligence.” On those deals, you’re mainly “ensuring due diligence is going smoothly and that questions being answered.” The firm represents a range of clients including Five, a start-up for self-driving cars on its sale to Bosch and Placid0, creators of an eye-care assessment app, which TW advised on its sale to eye-care brand WALDO. Also falling under the corporate umbrella is the private equity team, with trainees doing both private equity and venture capital work. Key clients include private equity firms Inflexion and Rockpool. TW have also advised Roadchef, a motorway services operator, on the sale of the business to Macquarie Asset Management. Trainees were again involved in the “due-diligence processes, making sure all the departments were submitting in time,” as well as “drafting ancillary docs” such as “stock transfer forms, board minutes, and resignation letters.” We also learned trainees were encouraged to “get involved in the disclosure process and draft some of those too.” Insiders told us there is a lot of client contact in this group, one said that “some clients would come through to me directly!”

TW’s contentiouspatent team is “one of the biggest in Europe!” boasted one trainee and was a popular choice amongst our sources. The team takes four trainees each rotation: three in contentious and one in non-contentious. There is a big focus across the group on medical devices, life sciences and telecoms work. In telecomms, one trainee raved that “I was working with companies and brands everyone knows, like the network provider you use or the make of phone on your desk.”  Telecomms work is mainly about licensing. Essentially, “if I’m the patent owner and you’re the brand, you’ll license the tech to use it.” The source added that, “every few years there’s a litigation dance. I’m saying ‘we need to agree a new license, and this is the new price.’” Then, the brand is “saying very little and trying to get me to agree to a lower price. The patent owner will then issue proceedings.” Trainees “spent a lot of time on expert calls” in this team, understanding “novel and new tech” and “building a merit of the case through these calls.” Common tasks include taking attendance notes as well as drafting pleadings as well as “a lot of court attendance.” Though sources did mention that there is a bit more responsibility as you get to draft correspondence and witness statements. Recently the firm represented Ericsson in a patent infringement matter against Apple, along with the Netherlands and Belgium offices.

“You’re thrown in the deep end, and I relished it.”

Private clientsits under the wider private wealth group and is split between contentious and non-contentious work. Overall, it is another big team at TW, though the non-contentious side takes on more trainees. On thatside, sources got stuck in “drafting wills, trusts, and advice notes on the tax implications of certain arrangements.” These issues concerned “people who wanting to move to UK and are looking at the residency rules.” Sources said, there were “lots of often-niche research tasks,” and it was common to see four to five clients a day, though the details of such are confidential. Private wealth contentious, on the other hand, is “a very small department, just eight or nine people and one trainee.” The team does work for high-net-worth individuals on anything “from trusts, to wills, to divorces.” Given there’s just the one trainee “you’re left with typical tasks like attendance notes and bundling – there’s definitely bundling!” one source emphasised.But insiders also said that they “had a lot of client contact – calls, emails, face-to-face meetings – alongside research and some analysis.” Reflecting on their time in this seat, one interviewee mused that “as the sole trainee in a small team, you’re busy. You’re thrown in the deep end, and I relished it.”

Trainee Life

Across seats, hours varied “depending on what work is going on” and which team trainees sat in. Between 9am and 7pm was the norm for teams like private client but could ramp up past 8pm when you were heading towards a deadline. Despite hours being a little unpredictable, many sources felt that they were manageable, one noted that “I’ve never felt like it’s been unreasonable.” However, others did acknowledge that if the work hits crunch time, then the odd working weekend can crop up: “Weekend work wasn’t all the time, but at the pinch points, if it has to happen, it will happen.” But ultimately, there was a “really high appreciation for the work you do put in” and that when it does quieten down, “you’re encouraged to take it easy!”

Speaking of taking it easy, the firm gives trainees the chance to unwind with perks like “yoga on a Wednesday and a massage every month.” If you’re after something a little more fact paced, then they “have done a couple of Barry bootcamps” too. “It’s a nice environment”, one source said about the culture. Another referenced that fact that “no one gives me that stiff, stern feeling. It’s reflective of the tech and life science sectors we service.” Further in keeping with its future-forward outlook, the firm regularly asks trainees if there’s “anything we think that could be done to improve the firm from a trainee perspective.”

“The social side is one of the best things about the firm!”

Outside of work, “the social side is one of the best things about the firm!” raved one happy trainee. “There are monthly firmwide drinks upstairs in the cafeteria, interdepartmental events, and networking events.” For the sporty types, “there is a football team that’s quite popular,” as well as cricket, touch-rugby and netball teams. “There’s also an annual inter-office football tournament at one of the other TW offices every year,” others enthused. We also discovered that across offices people take part in the Vienna marathon. Outside of the organised fun, trainees make sure to get together informally, “my cohort make an effort to see each other,” said one insider. “We do an event every month like bowling, darts at Flight Club, that kind of thing.”

