Training Contracts

Firm description and career prospects:-

Glovers are a firm of solicitors with a history that spans 85 years and a proud reputation of being one of the leading property specialist law firms in the country.

We are based in the heart of Covent Garden, in Central London, with an enviable and distinguished client base across our key practice areas: commercial property, property finance, dispute resolution and construction. Our clients include national restaurant brands, fashionable retail concepts and leading domestic and international financial institutions and banks.

We know our clients want a fast, efficient and personal service which is both commercially aware and cost effective. We have a wealth of experience in our key practice areas, which combined with a commercial approach, keeps our clients ahead of the curve.

Every Glovers' trainee is welcomed into a friendly and supportive environment. They receive first-rate individual training. At any one time, we have three trainee solicitors and we alternate by recruiting one or two trainees in the summer for the September intake the following year.

We look for candidates who not only have strong academic abilities but excellent communication skills, commercial awareness, initiative and common sense. Candidates must also be able to work as part of a team and have a focused dedication to servicing clients' business needs. We are seeking candidates with a positive desire to work in a niche firm of this size and type. While every member of the firm is expected to work hard, we have a 'work to live' culture. We encourage our trainees to stay on with us when their training contract finishes, if we have a suitable vacancy in a department which interests them.

Training Contract programme:-

Each trainee spends at least six months in each of our departments.

As a trainee in the Commercial Property department you receive hands on experience in dealing with our restaurant clients, which ranges from established brands to new chefs setting up their first restaurants following successful pop-up stints, as well as our property development and investment clients.

In the Property Finance department, trainees are entrusted with responsibility from an early stage and are able to see through transactions from start to finish. This involves liaising with clients (the banks) and borrower’s solicitors, reviewing loan agreements and investigating title.

Within the Litigation team, trainees are exposed to a wide range of contentious property and construction matters. You will regularly attend court and meetings, assist with drafting applications and develop your knowledge base through research for partners.

Particular importance is placed on continuing legal education which includes regular internal lunchtime seminars. These cover a variety of topics of use to a solicitor, not all of them on strictly legal topics.

We involve our trainees in all aspects of the work in each department and they deal directly with clients. Trainees also take part in all aspects of the development and marketing of the practice too, including the organisation of and participation in client functions.

From day one, our trainees are encouraged to take responsibility for their own work and manage their own files, with supportive supervision. They are given regular appraisals where they have the opportunity formally to discuss any concerns and take constructive feedback to the next step of their training. However, we work in an open plan environment and trainees are encouraged to discuss any concerns as they arise.

Furthermore, trainees are provided with a trainee supervisor on joining the firm who is there to assist with any problems that may arise, provide advice and ensure that trainees are progressing and developing within the firm.

Applying for a Training Contract at Glovers:-

Our trainee solicitors must have completed a law degree or the CPE/GDL and the Legal Practice Course. Due to the volume of applications received, applicants with at least ABB minimum at A level and at least a 2.1 degree are more likely to be selected for interview. We welcome applications from undergraduates and graduates from all academic disciplines.

We are not currently recruiting for trainee solicitors.


What our Trainees say:-

“The best thing about being a trainee at Glovers is the high level of responsibility you are given to run files from start to finish with close supervision. This experience and the friendly environment overall really helps build up your confidence as a lawyer and it also allows you to get to know clients quite well too.” Cherry – 2nd year Trainee

“The best thing about working at Glovers is how friendly and approachable everybody is coupled with the high levels of responsibility you are given. You are able to run files from start to finish but support and supervision is always there.” Charlotte – 1st year Trainee

“The best thing about Glovers is the friendliness of the office. Working as part of a smaller team means that I am always comfortable asking for help, be it from another trainee, associate or a partner!” Shalini – 1st year Trainee


A day in the life of a Trainee at Glovers

Elizabeth Cook

1st Year Trainee

Department: Commercial Property

9.20am: I arrive at the office, fuel up on Tea and begin checking overnight emails and looking at my diary. I note today is a deadline to pay SDLT for one of our completed matters and I urgently check that this has been paid and the return submitted. I continue by mapping out the rest of my day by prioritising my tasks whilst also catching up with colleagues.

10.00am: I review some minor comments received from the Council in regards to a Deed of Variation sent out earlier in the week. I note there are no unusual provisions and forward my comments to my supervisor so we can advise the client in good time.

11.00am: I have been asked to check a set of Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE) for a Leasehold property. These are a comprehensive set of enquiries that the Tenant raises to better understand the Property they are wanting to acquire. As a trainee solicitor we are often asked to mark up any sections that require clarification from the Landlord’s Solicitors and any further enquiries we may have. Once I have worked through these I report back to my supervising partner.

12.00am: As a Trainee I have been given the opportunity to run my own plot sales files under supervision for our developer clients. One of which is completing tomorrow. I prepare our invoices, accounts forms and ensure we have all the necessary undertakings and documents to make sure completion occurs smoothly. For the same development we have received further enquiries regarding the legal pack. I review these and highlight any matters that will require our client’s input. It is important to reply to enquiries as soon as possible.

1.00pm: Today we have a legal updates seminar at Lunch in which two of our colleagues will summarise all the important legal changes that have occurred within the past couple of months.

