Hill Dickinson LLP

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Hill Dickinson LLP

With training contracts available across six offices – Liverpool, Manchester, London, Leeds, Newcastle and Birmingham – Hill Dickinson has a national platform with a distinctly sector-led feel. For many recruits, the pull is the firm’s ‘strong presence and prestige in the North West’, its ‘specialist healthcare practice’, ‘marine sector work’, and its growing international ambitions. 

Trainees repeatedly praise the balance Hill Dickinson strikes between serious work and a supportive culture. The ‘high quality of work’ is admired, with recruits saying they are ‘given a lot of responsibility’ and ‘associate-level work rather than just admin’. Highlights include ‘attending a final hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice’, ‘multiple experiences attending court on high-value and important matters’, ‘going on secondment’ and even ‘managing my own case’. One trainee described the best moment as seeing ‘the steep learning curve come full circle’ after helping complete a major corporate transaction and feeling like ‘a trusted part of the deal team’. 

There are still areas for Hill Dickinson to improve. Pay is the most consistent gripe, with calls for ‘a salary increase’, better perks and clearer ‘remuneration structures’ at NQ level. Seat allocation also attracts criticism, with trainees wanting ‘better transparency’ and noting ‘limited opportunity to do four distinct seats’. Challenges include ‘juggling work responsibilities and SQE study’, ‘learning to manage workload’ and the occasional late night.  

The culture scores highly. Respondents describe ‘genuine good and nice people to work with’, ‘a really inclusive culture’ and ‘no sense of hierarchy with senior members of staff’. Partners are said to ‘value your input’, while the wider atmosphere is ‘friendly and welcoming’; as one trainee put it, they have ‘never met anyone who isn’t a sound person’. The firm’s ‘culture and breadth of work’ make the training experience feel rounded. 

To train at an ambitious, specialist firm where trainees are trusted, noticed and properly supported, consider Hill Dickinson. 

About the firm

The firm: Hill Dickinson LLP is a leading international commercial law firm employing over 1,000 people, including more than 200 partners and legal directors. The firm operates across the UK, Europe and South East Asia, in Birmingham, Hong Kong, Leeds, Limassol, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Monaco, Newcastle, Piraeus and Singapore.

The deals: The banking team advised a syndicate of five UK lenders (HSBC, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, Santander and Barclays) on Bruntwood SciTech £480m loan deal, including a green loan and a sustainability linked loan; the corporate, banking and employment and education teams advised property developer Downing on £344m sale of student accommodation schemes to Blackstone; the corporate team advised PE firm NorthEdge on multimillion-pound investment into Antibody Analytics; the shipping team successfully representing clients in a claim for constructive total loss of the vessel ‘WIN WIN’; the commercial health and real estate teams advised London International Patient Services on state-of-the-art medical facility at Battersea Power Station; the health real estate and construction teams advised NHS trust on conversion of former Stoke-on-Trent supermarket site to £42.6m Community Diagnostic Centre.

CEO: Craig Scott

Chair: Jonathan Brown

Other offices: Birmingham, Hong Kong, Leeds, Limassol, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Monaco, Newcastle, Piraeus and Singapore.

Who we are: We deliver advice and strategic guidance spanning the full legal spectrum, broadly organised into three main client groups: business services, health and marine. We advise businesses, organisations and individuals across the globe and from a wide range of market sectors, including specialisms in health and marine, on non-contentious advisory and transactional work, through to all forms of commercial litigation and arbitration.

What we do: We are a longstanding provider of legal services to the health sector and home to one of the legal world’s largest and most respected maritime and shipping practices.

We advise clients on bringing a product to market, raising capital, leasing premises, drawing up employment contracts, protecting assets, incorporating and merging businesses. We also support clients during commercial disputes and contentious matters.

Our clients include multinational companies, major corporations, the NHS, UK plcs, UK and foreign banks, financial institutions, public sector bodies, investors, educational establishments, institutions, private individuals and professional bodies.

