Firm Profiles
Freshfields
Freshfields
A Magic Circle firm known for M&A, disputes, and competition
A Magic Circle firm known for M&A, disputes, and competition
Year 1 Trainee
£56,000
Year 2 Trainee
£61,000
Newly Qualified
£150,000
About the firm
About the firm
TC Number
±80
Seats
8
Secondments
Yes
Offices
33
Freshfields is a global law firm with a long-standing track record (founded in 1743) successfully supporting the world's leading national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, and governments on ground-breaking and business-critical mandates. The firm's 2,800-plus lawyers deliver results worldwide through its own offices and alongside leading local firms.
In 2024, Freshfields formally rebranded from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to Freshfields, introducing a modernised identity to reflect the firm's evolving ambitions.
Freshfields offers one of the most distinctive training structures of any Magic Circle firm. Trainees move seats every three months across eight rotations, with the flexibility to decide what they would like to experience next or to remain in a seat for longer. This means trainees at Freshfields gain broader exposure across more practice areas than at any other Magic Circle firm before choosing a qualification seat. In the final two seats, trainees have the opportunity to undertake a six-month international secondment in one of the firm's global offices — including destinations such as New York, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo. The firm funds SQE preparation in full via BPP and provides a maintenance grant during the study period.
Practice areas and rankings
Practice areas and rankings
Rankings in Chambers
47
Category
Magic Circle
Freshfields continues to be recognised as one of the world’s leading law firms. In 2025, the firm was named Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards, a title it has now won in consecutive years.
The firm achieved 38 Band 1 rankings in Chambers Global 2026, an increase from the previous year. In 2025, the firm won M&A Law Firm of the Year, Arbitration Law Firm of the Year, and Competition Law Firm of the Year at the Lexology Index Awards, and was named Transatlantic Firm of the Year at The Lawyer Awards.
Top practice areas:
Corporate and M&A
One of the leading M&A practices in the world. Freshfields won M&A Law Firm of the Year at the Lexology Index Awards 2025 and advises on the highest-value domestic and cross-border transactions for FTSE 100 companies, private equity sponsors, and financial institutions. Ranked Band 1 by Chambers UK for Corporate/M&A at the top tier.
Disputes and international arbitration
A world-class disputes practice spanning commercial litigation, international arbitration, and public international law. Freshfields has a significant depth of resources in major arbitration centres including Washington DC, London, and Paris, with extensive experience across Latin America and Asia markets. Ranked Band 1 globally by Chambers for international arbitration.
Competition and antitrust
Freshfields has an excellent reputation across all aspects of competition law, highly sought after for merger filings before the CMA and multi-jurisdictional merger clearances, as well as representing clients in CMA investigations and high-profile follow-on damages actions. Named Competition Law Firm of the Year for the 21st consecutive year at the Lexology Index Awards 2025.
Finance and restructuring
A leading finance practice advising on leveraged finance, acquisition finance, and structured finance alongside a top-tier restructuring practice. The firm won Restructuring Team of the Year at the British Legal Awards 2025 and European Practice of the Year at the Global Restructuring Review Awards 2025.
Regulatory
One of the strongest regulatory practices at the Magic Circle, advising financial institutions and major corporations on regulatory investigations, financial services regulation, and compliance matters across multiple jurisdictions.
The application process
Written application
The Freshfields application begins with an online application form. The programme is open to penultimate and final-year undergraduate students from any degree discipline, as well as recent graduates. Note that personal statements are no longer required as part of the current application process as the firm has simplified the written application stage significantly compared to previous years. The application form is straightforward and covers your background, academic record, and basic candidacy information.
Psychometric Testing
Once you have submitted your application, Freshfields invites you to complete an online assessment. The assessment uses interactive tasks and scenarios designed to reflect life at Freshfields and the trainee role. The firm describes it as an opportunity to showcase how you think and work. It is not a standard verbal or numerical reasoning test but a bespoke situational and behavioural assessment. Freshfields provides a dedicated Preparation Portal with resources and tips to help you prepare. The firm specifically encourages candidates to approach the assessment authentically rather than trying to game it as the scenarios are designed to surface genuine strengths and working style.
Assessment Centre
Successful candidates are invited to attend a half-day assessment centre comprising a written exercise, a general interview, and an analytical interview.
The written exercise is designed to test attention to detail, a key skill for trainees, but does not assess legal knowledge. No advance preparation for the exercise is expected. It is a practical test of how clearly and accurately you can work through information and produce a written output under time pressure.
