Our guide to unlocking new, diverse and often overlooked pathways into a career in law
Here’s what to expect this week…
Opportunities we’ve spotted, including legal work experience, paralegal roles and training contracts
Our weekly Q&A, answering your questions about careers in law
5 minutes with... Martha & Andrea from Kerv
And finally, a career tip you can put into practice this week
Let’s get into it 👇
Career opportunities spotted this week 👀
📍 Work experience, insight days and legal placement opportunities
💼 Tikehau Capital (London)
They are offering a six month full-time Investment Legal internship running from July 2026. A great way to get exposure to legal work inside an investment house. Prior experience as a paralegal, legal intern or in a comparable legal support role is preferred. Apply ASAP.🧑🏾🌾 Falcon Chambers (London)
Falcon Chambers, a leading set specialising in property litigation, commercial property, landlord and tenant and agricultural law, offers mini-pupillages for those considering a career at the Bar. Apply by 31st July.
📅 Bright Network (Virtual)
Bright Network have just wrapped their summer intern programme and already have a packed autumn calendar lined up, including a virtual Future Lawyers session. Well worth a look if you're building up networking experience.
📑 Future City Lawyers x Hogan Lovells Cadwalader (London)
Calling all Non-Russell Group, Irish and PGDL law students and graduates. Future City Lawyers has teamed up with Hogan Lovells for an in-person Insight Day on 2nd November, 11:30–17:30, with 25 spots up for grabs. Expect a networking lunch with partners and associates, a Q&A panel, a negotiations workshop with trainees, a commercial case study and a chat with the firm's Early Careers team about the application process. Travel expenses reimbursed up to £100 for those travelling from outside London. Applications reviewed on a rolling basis, so apply ASAP.⚖️ Future City Lawyers x Simmons & Simmons (London)
Same format, different firm. This time it's Simmons & Simmons hosting, on 4th November, again for 25 Non-Russell Group, Irish and PGDL law students and graduates. Applications reviewed on a rolling basis, so apply ASAP.
💼 Trainee, Apprenticeship & Pupillage Roles
Inclusie’s pick of the week
⚖️ The University of Law x APPEAL (London)
An incredible opportunity for those interested social justice to gain two years of qualifying work experience in a unique way.
You’ll spend your first year at one of the UK's leading criminal justice charities, working alongside expert solicitors and barristers tackling miscarriages of justice. In your second year, you will broaden your legal experience through The University of Law's Pro Bono Clinics at their Bloomsbury campus.
Closing date: 17th July
📍 Harrison Drury (Stoke & Lytham)
Looking for a legal apprenticeship? Harrison Drury currently has two Level 6 legal apprenticeships on offer, plus a graduate apprentice role too! You’d be qualifying in the same time as the traditional route but with a whole lot of experience from working hands-on alongside your studies. Apply soon!
✍️ WSP Solicitors (Gloucestershire)
Fancy training with WSP Solicitors? They're accepting applications now, although you must have already completed the LPC or SQE 1 & 2. Applications close 31st July 2026.🌳 Warwickshire Council (Warwickshire)
Warwickshire Council are recruiting up to six trainee solicitors commencing between March 2027 and March 2028. Its an interesting opportunity as they operate both as an in-house legal team and a commercial business, generating their own income. Plenty of time to apply for this one - deadline is 10th September.
⚖️ Paralegal/Entry Level Roles
🏥 Health and Care Professions Council (London)
The HCPC is hiring a Paralegal to support its Investigations team, helping prepare fitness-to-practise cases involving health and care professionals. This is a great opportunity for law graduates interested in in-house work or regulatory, public or healthcare law. Deadline: 13th July 2026.
🛍️ ASOS.com (London)
ASOS are recruiting a Legal and Administration Assistant to support their legal team on a 12 month fixed term contract. They’re open to both full-time and part-time applicants. Day-to-day, you'll manage invoices from start to finish, resolve payment queries, provide data privacy support and act as the main point of contact between Legal, Finance, Procurement and external suppliers. You’ll need some prior legal or administrative experience. A fun in-house option if fashion and retail appeal to you. Apply ASAP.⚖️ GT Stewart Solicitors (Canterbury)
They are recruiting a Family Law Paralegal. The key responsibilities will include providing support to Fee Earners, completing public funding applications and liaising with Court experts. No prior experience required. Apply ASAP with CV + cover letter.📸 Canon EMEA (Uxbridge)
Canon (yes, like the cameras!) are looking for an organised, collaborative IP Administrator to join their team. It offers the opportunity to work as part of a diverse, energetic team, joining 50+ nationalities at their EMEA HQ and enjoying hybrid working (3 days in office). Definitely worth a look if IP interests you.🏛️ The Pensions Regulator (Brighton)
A truly unique opportunity to join the Determinations Panel at the Pensions Regulator. As a Paralegal, you will play a key part in managing cases from start to finish, helping ensure they are handled efficiently, fairly and to a high standard. You will work closely with lawyers, panel members and colleagues across the organisation to prepare documents, organise evidence, and support hearings. Apply ASAP.🏛️ Chambers and Partners (London)
They're hiring a Research Analyst - USA to join their research team. You’ll be gathering factual information and interviewing lawyers, clients and market experts to produce rankings and editorial content for Chambers’ legal guides. A great opportunity for law graduates interested in legal research and writing. Fluency in French would be beneficial. Deadline: 13th July.
