If you are working out how to break into commercial law, our Vacation Schemes hub brings together everything you need to know about securing and making the most of a vacation scheme placement.

A vacation scheme is the most direct route into a training contract at a large commercial law firm. Most candidates know this in the abstract, but fewer understand what it means in practice: that the vacation scheme application deserves exactly the same level of preparation as a training contract application, that every interaction during the scheme is part of the assessment, and that how you approach the two weeks you are given can determine whether you qualify as a solicitor at that firm.

This guide covers what vacation schemes are, what you actually do during one, how firms assess candidates, how schemes connect to training contract offers, how competitive the market is, and what to do if you do not secure one.

What a vacation scheme actually is

A vacation scheme is a short, structured placement at a law firm, typically lasting one to two weeks, designed to give students and graduates genuine exposure to life at the firm while giving the firm the opportunity to assess candidates in a realistic working environment.

The name suggests something casual. It is not. Vacation schemes are a core part of the firm's hiring process. The firm is investing time and resources in running the scheme precisely because it provides better information about a candidate's potential than any interview or written application can. How you communicate with a supervisor, how you approach an unfamiliar task, how you conduct yourself at an informal networking dinner: all of it is observed and, in most cases, contributes to an assessment that determines whether you receive a training contract offer.

Vacation schemes are most common at medium to large commercial law firms. Magic Circle and Silver Circle firms run the most competitive schemes, with the largest cohorts and the most structured assessment processes. US firms in London typically run smaller schemes with higher offer rates for those who secure places. Regional and national firms run vacation schemes that are less well-known but equally valuable for candidates targeting those firms specifically.

Who vacation schemes are for

Vacation schemes are typically aimed at law students in their penultimate or final year, non-law students who are planning to convert via the PGDL, and graduates applying before or during further legal study. Eligibility requirements vary between firms. Some specify which year groups are eligible. Others assess applications on a rolling basis without year-group restrictions.

International students are often eligible to apply, but visa sponsorship policies differ significantly between firms and should be checked early in the application process. Most large commercial firms are licensed sponsors under the Skilled Worker visa route, but smaller firms may not be.

First-year students should also be aware that most large firms offer separate first-year insight schemes or spring weeks, which are shorter programmes designed specifically for students in their first year. These are worth applying for because they provide early exposure to the firm and often feed directly into vacation scheme applications in subsequent years.

What you actually do on a vacation scheme

The structure varies between firms, but most vacation schemes combine several elements across the placement period.

Seat time with a practice group. Most schemes place you in one or two departments for the duration, where you sit with a trainee or associate supervisor and work alongside the team. The work is real: you may be asked to assist with research tasks, review documents, draft correspondence, or contribute to live matters in a supporting capacity. The level of responsibility varies, but the expectation is that you engage actively rather than observe passively.

Formal exercises and assessments. Most schemes include at least one structured assessment element, whether that is a written exercise, a case study, a presentation, or a formal interview. Some firms run the scheme as an extended assessment centre, with assessments woven throughout. Others concentrate formal assessment into a specific day. Either way, the exercises are designed to replicate aspects of trainee work and to give assessors a consistent basis for comparison across the cohort.

Workshops and presentations. Firms typically run sessions on practice areas, firm strategy, client work, and the training contract structure. These are worth attending with genuine curiosity rather than treating them as background noise. The questions you ask in these sessions are noticed.

Networking events. Informal drinks, lunches, and dinners give you the opportunity to speak with trainees, associates, and partners in a less structured setting. These interactions are not assessed formally, but they contribute to the overall impression you make. Candidates who are professional, engaged, and genuinely interested in the people they speak to perform better in these settings than those who are visibly performing.

How firms actually assess vacation scheme candidates

Vacation schemes are not assessed on legal knowledge. Firms know you are a student and they are not expecting you to know what a senior associate knows. What they are assessing is how you think and behave in a professional environment, and whether that suggests you have the potential to develop into an effective trainee.

The qualities assessed most consistently across firms are:

Communication — can you explain your thinking clearly, adapt your style to different audiences, and listen as well as speak?

Commercial awareness — do you engage with the firm's work as a commercial activity, or do you treat it purely as an academic exercise?

Attention to detail and organisation — do you produce accurate work, manage your time effectively, and follow through on what you say you will do?

Motivation and engagement — does your behaviour throughout the scheme suggest genuine interest in this firm and this career, or is it indistinguishable from the behaviour you would show anywhere?

Interpersonal skills — can you build working relationships quickly, contribute to a team dynamic positively, and handle feedback without becoming defensive?

Assessment happens through both formal and informal channels. A formal interview at the end of the scheme is one data point. The feedback your supervisor provides, based on observing you work across the full placement period, is often weighted more heavily. The trainee you sat next to for two weeks may have been asked for their impression. Every interaction is part of the picture.

Do vacation schemes lead to training contracts?