In the general interview, candidates are asked to reflect on their experiences, strengths, and motivations, demonstrating self-awareness and the qualities needed to succeed as a trainee. This one-hour interview is conducted by a partner and associate, who will have read the candidate's personal statement but not the rest of their application. This means the personal statement becomes the foundation for the general interview — the interviewers will probe and expand on what you have written. Candidates should know their personal statement thoroughly and be prepared to discuss every experience and claim they have made in it.
The general interview covers: why you want a career in commercial law, why Freshfields specifically, what you have done that demonstrates the skills and qualities Freshfields looks for, and how your experiences outside law connect to the commercial environment you will be entering. The interview is conversational rather than rigidly structured — interviewers are looking for candidates who can engage naturally and think on their feet.
The analytical interview begins with 30 minutes to review a commercial article, followed by an interview with two new lawyers. This session assesses commercial awareness and analytical thinking. The format is similar to the article discussion at Slaughter and May: candidates read a current affairs or commercial article and are then asked to discuss it in depth. The interviewers will expect candidates to summarise the key issues, form a view, and defend it under questioning. The discussion may extend to related topics and questions candidates have not prepared for.
The application process
Written application
The Freshfields application begins with an online application form. The programme is open to penultimate and final-year undergraduate students from any degree discipline, as well as recent graduates. Note that personal statements are no longer required as part of the current application process as the firm has simplified the written application stage significantly compared to previous years. The application form is straightforward and covers your background, academic record, and basic candidacy information.
Psychometric Testing
Once you have submitted your application, Freshfields invites you to complete an online assessment. The assessment uses interactive tasks and scenarios designed to reflect life at Freshfields and the trainee role. The firm describes it as an opportunity to showcase how you think and work. It is not a standard verbal or numerical reasoning test but a bespoke situational and behavioural assessment. Freshfields provides a dedicated Preparation Portal with resources and tips to help you prepare. The firm specifically encourages candidates to approach the assessment authentically rather than trying to game it as the scenarios are designed to surface genuine strengths and working style.
Assessment Centre
Successful candidates are invited to attend a half-day assessment centre comprising a written exercise, a general interview, and an analytical interview.
The written exercise is designed to test attention to detail, a key skill for trainees, but does not assess legal knowledge. No advance preparation for the exercise is expected. It is a practical test of how clearly and accurately you can work through information and produce a written output under time pressure.
In the general interview, candidates are asked to reflect on their experiences, strengths, and motivations, demonstrating self-awareness and the qualities needed to succeed as a trainee. This one-hour interview is conducted by a partner and associate, who will have read the candidate's personal statement but not the rest of their application. This means the personal statement becomes the foundation for the general interview — the interviewers will probe and expand on what you have written. Candidates should know their personal statement thoroughly and be prepared to discuss every experience and claim they have made in it.
The general interview covers: why you want a career in commercial law, why Freshfields specifically, what you have done that demonstrates the skills and qualities Freshfields looks for, and how your experiences outside law connect to the commercial environment you will be entering. The interview is conversational rather than rigidly structured — interviewers are looking for candidates who can engage naturally and think on their feet.
The analytical interview begins with 30 minutes to review a commercial article, followed by an interview with two new lawyers. This session assesses commercial awareness and analytical thinking. The format is similar to the article discussion at Slaughter and May: candidates read a current affairs or commercial article and are then asked to discuss it in depth. The interviewers will expect candidates to summarise the key issues, form a view, and defend it under questioning. The discussion may extend to related topics and questions candidates have not prepared for.
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
Freshfields
A Magic Circle firm known for M&A, disputes, and competition
Year 1
Trainee
£56,000
Year 2
Trainee
£61,000
Newly
Qualified
£150,000
Practice areas and rankings
Rankings in Chambers
47
Category
Magic Circle
Freshfields continues to be recognised as one of the world’s leading law firms. In 2025, the firm was named Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards, a title it has now won in consecutive years.
The firm achieved 38 Band 1 rankings in Chambers Global 2026, an increase from the previous year. In 2025, the firm won M&A Law Firm of the Year, Arbitration Law Firm of the Year, and Competition Law Firm of the Year at the Lexology Index Awards, and was named Transatlantic Firm of the Year at The Lawyer Awards.
Top practice areas:
Corporate and M&A
One of the leading M&A practices in the world. Freshfields won M&A Law Firm of the Year at the Lexology Index Awards 2025 and advises on the highest-value domestic and cross-border transactions for FTSE 100 companies, private equity sponsors, and financial institutions. Ranked Band 1 by Chambers UK for Corporate/M&A at the top tier.