🏛️ Health and Safety Executive (Bootle)
Apply to join as Paralegal Assistant where you’ll be working in a team to assist a Paralegal Officer with Court bundles, liaising with Courts and other Government Departments, and more! Apply before midday on Monday 27th July 2026.
🧑⚖️Information Governance Team (Leicester)
This locum role has you supporting a local authority's information governance team with inbox management, logging data protection requests, and general admin, hybrid, with just one day a week in the Leicester office. It's initially 4-6 weeks but may extend, pays £17-£20 per hour, and you'll need to be able to start within 1-2 weeks. A solid option if you're free over summer and want genuine experience without a long-term commitment. Apply now!
⚖️ City of York Council (York, hybrid)
A great opportunity to support the Courts as a Legal Assistant. This is a fixed-term role to March 2027 supporting York's litigation team, primarily assisting the council's prosecutions lawyer. Genuinely varied substantive legal exposure for a support role. This role is open to someone looking to begin their career in a legal environment. Deadline: Sunday 19th July at midnight, with interviews on 28th July in York.
⚖️ Wrigleys Solicitors (Leeds)
Wrigleys are on the hunt for a Junior Paralegal to join their property team. You will be working in a collaborative department, providing support to fee earners across two offices. It requires some prior admin/office-based experience, but no legal experience. Apply ASAP.🧬 Genomics England (Cambridge, Leeds or London)
Genomics England are recruiting a Paralegal, though some previous experience is required for this one. Their mission is to provide the evidence and digital systems so that by 2035, genomics could play a role in up to half of all healthcare interactions. A great choice if you're interested in the crossover between law and genomic medicine. Apply ASAP.💼 PIB Group (Lincoln)
Legal for Lettings, part of PIB Group, provide advice to landlords and letting agents. They are hiring a Paralegal with no prior experience required. It could be an interesting opportunity with plenty of responsibility for those interested in property, insurance and/or litigation. Apply ASAP.⚖️ Irwin Mitchell (Bristol)
A Paralegal opportunity within their Public Law & Human Rights team, with opportunity to work across inquests, judicial review, actions against the police, , Human Rights Act cases and Court of Protection. Prior legal experience is preferred but not essential. Apply ASAP.
Your questions answered ❓
Question: I'm currently a paralegal in a personal injury department, however I'm not sure this is an area I want to work in forever. I've done some research and insight days and I think the area I'm most interested in is family law. I'd love to qualify in that area. What can I do to get me from where I am to a training contract in family law?
My response:
First things first, congratulations for securing a paralegal position and for doing the work to find out which area of law truly interests you. Having a genuine sense of where you want to end up is a great start. Here are a few tips:
📚 Build family law knowledge, wherever you are
You don't need to be sat in a family team to start learning like one. Read the family law press (Family Law Week’s newsletter is a great free one), follow family solicitors and barristers on LinkedIn, and consider attending Kim’s “Ask Me Anything” family law session that we shared in last week’s newsletter. It shows firms you're serious about the practice area, not just curious, and it can help to further solidify your decision.
💼 Don't underestimate what PI is giving you right now
Client care in difficult circumstances, managing sensitive conversations, running your own caseload under pressure. All of that is directly transferable to family law, so don't be shy about showcasing transferable skills between the two in applications and interviews.
🤝 Get face time with family lawyers
Insight days are a brilliant start, so build on the momentum. Ask if your current firm has a family team you could shadow for a day, or reach out to local firms for informal coffee chats. Family law is a relationship-driven area, so showing up in person (or on a call) will likely put you at an advantage.
✍️ Tailor every application to tell your story
When you apply for training contracts, don't just say you want to do family law. Explain why: your insight days, your reading, any relevant volunteering, and what personally draws you to that area. Firms love to see a clear, consistent narrative that’s personal to you.
