Ask Reed Smith Anything! (2025-26)

[Mkyria]

Hi @RikPalmer-ReedSmith,

When you say the firm is industry focused, does this mean associates deal with a variety of tasks and clients within a specific sector, and therefore gain experience both in contentious and non-contentious areas? Also, how does this translate into the training contract - would the 4 seats be in 4 separate industries, or could you sit in the same industry multiple seats?

Thank you!

 

[jujulopez]

Hi There - During our final round, our interviews are designed to test more technical skills (These aren't legal skills though, so non-law can succeed just as well). For these interviews I would try to look at a few legal docs, such as your phone contract, and try and challenge yourself with some difficult questions. With more traditional interviews about yourself, my advice is to make sure to answer as yourself. Don't give answers you think we want to hear (as these can come across disingenuous). Instead, make sure you are professional and clear but that the answer is specific to you and your passion in law. Always make sure to bring your answer back to the question asked and go in with as much knowledge of the firm as you can find.

Thank you so much, this is incredible helpful!

 

[Maddy]

Hi @ReedSmithBecca and @RikPalmer-ReedSmith,

Thank you very much for your time today.

I have two quick questions.

• If a candidate has self-funded their SQE1 but did not pass on the first attempt, would this affect their chances of progressing to the next stage of the process?
• Also, regarding the video interview, do you only review the content of the candidate’s answers, or are there particular qualities you look for during the video interview review?

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hi @RikPalmer-ReedSmith,

When you say the firm is industry focused, does this mean associates deal with a variety of tasks and clients within a specific sector, and therefore gain experience both in contentious and non-contentious areas? Also, how does this translate into the training contract - would the 4 seats be in 4 separate industries, or could you sit in the same industry multiple seats?

Thank you!

Thanks for your message – yes, you’ve understood it correctly. Our groups are predominantly industry or sector focused. While some seats may involve a mix of work, each trainee seat will have a focus of Transaction/Contentious.

Within each group, there are subgroups that Trainees choose from. For example, in our Transport team, you could sit in either a litigation or transactional seat, across a few different subgroups. Although it’s possible to have multiple seats within one group, we don’t guarantee this. We’re particularly interested in candidates who are open to exploring a range of pathways into their legal career, rather than following a highly directive route. We would always expect candidates to demonstrate interest in multiple industry groups.

 

[Souniya Dhuldhoya]

Hello,

I wanted to ask international (non-UK) trainees: in your experience, what is the best way to approach securing a Training Contract at Reed Smith—through the Vacation Scheme or by applying directly for a Training Contract?

Thanks!

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hi @ReedSmithBecca and @RikPalmer-ReedSmith,

Thank you very much for your time today.

I have two quick questions.

• If a candidate has self-funded their SQE1 but did not pass on the first attempt, would this affect their chances of progressing to the next stage of the process?
• Also, regarding the video interview, do you only review the content of the candidate’s answers, or are there particular qualities you look for during the video interview review?

Hi There - If you have a single resit prior to applying then this would not affect your chances. Anyone with multiple fails we would suggest gets in-touch and we can discuss.

With the video interviews, we are really interested in the content of your answer. However, there will be some other factors taken into account that would be seen as Trainee Skills. These would be things like how well structured your answer was, your time keeping and how you delivered the information.

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hello,

I wanted to ask international (non-UK) trainees: in your experience, what is the best way to approach securing a Training Contract at Reed Smith—through the Vacation Scheme or by applying directly for a Training Contract?

Thanks!

Hi there - This is an "Ask me anything" of our Early careers team so no trainees on the thread sadly. however I can say that both routes are suitable for all candidates regardless of background. The only thing to bear in mind are any restrictions to working in the UK. A Vacation scheme is employment, where as the Direct TC is just an assessment centre.

 

[riverywind]

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to answer questions today.

Regarding work experience sections, do you prefer to only have bullet points about the 'facts/work' and let the skills be implicit? Or do you prefer that the skills are stated explicitly for the bullet points?

Also, should I make more substantive experiences significantly longer than other ones? Is there a 'right' word count?

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to answer questions today.

