Ask Reed Smith Anything! (2026-27)

[Jaysen]

Hey everyone,

A special welcome back to the Reed Smith team! They are live in this thread right now

Whether you're trying to decide whether to apply to Reed Smith, have any questions about what to expect, or you want to know how to do well in the Reed Smith process, you can ask your questions by replying here.

We are joined by an all-star team including:

• Rebecca Schrod, Senior Early Careers Recruitment & Development Manager at Reed Smith
• Rik Palmer, Senior Early Careers Adviser at Reed Smith
• Grace Loh, Future Trainee Solicitor and PSQE Intern at Reed Smith
• Hollie Summerfield, Future Trainee Solicitor and PSQE Intern at Reed Smith

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Opportunities

• Apply to the upcoming Open Day by 28 September 2026 (link)
• Apply to the Vacation Schemes by 18 December 2026 (link)

 

[ReedSmithBecca]

Hi all! We are looking forward to answering your questions today and throughout the cycle!
Please put your questions below

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hi There - I'm Rik, I'm part of the Early Careers team. My job includes supporting each step of the application, alongside managing the PSQE, our Professional SQE scheme at Reed Smith. Please ask me anything

 

[futuretrainee101ac]

Good morning!

I hope you are well. I have previously applied to Reed Smith and been unsuccessful three times. Would this mean that I will not be able to apply to the firm again? Or is there a certain period of time I will have to wait before re-applying?

Thank you very much.

 

[mannat]

Hi Rebecca!

Thanks for being here. Just a quick question on open days - considering Reed Smith is rolling - would you say it is too late to apply to the firm's open day now? If not, could you please share what an ideal open day answer looks like - what should be the balance between sharing your background and expressing your intentions of what you want to get out of the open day?

Thanks!

 

[Sara Barrage]

Hello! I hope you are well. What separates the applications that progress to the next stage from those that don't? Are there common mistakes you see in the 'why Reed Smith' answer?

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Good morning!

I hope you are well. I have previously applied to Reed Smith and been unsuccessful three times. Would this mean that I will not be able to apply to the firm again? Or is there a certain period of time I will have to wait before re-applying?

Thank you very much.

Hi There - Thanks for your question. Unfortunately we are only able to take a maximum of 3 applications

 

[nepheli1]

Good morning!

For Rebecca and Rik: How much weight is given to open day attendance when it comes to later stages of the application?

For Grace and Hollie: Was there a moment in the process that made you feel like Reed Smith was the right fit, beyond what you could independently research about the firm?

 

[jchhl]

Hi Reed Smith!

I was interested in applying to the firm and am in the process of applying for the Open Day.

My question was what qualities does Reed Smith look for in an outstanding candidate? Also for the work experience would you prefer bullet points or prose paragraphs?

For the future trainees, what was the main draw of Reed Smith, and why did you choose the firm over other firms?

Best wishes,

Jas

 

[kitwilliam]

Hi! Two questions.
1) Rik, could you explain the firm's PSQE, or direct me to somewhere where I could read more about it? Thanks!
2) What typically distinguishes successful candidates? How do they stand out?
Thanks

 

[Othmanemouth]

Hello, thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions! I noticed Reed Smith has a very sector-focused approach, while also putting a lot of emphasis on AI and legal innovation. How do you see those two things working together as AI changes the way different industries and clients operate?

 

[alice333]

Good morning,

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! I am applying for the Firm's open day and have a couple of questions about the application.

For Rik and Rebecca:
1. For the second question on the Open Day Application (about what practice or industry groups you’re interested in), is it more important to show examples of curiosity (e.g. I researched xyz) or examples of personal links to/interest in the industry group?

For the trainees Grace and Hollie:
1. Did you/someone you know attend an open day at RS? What was your favourite part? What was the most useful takeaway?
2. It’s impressive to see the recent trainee retention was 92% - do you have any insight into why it was such a good year/what you guys/the firm did particularly well?

Thanks!

 

[Hollie - Reed Smith]

Hi everyone - I'm Hollie and I'm a future trainee solicitor at Reed Smith and a current PSQE Intern with the Early Careers team. Please ask me anything!

 

[RikPalmer-ReedSmith]

Hi Rebecca!

Thanks for being here. Just a quick question on open days - considering Reed Smith is rolling - would you say it is too late to apply to the firm's open day now? If not, could you please share what an ideal open day answer looks like - what should be the balance between sharing your background and expressing your intentions of what you want to get out of the open day?

Thanks!

Hi Mannat - Just jumping in for Becca here Yes, please do apply! Rolling just means we read them as they arrive. We won't allocate spaces until after the deadline so all applications will be considered equally. For tips on the application. We encourage you to make sure you read the question carefully and make sure you are definitely answering that, and not what you "think we want to hear".

 

[ReedSmithBecca]

Hello! I hope you are well. What separates the applications that progress to the next stage from those that don't? Are there common mistakes you see in the 'why Reed Smith' answer?

Hi Sara, thanks for your question! The most common mistake currently is generating the response solely using AI. These are typically very generic, don't provide much information about the candidate and draw on very niche or irrelevant examples of work we've done.
More broadly, they aren't tailored to the firm or the candidate. We're looking for a balance of what interests you, and why your background/skills/interests align with that. As an example, a weaker answer might say they are interested in Reed Smith because they studied a module in M&A and are particularly interested in this area. But most firms in the city do M&A - so why RS in particular? A stronger answer might mention specific work and why it's of interest, or a dimension to what we do that is more unique.
Finally, it sounds obvious, but spelling, grammar and structure are really important, so a common pitfall is also not paying attention to this.
Hope this helps!

 

[bhfbaring]

Hi, brief question.

RS only accepts one application per cycle - does this just apply to VS and TC, or does it include open days?

Thanks for your time.

 

[Sara Barrage]

I have one more question as well! For the recorded video interview, what do the strongest responses tend to have in common, and are there any common mistakes you see candidates make? Thank you!

 

[OliVaughan]

Hi there I'm Oli, I have a couple questions

For the future future trainees, was there anything you learnt from meeting people at Reed Smith or attending an open day that you wouldn’t have found through online research and that helped confirm the firm was the right fit for you?

When reviewing open day applications, what are you hoping to understand about a candidate that might differ from what you would look for at the vacation scheme application?

 

[sophielaw]

Good morning,

I am currently working on my Open Day application and was wondering whether we should focus on what the Open Day entails and what we will gain from it or why we want to learn more about the firm.

For future trainees, what advice would you give someone at the start of this application cycle to help make it successful?

Thank you for your time.

 

[aspex]

Hi everyone! I hope you’re doing well. I had a couple of questions for grad rec:

1. Is the online assessment (High Potential Legal Assessment) an Amberjack test?

2. Is the online assessment timed, and if untimed, is the time spent completing the assessment considered when deciding whether to progress applicants to the next stage?

3. Does the video interview only ask strength-based and motivational questions, or are competency, commercial and situational questions asked as well?

4. Do the strength-based questions in the video interview include competency questions?

Thank you for your time!