2.00pm: I have been asked by one of the Associate Solicitors to create a lease report for one of their matters. This involves me providing a comprehensive summary of the terms of the lease our client is entering into such as relevant turnover provisions.

3.30pm: We have been asked to prepare a Licence to Store for one of our clients. I set about locating all the relevant documentation relating to the premises. I find a precedent Licence that is appropriate and begin making the necessary amendments to cover our client’s request. I also have open PLC to assist in my drafting. I then send this Licence to my supervisor highlighting my amendments.

4.30pm: I have received research task from one of the Partners to create a note summarising the recent changes regarding Practice Guide 78 and the need for Overseas Entities to register at Companies House.

5.30pm: Before I finish for the day I ensure my to-do list is up to date before I go to meet some friends for drinks in Covent Garden.


Grace Parr

1st Year Trainee

Department: Property Finance

9.15am: I arrive at the office and begin the day by making a coffee and reviewing any emails that have come in overnight.

9.45am: I assess my to-do list to make sure that any urgent work gets looked at as a matter of priority. My first task for the day is to deal with the original security documents on a loan that has completed. I date up the documents and arrange for them to be scanned in so that they can be passed to the post completion team for registration at Companies House and the Land Registry.

10.15am: I have been working on a residential loan file that has been dormant for a few months but has recently picked back up again and is now looking to complete within the next few weeks. I review the file to check what is still outstanding from the borrower’s solicitor and prepare an email and completion undertaking to be checked by a partner. Once these are approved I get them sent out to the borrower’s solicitor.

11.00pm: I receive a response from a client in respect of a review of a s.38 agreement that I had carried out on their behalf to confirm that everything is in order and they are happy to provide their consent to the agreement. I email the borrower’s solicitor to confirm this and also prepare an invoice for our fees.

11.30pm: One of our clients is refinancing one of its large residential developments and we have been provided with draft security documents and corporate authorisations from the incoming lender’s solicitors. I review the documents and respond with a number of comments and amendments.

12.30pm: I receive a phone call from a client to provide me with an update on a development loan file that has been ongoing for a little while. The client advises that they would like to complete tomorrow and ask that we confirm whether any points are still outstanding. I prepare an email to the borrower’s solicitor to advise them of the completion date and also to advise of all outstanding points

13.15pm: I head out for lunch with the other trainees and grab something to eat in the break out room. We all have a chat about what plans everyone has for the upcoming weekend.

2.00pm: We have received papers in on a new loan file and I review the documents to spot if there are any issues that need raising at this early stage of the transaction. I prepare my enquiry table as I am going along to make sure that nothing is missed and send this off to the supervising partner.

5.00pm: I receive a call from the supervising partner to discuss the papers and we go through the points that I have raised together as well as flagging up a few other things that need to be dealt with. I send the enquiry table out to the borrower’s solicitor.

5.30pm: It’s about time to call it a day as I’m meeting up with some friends for a drink after work.


Charlotte Clack

Trainee from September 2018 to August 2020

Department: Property Finance

9.00: I arrive at the office and sit down at my desk with a cup of tea and begin by checking my emails. I note that an email has come in overnight from a borrower’s solicitor asking for the bank’s consent on a proposed letting of a high street shop. There is a tight timescale as the landlord borrower and tenant want to complete the lease quickly so I forward the email straight to the bank to ask how they would like to proceed. I continue checking my emails and prioritise my to-do list for the day.

10.00: I am working on a development loan matter which is coming up to completion. There are a couple of outstanding points that need to be addressed before the bank will release any funds to the borrower. I review the file and email the Borrower’s solicitor to follow up on these points and also email the bank to provide an update on the outstanding matters.

11.00: The bank have responded to my email from this morning and have asked me to review the lease and provide a summary before they provide their consent. I confirm our instructions and request copies of the required documents from the borrower’s solicitor which include a lease, a licence for alterations and a draft consent for the bank to sign. I make a note on my to-do list as this will need to be prioritised as soon as I have received the documents.

11.30: I have been given a new file to work on. There is always a lot to do at the outset of a transaction and I need to review a number of documents in relation to the property and the proposed new development, prepare security documents and prepare a table of enquiries. I start by drafting the security documents and aim to get these sent to my supervisor by lunch time.

13.15: I have finished drafting the security documents so I put aside the file and pick up some lunch. I eat lunch with the other trainees and paralegals before returning to my desk as I need to telephone the Land Registry to check a couple of enquiries on a large property portfolio application that I have recently submitted following completion. I am not sure how it is already over half way through the day!

14.00: I make a cup of tea and continue reviewing papers on the new file. I realise there are a couple of documents that I need to review that we have not been sent so I ring the client to ask if they have already received these. I begin to prepare the table of enquiries, highlight the keys issues, and put an appointment in my supervisor’s calendar for tomorrow to discuss the file.

16.30: I respond to a couple of emails that have come in throughout the afternoon. I have been asked to research an SDLT query for one of our clients so I draft my findings in a brief email and discuss with one of the partners.

17.30: We are taking a number of clients to the Crystal Maze this evening. The department puts on a number of client events throughout the year and trainees are encouraged to attend. I quickly review my to-do list before leaving the office whilst planning whether my strengths are more suited to the mystery, physical, skill or mental challenges at the Crystal Maze…