What we’re looking for in a trainee: At Hill Dickinson, we’re not looking for a ‘typical’ candidate. If you’re passionate about law, driven to learn and eager to build a lasting career with us, we want to hear from you!

If you’re looking to start your legal career at Hill Dickinson, you’ll need to show strong communication skills, the capacity to manage multiple projects, and a passion for analysing information to create innovative client solutions. We’re seeking commercially minded individuals who thrive on building trusted relationships.

As a leading commercial law firm, we count on our people to be in tune with our clients’ needs and to understand exactly how to deliver on them.

A note on equality, diversity and inclusion: We value a diverse workforce and are committed to recruiting the best talent from across all backgrounds. Our Early Careers team carefully review every application before any decisions.

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are at the heart of our values and firmwide culture. That’s why we ensure every step of the recruitment process is unbiased, with decisions based purely on merit.

We also know that achievements don’t always look the same on paper, so instead of setting minimum academic requirements, we proudly use a contextual recruitment system to consider your accomplishments within the bigger picture in which they were achieved. That way, your talents and potential remain at the center of the selection process.

We’re proud to partner with Aspiring Solicitors, the 10,000 Interns Foundation and Bright Network. These organisations share our commitment to advancing EDI and nurturing exceptional talent from all backgrounds.

What you’ll do: We believe that aligning your legal career to a sector you’re truly passionate about is the key to becoming a great lawyer. Our unique training contracts give you the flexibility to shape your own experience and gain invaluable, first-hand experience in one of our three business groups: business services, health or marine.

Our training contracts offer you the opportunity to do four six-month seats over the course of the two years, with opportunities based in Liverpool, Manchester, London, Leeds, Newcastle and Birmingham.

During each six-month seat, you’ll have two reviews with our dedicated trainee committee, who will monitor your progress, offer advice and help you grow.

Beyond your legal training in each seat, we’ve designed a specialist trainee development programme to boost your business skills and personal and professional growth. These bi-monthly sessions give you the foundation you need to build your career, connect you with your fellow trainees and take a holistic, person-centred approach to your training.

Our trainee community is encouraging and always on hand to share advice and guidance.

Perks: We offer a wide range of benefits to support your personal and professional life – which we always review to make sure they suit our people – including a well-deserved birthday off! Head to our benefits page for more details on our competitive perks.

Trainees in our northern offices start on £30,000, and £43,000 in London, both increasing in the second year of the training contract.

As you finish your contract, take some time to recharge with our qualification leave policy to help you prepare for your new career as a qualified solicitor in your chosen practice area.

Sponsorship

We’ll cover the cost of your Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) programme and exam fees, so you can focus on your studies.

If you’re offered a training contract and haven’t started the LPC, you’ll follow our graduate solicitor apprenticeship route.

If you’re already studying for the SQE, we can discuss how to integrate your studies with our programme.

If you’ve completed or are currently studying for the LPC, you can still apply and follow the traditional LPC and PSC route.

Seat options

Liverpool – business services, health.

Manchester – business services, health.

London – business services, health, marine.

Leeds – business services, health.

Birmingham – business services.

Newcastle – health.

Seat options for each route: business services – banking; commercial dispute resolution; commercial, TMT and IP; construction; corporate; education and ecclesiastical; employment; family; pensions; private client; real estate; real estate finance; real estate litigation; regulatory.

Health – employment NHS; health litigation; health real estate; healthcare and public law; healthcare commercial; primary care.

Marine – cargo and logistics; commodities; PI and regulatory; shipping; yachts.

Tips from the recruiter

1. Do your homework – a successful application is all about being the right fit, on both sides. What are you looking for in a potential employer? Set some criteria and research how we do things at Hill Dickinson.
2. Be sure Hill Dickinson is the right firm for you – we want applicants to really get to know us first before they decide to apply. Events are a great opportunity to do this.
3. Make your first impression a good one – take your time on all questions make sure your make full use of the word count. Take some time away from your application and reread before you submit. Or ask a friend to check over it for you.

Diversity and inclusion