Sources were equally upbeat about the firm’s efforts on DE&I. “There are a huge number of talks, seminars, and awareness-raising workshops,” explained one source. Trainees mentioned “an International Women’s Day event as well as another on cultural differences.” Like many firms, “there’s a lot of diversity much lower down, which tapers off higher up,” but trainees told us that “there’s a clear dialogue about it.” We also heard there are “a lot of lunch-and-learn sessions,” which involve “panel discussions around things like managing family life and diversity within families.”The firm is also making strides with pro bono, such as partnering with University House on family matters like domestic violence.

For those heading towards qualification, want-to-be NQs apply in April and interviews follow shortly afterwards. Interviewees mentioned that “there’s a presentation where we’re told a bit more about the process,” during which “they provide a list of jobs. They declare which departments have availability, but not the number of jobs.” After that, how technical the interview is, depends on the department. In 2023, the firm didn't disclose its retention figures.

How to get a training contract at Taylor Wessing  

• Vacation scheme deadline (London and Cambridge schemes): 1 December 2023

Apply for a training contract through the firm's vac scheme

Open days  

The firm hosts four open days across October and November, and one First Year Insight in April each year which runs for two days. The First Year Insight is targeted solely at first years, while the open days are for penultimate year law and non-law finalist students. The firm has also added an open evening to its line up in its Cambridge office (deadline for applications is  1 November, 2023, and the open day will be held on 16 November 2023). 

Application process  

The firm generally receives over 800 applications for its 40 vacation scheme places each year, with up to 22 training contract places up for grabs. Applications begin with an online form, and candidates need a minimum AAB at A level and a 2:1 degree. However, each application is looked at in context and the firm does not auto-reject. There are spaces to detail mitigating circumstances, along with the use of Rare's Contextualised Recruitment system. There’s space to list prior work experience, though Alice Hasted tells us the firm "appreciates that not everybody will have been able to take advantage of such opportunities.”  The form contains a few questions designed to gauge a candidate’s motivations and general commercial awareness.  

“We’re looking for the whole package,” says Hasted. “We look at applicants' academic achievements and commercial awareness, but also for evidence that they can think innovatively and work well in a team: I recommend that candidates isolate key differentiators about themselves that clearly exhibit their skills, and then show how they could use these at Taylor Wessing.”  

At present, if you pass the first round of screening you will be invited to complete an online assessment.  

Assessment centres

Applicants who pass the initial screening stages are invited to attend a half-day assessment centres. Each assessment centre consists of a group exercise, as well as a commercial awareness exercise and interview.  During the group exercise, candidates are given a business scenario they could potentially encounter as a trainee, and then asked to come up with a solution and present it to the assessors. 

“We review both their leadership skills and their team-working abilities,” Hasted tells us. “They need to balance these and show that they can build strong, collaborative relationships.” A candidate’s focus and ability to prioritise is also assessed. The interview takes place with a partner and a member of the talent team. This involves commercial awareness tasks, plus a competency-based discussion on the candidate’s application form and prior experiences.  

The firm makes its vac scheme offers straight off the back of the assessment day.  

Vacation scheme  

Taylor Wessing runs two two-week vac schemes over June and July in London. There are up to 20 spots on each. The firm will also be hosting a two-week summer vacation scheme in its Cambridge office. The deadline for applications is 1 December 2022 and you can apply here. 

PODCAST: A 101 guide to getting the most out of a vacation scheme with Taylor Wessing 

Participants spend each week in a different practice area and are assigned a supervisor, usually an associate, as well as a trainee buddy. Both delegate live work. Alongside lunches with their trainee buddies, vac schemers attend several ‘focus on’ sessions that provide insight into various practice areas and the trainee role within them.  

Vac schemers work on a group project throughout their placement and present the results to a panel at the end of the scheme. “The management team usually gives you an article on a high-profile commercial issue or sets a question to kick-start the project,”  a current trainee told us, mentioning that “ours was ‘What country would you invest in and why?’”  On the social front there are drinks events, yoga, comedy nights, bowling excursions and karaoke contests. “Make sure you demonstrate that you have the ability to network well and connect with others,” our sources advised. Indeed, Taylor Wessing's trainees regularly participate in business development initiatives, so recruiters will be keeping an eye out for those with stellar mingling skills.  

Each vac schemer is reviewed at the end of the process, and those who impress are offered a training contract.  

How to wow  

As for trainee backgrounds, you might wonder if the firm's tech/start-up edge attracts individuals with a certain type of degree background, eg. science. But this isn't the case: the firm works hard to ensure there is a good representation from different degree backgrounds. Of the 40 trainees with the firm currently, five had science degrees. Just over a third had studied law at undergrad (14) with the remaining 20 studying a mixture of non – law degrees.  

That doesn't mean you should be disengaged from the firm's focus on tech and the 'industries of tomorrow'. Graduate recruitment and development partner Matthew Royle advises "being curious about the world in which we operate and being curious about your chosen path and industries will stand you in good stead."