Firm Profiles
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
A global law firm known for real estate, planning, and finance
A global law firm known for real estate, planning, and finance
Year 1 Trainee
£55,000
Year 2 Trainee
£58,000
Newly Qualified
£125,000
About the firm
About the firm
TC Number
±20
Seats
4
Secondments
Yes
Offices
32
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) is an international law firm with 32 offices worldwide, formed in 2018 through the merger of UK firm Berwin Leighton Paisner and US firm Bryan Cave. In 2024, the firm completed a formal transition to operating under the single brand BCLP. The firm operates across real estate, financial services, corporate and M&A, litigation, and energy, with particular strength in real estate, the team being comprised of nearly 750 real estate sector lawyers, making it one of the largest dedicated real estate legal practices in the world.
BBCLP's training contract is built around four six-month seat rotations across core departments including real estate, financial services, and litigation. The firm encourages all trainees to undertake a secondment, with opportunities available on-site with clients or in international offices.
BCLP funds all fees associated with both the PGDL and SQE, provides a maintenance grant of £20,300 per annum for both the PGDL and SQE years, and offers a maintenance loan of up to £5,000. The firm uses two SQE preparation providers, BPP University and BARBRI, and allows future trainees to request a preferred provider based on their circumstances.
Practice areas and rankings
Practice areas and rankings
Rankings in Chambers
36
Category
Silver Circle
In the 2026 edition of Chambers UK, BCLP received 36 practice area rankings and 76 individual lawyer recognitions, an increase from 34 practice areas in 2025, and improved to a Band 1 ranking for Commercial Contracts.
BCLP received the Race Equality and LGBT+ Initiative of the Year awards at the Women and Diversity in Law Awards 2025, and won two 2025 Professional Services Management Excellence Awards for developing FLARE, its Fast Lease Assisted Reporting tool utilising AI to generate first drafts of lease reports.
Top practice areas:
Real estate
BCLP's defining practice and the area it is most associated with globally. A global team of nearly 750 real estate sector lawyers advising on acquisitions, disposals, development, financing, and leasing for institutional investors, developers, and occupiers. Consistently ranked Band 1 by Chambers UK for real estate transactions above £150 million. For trainees specifically, the real estate seat is one of the most active and substantive seats available at any City firm.
Planning
A leading planning practice ranked Band 1 by Chambers UK. Chambers UK clients describe the BCLP planning team as "hugely professional and personable" and note the team's ability to remain calm under intense pressure. The practice handles major development consents, infrastructure projects, and planning disputes.
Finance and asset finance
A strong finance practice spanning banking, acquisition finance, and rail and transport asset finance. The rail finance team is ranked Band 1 by Chambers UK, with clients noting their "comprehensive in-depth knowledge of contracts, speed of delivery and quality of legal documentation."
Commercial contracts
Promoted to Band 1 in Chambers UK 2026. Clients note BCLP's "unique knowledge of the challenges we face" and highlight the team's "diversification of knowledge and experience" in handling complex and sensitive negotiations.
Litigation and dispute resolution
A truly integrated global service handling complex disputes in domestic courts, specialist tribunals, and international arbitration. Banking litigation upgraded to Band 2 in Chambers UK 2025 following a run of significant mandates
The application process
Written application
The online application form asks questions regarding career motivation, why you have the skills to be a good solicitor, why you wish to work at BCLP, and questions that demonstrate commercial awareness and robustness. The application is open to students and graduates from any university and any discipline — BCLP's current trainee population studied at 37 different universities. Each written answer should be structured clearly around two to three specific points, supported by concrete examples. The motivation question requires a genuine answer about why BCLP specifically. Among other things, this could include either the firm's real estate practice, its transatlantic network, or its investment in legal technology (particularly AI tools like FLARE and its Orbital Copilot integration).
Psychometric Testing
CLP's online test is bespoke to the firm and based on the key skills and strengths that make a successful trainee solicitor at BCLP. It is a strengths-based assessment containing scenario-based questions testing situational judgment, critical reasoning, and verbal reasoning. The test is not timed but candidates are advised to set aside 45 minutes. BCLP advises there is no need to prepare for it specifically, and suggests reflecting carefully on each question and considering the stakeholders involved in the various scenarios.
Interview Stage
If successful at the online test stage, candidates are invited to a first-stage interview with two associates. This interview lasts around 30 to 40 minutes and evaluates career motivation and seven strengths-based interview questions. Candidates can expect questions on why BCLP, why commercial law, and strength-based scenarios such as "tell me about a time you worked in a team." The interview concludes with an opportunity for candidates to ask their own questions. The strengths-based format means questions focus on what you enjoy and what energises you rather than purely on past examples. Answers should feel natural and genuine — BCLP is specifically looking for authentic responses that reflect your actual strengths.