Disputes and international arbitration
A world-class disputes practice spanning commercial litigation, international arbitration, and public international law. Freshfields has a significant depth of resources in major arbitration centres including Washington DC, London, and Paris, with extensive experience across Latin America and Asia markets. Ranked Band 1 globally by Chambers for international arbitration.
Competition and antitrust
Freshfields has an excellent reputation across all aspects of competition law, highly sought after for merger filings before the CMA and multi-jurisdictional merger clearances, as well as representing clients in CMA investigations and high-profile follow-on damages actions. Named Competition Law Firm of the Year for the 21st consecutive year at the Lexology Index Awards 2025.
Finance and restructuring
A leading finance practice advising on leveraged finance, acquisition finance, and structured finance alongside a top-tier restructuring practice. The firm won Restructuring Team of the Year at the British Legal Awards 2025 and European Practice of the Year at the Global Restructuring Review Awards 2025.
Regulatory
One of the strongest regulatory practices at the Magic Circle, advising financial institutions and major corporations on regulatory investigations, financial services regulation, and compliance matters across multiple jurisdictions.
About the firm
TC Number
±80
Seats
8
Secondments
Yes
Offices
33
Freshfields is a global law firm with a long-standing track record (founded in 1743) successfully supporting the world's leading national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, and governments on ground-breaking and business-critical mandates. The firm's 2,800-plus lawyers deliver results worldwide through its own offices and alongside leading local firms.
In 2024, Freshfields formally rebranded from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to Freshfields, introducing a modernised identity to reflect the firm's evolving ambitions.
Freshfields offers one of the most distinctive training structures of any Magic Circle firm. Trainees move seats every three months across eight rotations, with the flexibility to decide what they would like to experience next or to remain in a seat for longer. This means trainees at Freshfields gain broader exposure across more practice areas than at any other Magic Circle firm before choosing a qualification seat. In the final two seats, trainees have the opportunity to undertake a six-month international secondment in one of the firm's global offices — including destinations such as New York, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo. The firm funds SQE preparation in full via BPP and provides a maintenance grant during the study period.
The application process
Vacation Scheme Deadline
TBD
N/A
A-Levels Reqs.
Degree Reqs.
2.1+
Written application
The Freshfields application begins with an online application form. The programme is open to penultimate and final-year undergraduate students from any degree discipline, as well as recent graduates. Note that personal statements are no longer required as part of the current application process as the firm has simplified the written application stage significantly compared to previous years. The application form is straightforward and covers your background, academic record, and basic candidacy information.
Psychometric Testing
Once you have submitted your application, Freshfields invites you to complete an online assessment. The assessment uses interactive tasks and scenarios designed to reflect life at Freshfields and the trainee role. The firm describes it as an opportunity to showcase how you think and work. It is not a standard verbal or numerical reasoning test but a bespoke situational and behavioural assessment. Freshfields provides a dedicated Preparation Portal with resources and tips to help you prepare. The firm specifically encourages candidates to approach the assessment authentically rather than trying to game it as the scenarios are designed to surface genuine strengths and working style.
Assessment Centre
Successful candidates are invited to attend a half-day assessment centre comprising a written exercise, a general interview, and an analytical interview.
The written exercise is designed to test attention to detail, a key skill for trainees, but does not assess legal knowledge. No advance preparation for the exercise is expected. It is a practical test of how clearly and accurately you can work through information and produce a written output under time pressure.
In the general interview, candidates are asked to reflect on their experiences, strengths, and motivations, demonstrating self-awareness and the qualities needed to succeed as a trainee. This one-hour interview is conducted by a partner and associate, who will have read the candidate's personal statement but not the rest of their application. This means the personal statement becomes the foundation for the general interview — the interviewers will probe and expand on what you have written. Candidates should know their personal statement thoroughly and be prepared to discuss every experience and claim they have made in it.
The general interview covers: why you want a career in commercial law, why Freshfields specifically, what you have done that demonstrates the skills and qualities Freshfields looks for, and how your experiences outside law connect to the commercial environment you will be entering. The interview is conversational rather than rigidly structured — interviewers are looking for candidates who can engage naturally and think on their feet.
The analytical interview begins with 30 minutes to review a commercial article, followed by an interview with two new lawyers. This session assesses commercial awareness and analytical thinking. The format is similar to the article discussion at Slaughter and May: candidates read a current affairs or commercial article and are then asked to discuss it in depth. The interviewers will expect candidates to summarise the key issues, form a view, and defend it under questioning. The discussion may extend to related topics and questions candidates have not prepared for.
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.