Regarding work experience sections, do you prefer to only have bullet points about the 'facts/work' and let the skills be implicit? Or do you prefer that the skills are stated explicitly for the bullet points?

Also, should I make more substantive experiences significantly longer than other ones? Is there a 'right' word count?

Hi there - I would definitely cover the skills in your detail as even similar experiences might have vastly different skills. However, I would back up the level of skill with the experience.

When submitting your experience the information should be relevant to the job you are applying too. So I would imagine some roles and experiences would have more word count should they have more transferable skills relevant to a trainees role.

 

[apap]

@RikPalmer-ReedSmith @ReedSmithBecca

I saw a reply saying you recommend bullet points for work experience. When I applied last year, I opted for prose. I assume this is okay so long as the information is clearly set out in terms of what skills you gained, the impact you made in the role and what the role was?

If some of the roles were short term, are we okay to group/condense multiple roles in one entry and state the companies in the entry?

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

@RikPalmer-ReedSmith @ReedSmithBecca

I saw a reply saying you recommend bullet points for work experience. When I applied last year, I opted for prose. I assume this is okay so long as the information is clearly set out in terms of what skills you gained, the impact you made in the role and what the role was?

If some of the roles were short term, are we okay to group/condense multiple roles in one entry and state the companies in the entry?

You're welcome to submit your application in the format that best reflects your experience and personal style. If you have a significant number of experiences to include, particularly where some may be less directly relevant, it’s fine to group them. Just be sure to do so effectively.

 

[Melena Robert]

Hi,
I was successful at the initial stage of my training contract application submitted in July 2025, and I am now interested in applying for the Spring Vacation Scheme. Since my circumstances and experiences have not significantly changed in the last few months, I wanted to ask whether I may reuse the same answers from my previous application, or if you would prefer a fresh submission tailored specifically to the vacation scheme.

Thank you very much for your guidance.

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hi,
I was successful at the initial stage of my training contract application submitted in July 2025, and I am now interested in applying for the Spring Vacation Scheme. Since my circumstances and experiences have not significantly changed in the last few months, I wanted to ask whether I may reuse the same answers from my previous application, or if you would prefer a fresh submission tailored specifically to the vacation scheme.

Thank you very much for your guidance.

Do feel free to adapt and review your previous application. . My advice is that A). A lot happens in a year so updating is important. B). We review our benchmark each year, so when talent increases the benchmark could be higher, C). A Re-draft will always improve something, even if its already good!

 

[Bboygenz]

Hi @RikPalmer-ReedSmith @ReedSmithBecca I graduated from American College, Do I need to convert my grade to the UK system?

I had 3.7+ in each term, would you consider it as a first class or 2:1?

Literally there are no absolute conversion, some source says First class is 3.9+ and some 3.7

Then how can I input the mark in percentage?

In my college, A starts from 93%, like most US colleges.

In the UK, 70%+ considered A

Also, should I show my transferred credits as well on the application form? I had 9 credits from an ivy school.

I hope you can clarify on this as Reed Smith is an American firm.

 

[ReedSmithBecca]

Hi @RikPalmer-ReedSmith @ReedSmithBecca I graduated from American College, Do I need to convert my grade to the UK system?

I had 3.7+ in each term, would you consider it as a first class or 2:1?

Literally there are no absolute conversion, some source says First class is 3.9+ and some 3.7

Then how can I input the mark in percentage?

In my college, A starts from 93%, like most US colleges.

In the UK, 70%+ considered A

Also, should I show my transferred credits as well on the application form? I had 9 credits from an ivy school.

I hope you can clarify on this as Reed Smith is an American firm.

Whilst RS is an American firm, that doesn't make us experts in international degree conversions! We use the UK ENIC framework if we require additional conversion information, so would recommend you utilise this if you do require a conversion for future applications: https://www.enic.org.uk/individuals/statement-of-comparability.

However we do not require applicants to convert themselves and I would recommend you put your GPA as is - since we require a 2:1 and do not analyse grades beyond this, your GPA would meet our entry requirements. Yes, add your transferred credits and any additional information to the 'further information' free text box.

 

[jojo23]

Hi guys,
Do you have any advice on how to excel in the vi/sjt element of the application process?