Assessment Centre
The assessment centre typically runs from 09:30 until 15:00 and includes a case study and presentation exercise followed by a final stage interview with two partners.
For the case study, candidates are given a brief explaining the task and have one hour and 30 minutes to assimilate the information and create a 15-minute presentation. The brief contains all the necessary information needed. After the presentation there is a Q&A session with the assessors on the content of the presentation. The presentation tests commercial reasoning, structured thinking, and the ability to communicate a clear recommendation under questioning. No legal knowledge is required as the assessment is about how clearly you can process information, identify what matters, and present it persuasively.
This is followed by a final 45-minute final strengths-based interview with two partners, focused on evaluating how well the candidate aligns with the firm's values and expectations of the trainee role.
The application process
Written application
The online application form asks questions regarding career motivation, why you have the skills to be a good solicitor, why you wish to work at BCLP, and questions that demonstrate commercial awareness and robustness. The application is open to students and graduates from any university and any discipline — BCLP's current trainee population studied at 37 different universities. Each written answer should be structured clearly around two to three specific points, supported by concrete examples. The motivation question requires a genuine answer about why BCLP specifically. Among other things, this could include either the firm's real estate practice, its transatlantic network, or its investment in legal technology (particularly AI tools like FLARE and its Orbital Copilot integration).
Psychometric Testing
CLP's online test is bespoke to the firm and based on the key skills and strengths that make a successful trainee solicitor at BCLP. It is a strengths-based assessment containing scenario-based questions testing situational judgment, critical reasoning, and verbal reasoning. The test is not timed but candidates are advised to set aside 45 minutes. BCLP advises there is no need to prepare for it specifically, and suggests reflecting carefully on each question and considering the stakeholders involved in the various scenarios.
Interview Stage
If successful at the online test stage, candidates are invited to a first-stage interview with two associates. This interview lasts around 30 to 40 minutes and evaluates career motivation and seven strengths-based interview questions. Candidates can expect questions on why BCLP, why commercial law, and strength-based scenarios such as "tell me about a time you worked in a team." The interview concludes with an opportunity for candidates to ask their own questions. The strengths-based format means questions focus on what you enjoy and what energises you rather than purely on past examples. Answers should feel natural and genuine — BCLP is specifically looking for authentic responses that reflect your actual strengths.
Assessment Centre
The assessment centre typically runs from 09:30 until 15:00 and includes a case study and presentation exercise followed by a final stage interview with two partners.
For the case study, candidates are given a brief explaining the task and have one hour and 30 minutes to assimilate the information and create a 15-minute presentation. The brief contains all the necessary information needed. After the presentation there is a Q&A session with the assessors on the content of the presentation. The presentation tests commercial reasoning, structured thinking, and the ability to communicate a clear recommendation under questioning. No legal knowledge is required as the assessment is about how clearly you can process information, identify what matters, and present it persuasively.
This is followed by a final 45-minute final strengths-based interview with two partners, focused on evaluating how well the candidate aligns with the firm's values and expectations of the trainee role.
Firm history
Firm History
Ready to Apply?
Ready to apply?
The Future Trainee Academy covers the full application, including written applications, online assessments, interviews, and assessment centres.
For situational judgment and reasoning practice, the Watson Glaser Practice Hub gives you unlimited free timed tests with worked explanations.
Firm Profiles
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
A global law firm known for real estate, planning, and finance
Year 1
Trainee
£55,000
Year 2
Trainee
£58,000
Newly
Qualified
£125,000
Practice areas and rankings
Rankings in Chambers
36
Category
Silver Circle
In the 2026 edition of Chambers UK, BCLP received 36 practice area rankings and 76 individual lawyer recognitions, an increase from 34 practice areas in 2025, and improved to a Band 1 ranking for Commercial Contracts.
BCLP received the Race Equality and LGBT+ Initiative of the Year awards at the Women and Diversity in Law Awards 2025, and won two 2025 Professional Services Management Excellence Awards for developing FLARE, its Fast Lease Assisted Reporting tool utilising AI to generate first drafts of lease reports.
Top practice areas:
Real estate
BCLP's defining practice and the area it is most associated with globally. A global team of nearly 750 real estate sector lawyers advising on acquisitions, disposals, development, financing, and leasing for institutional investors, developers, and occupiers. Consistently ranked Band 1 by Chambers UK for real estate transactions above £150 million. For trainees specifically, the real estate seat is one of the most active and substantive seats available at any City firm.