Yes, and for most large commercial firms, the vacation scheme is the primary route to a training contract offer rather than an optional step along the way.

Some firms recruit almost exclusively from their vacation scheme cohorts, making a very small number of direct training contract offers to candidates who did not complete a scheme. Others use the scheme as a strong indicator but require a separate final interview before making an offer. Either way, a successful vacation scheme dramatically improves your chances of securing a training contract at that firm, and in many cases it is the most reliable route available.

This is why the vacation scheme application process should be approached with the same preparation and seriousness as a training contract application. The written application, the online assessments, the interview: these are not preliminary hurdles before the real process begins. They are the first stages of the same process, and the standard expected at each stage is high.

For guidance on securing a training contract once you have completed a vacation scheme, see our how to get a training contract guide.

How competitive vacation schemes are

Vacation schemes at large commercial firms are genuinely competitive. The most sought-after schemes receive thousands of applications for a small number of places. Magic Circle firms typically take between 40 and 80 vacation scheme candidates each year across their summer and winter intakes. US firms typically take fewer.

Rejection is common, even for candidates who are well-qualified and well-prepared, and often reflects the volume of competition rather than a fundamental problem with the application. Many successful trainees applied for vacation schemes multiple times, attended several assessment centres, and refined their approach over more than one application cycle before securing a place.

The practical implication is that applying broadly enough to give yourself realistic chances is sensible, but only to firms where you can properly evidence your motivation, your knowledge of the firm's work, and your understanding of what the role involves. A smaller number of well-researched, genuinely tailored applications will consistently outperform a larger number of generic ones, because the difference between a strong and a weak written application is almost always specificity rather than effort.

For guidance on how to write applications that demonstrate genuine firm-specific research, see our how to research a law firm guide and our why this firm guide.

Making the most of the scheme once you are there

Securing a place on a vacation scheme is the first objective. What you do with it is the second, and it is what determines whether you leave with a training contract offer.

A few things matter more than others during the placement itself.

Treat every piece of work as if it matters, because it does. A research task that feels minor to you may be used in a real client meeting. A draft you produce may be reviewed by a partner. The standard of your work, including its accuracy, its structure, and how well you communicate your reasoning, is observed and assessed throughout.

Ask good questions rather than lots of questions. Questions that demonstrate you have thought about something before asking, or that show genuine curiosity about the commercial context of the work, make a better impression than a high volume of basic questions that could have been answered by reading the documents you were given.

Show that you are engaged with the firm beyond your own assessment. Candidates who are visibly interested in what the firm does, who ask about recent transactions, who follow up on something a partner mentioned in a workshop, who treat the people around them as interesting rather than just useful, consistently make a better impression than those who are clearly managing their performance rather than genuinely participating.

Be professional in informal settings. The networking drinks at the end of the day are not a break from the assessment. Casual conversations with trainees often feed back into the supervisors' assessments. How you present yourself when the formal exercises are over is as much a part of the picture as how you perform in a structured interview.

What to do if you do not secure a vacation scheme

A vacation scheme is the most direct route into commercial law but it is not the only one. Candidates who do not secure a scheme in one cycle have several productive options.

Pro bono and legal clinic work provides genuine legal experience and often genuine client contact, which is directly relevant to training contract applications. University legal clinics are worth pursuing from early in your degree.

Open days and insight events at firms give you exposure to the firm's culture and work, and the specific observations you make during them are worth noting and referencing in future applications. A conversation with a trainee at an open day that gave you a specific, concrete impression of the firm's working environment is more useful application material than anything on the firm's website.

Direct training contract applications exist at some firms and are worth pursuing in parallel with vacation scheme applications, particularly at firms where the direct route is a genuine one rather than a nominal option.

Paralegal roles at law firms provide commercial legal experience that strengthens both the substance of your applications and your understanding of what the work actually involves. For candidates who have not secured a vacation scheme after multiple cycles, a paralegal role at a firm you are targeting is often the most effective next step.

How many vacation schemes should you apply for?

There is no single right answer, but the practical reality for most candidates is that applying to a range of firms across different tiers makes sense, given how competitive individual schemes are and how unpredictable outcomes can be even for well-prepared candidates.

What matters more than the number of applications is the quality of each one. Every application should include firm-specific research that goes beyond the website, a genuine and specific account of your motivation for that firm rather than commercial law generally, and examples that are chosen because they are relevant to that firm's work rather than because they are the most impressive things on your CV.

A useful test before submitting any application: could this answer be sent to a different firm with a name change and minimal editing? If yes, it needs more work.

Ready to start your application?

The Future Trainee Academy covers vacation scheme and training contract applications in full, from written applications and psychometric tests through to assessment centres and interviews. It includes insight from a recruiter who has interviewed over 10,000 candidates and from future trainees who have recently been through the process at leading firms. Free to access.

For a bank of 80+ real interview questions across every category used by leading law firms, see the Interview Question Bank.