🙋 Consider paralegal roles
I appreciate the end goal is to qualify as a family lawyer, but don’t necessarily limit yourself to training contracts. It may be easier to transition from being a personal injury paralegal to a family law paralegal first, before obtaining a training contract. It may even count as qualifying work experience if you choose to take this route.
Best of luck!
✍️ 5 minutes with… Martha and Andrea at Kerv
I wanted to do something special for our 10th newsletter (how is it 10 already?!)
Martha and Andrea both work in-house at Kerv, a certified B Corp, which exists to use the power of technology for good. I thought it’d be interesting to get the perspective of both a Trainee and a Senior Legal Counsel on training in-house, mentorship, commercial awareness and more.
You can read the full interview on our website here.
Part One: Martha
Q: What made you choose to go in-house so early in your career?
Working in-house allows me to collaborate with multiple departments, providing a broader understanding of how legal considerations intersect with business operations. This exposure has strengthened my commercial awareness, which is something that particularly drew me to an in-house role. I enjoy interacting with the business as a whole, advising on risks, and being involved in matters from inception through to implementation.
The variety and diversity was also appealing to me. You are not concentrating on one area of law for long periods of time and my days in-house are never the same. It certainly sets the synapses firing!
Q: What advice would you give others thinking about in-house?
Speak to people! Communicate with people from all backgrounds who have experienced both firm and in-house positions. This will help provide you with insight and their perspectives on the ways in which you may qualify and help you figure out the right route for you.
The way one person qualifies may not be the best route for another. There are now so many more ways to qualify than the traditional route but some are still seen as the best kept secret! If you don’t educate yourself on these, you could be doing a great disservice to yourself.
Part two: Andrea
Q: What makes a successful in-house trainee? What key skills matter?
For our team, a well-rounded trainee is an individual that has strong foundational knowledge; an understanding of legal principles (e.g. understanding the fundamental elements of contract law) and someone with a practical, solution-focussed mindset. Although knowing the law is helpful, in-house teams are often multi-skilled, requiring commercial awareness and problem-solving abilities, alongside ‘interpretation’ skills (i.e. making legalese and legal concepts simple and easy to understand).
I can practically feel the eye rolls at mentioning ‘commercial awareness’! Many struggle to understand what this truly means. For in-house teams, it isn’t solely about keeping up to date with world events and the commercial realities of today (i.e. reading the FT). It is wider than that and often involves thinking about the client (your business) and making decisions based on the commerciality of a deal and/or issue.
What commercial awareness really means:
Recognising business requirements (even if they are implied and not expressly stated as requirements): Will the task you perform help the business? Is it a particular focus of stakeholders within the business? Will it support/help the wider business functions?
Thinking about whether performing a task is commercially viable: Will the cost of your resource (£) outweigh the commercial gain for the business?
Balancing risk: Could the risk of you not completing the task lead to a position of sizeable commercial risk to the business?
Finally, the ‘best’ trainees are the inquisitive and proactive ones who take off the blinkers! Thinking about best case and worst case scenarios, as curveballs are often thrown at in-house teams.
Q: One piece of advice for an aspiring in-house lawyer?
Do not be afraid to make mistakes as an in-house trainee.
Although no one likes to make mistakes, we are all fallible. Once a mistake or error occurs, highlight it as promptly as you can and follow the guidance from your supervisor. Once the dust has settled and the required actions have been completed, it is crucial to take time to reflect and learn from the mistake. If this is not done, you lose a great learning opportunity.
Be curious, be brave, and do not be afraid to learn as you go - every great in-house solicitor started exactly where you are now.
After all, an in-house career is built one question, one challenge and one learning opportunity at a time. Now go smash it!
Thank you so much to Martha & Andrea for sharing their insights. Remember this is just a snippet! You can read the full interview on our website here.
And finally, a career tip ✍️
This week’s career tip comes from Erin McEwan, one of our new Socials & Community Leads.
She reminds us not to overlook experiences outside of law when drafting applications. Whether you've worked in retail, played sport, volunteered or had a creative hobby, you've probably built skills like teamwork, communication, resilience, leadership or problem-solving.
The key is showing how those experiences have helped you grow and why they'll make you a better legal professional. Recruiters want to see what makes you unique, so don't be afraid to use your experiences to help you stand out.
That’s all for now. See you next week!
Emma
The careers advice shared in this newsletter is intended as general guidance and should not be treated as formal legal or recruitment advice. I do my best to keep all opportunities and deadlines accurate and up-to-date at the time of writing, but always double-check the employer’s website before applying.