Planning
A leading planning practice ranked Band 1 by Chambers UK. Chambers UK clients describe the BCLP planning team as "hugely professional and personable" and note the team's ability to remain calm under intense pressure. The practice handles major development consents, infrastructure projects, and planning disputes.
Finance and asset finance
A strong finance practice spanning banking, acquisition finance, and rail and transport asset finance. The rail finance team is ranked Band 1 by Chambers UK, with clients noting their "comprehensive in-depth knowledge of contracts, speed of delivery and quality of legal documentation."
Commercial contracts
Promoted to Band 1 in Chambers UK 2026. Clients note BCLP's "unique knowledge of the challenges we face" and highlight the team's "diversification of knowledge and experience" in handling complex and sensitive negotiations.
Litigation and dispute resolution
A truly integrated global service handling complex disputes in domestic courts, specialist tribunals, and international arbitration. Banking litigation upgraded to Band 2 in Chambers UK 2025 following a run of significant mandates
About the firm
TC Number
±20
Seats
4
Secondments
Yes
Offices
32
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) is an international law firm with 32 offices worldwide, formed in 2018 through the merger of UK firm Berwin Leighton Paisner and US firm Bryan Cave. In 2024, the firm completed a formal transition to operating under the single brand BCLP. The firm operates across real estate, financial services, corporate and M&A, litigation, and energy, with particular strength in real estate, the team being comprised of nearly 750 real estate sector lawyers, making it one of the largest dedicated real estate legal practices in the world.
BBCLP's training contract is built around four six-month seat rotations across core departments including real estate, financial services, and litigation. The firm encourages all trainees to undertake a secondment, with opportunities available on-site with clients or in international offices.
BCLP funds all fees associated with both the PGDL and SQE, provides a maintenance grant of £20,300 per annum for both the PGDL and SQE years, and offers a maintenance loan of up to £5,000. The firm uses two SQE preparation providers, BPP University and BARBRI, and allows future trainees to request a preferred provider based on their circumstances.
The application process
Vacation Scheme Deadline
TBD
N/A
A-Levels Reqs.
Degree Reqs.
2:1
Written application
The online application form asks questions regarding career motivation, why you have the skills to be a good solicitor, why you wish to work at BCLP, and questions that demonstrate commercial awareness and robustness. The application is open to students and graduates from any university and any discipline — BCLP's current trainee population studied at 37 different universities. Each written answer should be structured clearly around two to three specific points, supported by concrete examples. The motivation question requires a genuine answer about why BCLP specifically. Among other things, this could include either the firm's real estate practice, its transatlantic network, or its investment in legal technology (particularly AI tools like FLARE and its Orbital Copilot integration).
Psychometric Testing
CLP's online test is bespoke to the firm and based on the key skills and strengths that make a successful trainee solicitor at BCLP. It is a strengths-based assessment containing scenario-based questions testing situational judgment, critical reasoning, and verbal reasoning. The test is not timed but candidates are advised to set aside 45 minutes. BCLP advises there is no need to prepare for it specifically, and suggests reflecting carefully on each question and considering the stakeholders involved in the various scenarios.
Interview Stage
If successful at the online test stage, candidates are invited to a first-stage interview with two associates. This interview lasts around 30 to 40 minutes and evaluates career motivation and seven strengths-based interview questions. Candidates can expect questions on why BCLP, why commercial law, and strength-based scenarios such as "tell me about a time you worked in a team." The interview concludes with an opportunity for candidates to ask their own questions. The strengths-based format means questions focus on what you enjoy and what energises you rather than purely on past examples. Answers should feel natural and genuine — BCLP is specifically looking for authentic responses that reflect your actual strengths.
Assessment Centre
The assessment centre typically runs from 09:30 until 15:00 and includes a case study and presentation exercise followed by a final stage interview with two partners.
For the case study, candidates are given a brief explaining the task and have one hour and 30 minutes to assimilate the information and create a 15-minute presentation. The brief contains all the necessary information needed. After the presentation there is a Q&A session with the assessors on the content of the presentation. The presentation tests commercial reasoning, structured thinking, and the ability to communicate a clear recommendation under questioning. No legal knowledge is required as the assessment is about how clearly you can process information, identify what matters, and present it persuasively.
This is followed by a final 45-minute final strengths-based interview with two partners, focused on evaluating how well the candidate aligns with the firm's values and expectations of the trainee role.
Firm History
Ready to apply?
The Future Trainee Academy covers the full application, including written applications, online assessments, interviews, and assessment centres.
For situational judgment and reasoning practice, the Watson Glaser Practice Hub gives you unlimited free timed tests with worked explanations.