NQ Salary
~£120,000 London · £76,500 Bristol · £68,000 Manchester, Sheffield and Scotland
TC Salary
~£50,000 / £55,000 London · £43,000 / £45,000 Bristol · £33,000 / £35,000 Manchester, Sheffield and Scotland (year 1 / year 2)
Annual Intake
c.95 per year (UK-wide; second-largest UK intake)
Seats
4 seats
This profile is compiled from publicly available sources and may not reflect the latest changes. Always check CMS's official careers page for current deadlines, application processes, and programme details.
CMS works from nine UK offices, in Aberdeen, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Reading and Sheffield, with 406 partners and 1,068 solicitors in the UK. Chambers UK 2026 ranks the London practice Band 1 for M&A between £100 and £800 million, non-contentious construction, environment and climate change, IT and outsourcing, real estate above £10 million and real estate litigation, and Legal 500 puts it in the top tier for renewables, insurance and fintech.
Generated by Folio · folioapp.co.uk · 13 September 2026
Folio is independent and not affiliated with any firm listed. Salary and deadline information is approximate. Always verify with the firm's official graduate recruitment page.
The training contract
Around 20 London departments to sit in, with trainees ranking their top seven each rotation
Insight Programme
Closed · Reopens 2027
Work Experience
Closed for 2026 · CMS Connect, five days for Year 12 students in London or Sheffield
Training Contract (England, Wales & NI)
Opens 1 Oct 2026
Opens 1 October · Close date not published
Training Contract (Scotland)
Opens 24 Sept 2026
Opens 24 September · Close date not published
Solicitor Apprenticeships
Closed for 2026 · Opens 2027 · Six years, London and Sheffield
Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeships
On hold for next year
Business Services Apprenticeships
Applications open on an ad hoc basis
BD & Marketing Graduate Programme
Closed · Register interest for future programmes
Assessment processes change annually. Always check the firm's website for current details.
Deals and announcements in the firm's own words. Naming a recent matter is the fastest way to show you have paid attention.
CMS newsroomUnlock the full interview pack for CMS
Practice questions built around CMS's actual assessment stages, with “Why this firm?” evidence traced to verified facts.
Sign up free →Insight Programme / Training Contract
Method
“Stages on the firm's page: online application form, a critical thinking test of analytical reasoning and logic with a practice test provided, a 15-minute pre-recorded video interview, then an assessment day. The firm names no test vendor.”
Tests
CMS provides its own interview preparation platform. Use it to understand what they're looking for.
For Year 12 students (Year 13 in Northern Ireland) at state-funded schools whose parents and grandparents did not attend university and who are applying to university through the 2026/27 UCAS cycle, plus at least one of: free school meals eligibility between 11 and 16, a school with 20% or more pupils on free school meals, care experience, or a home in a POLAR4 quintile 1 area. Financial support through the degree, mentoring, a trainee buddy and paid first-year work experience (£450).
Applications for 2026 are closed.
For Year 12 students in England and Wales at state-funded schools since age 11 who meet at least one further criterion (first in the family at university, free school meals, local authority care, a caring role, refugee status, or a school with low progression to university), within commuting distance of the London, Bristol or Sheffield office. A paid week of skills sessions and shadowing, then mentoring, application advice and events, with springboard support for the Insight Programme and solicitor apprenticeship.
Applications for 2026 closed 16 June 2026. The week runs in early August in London, Bristol and Sheffield.
Independent Resource
Folio is an independent student project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to CMS. All information is compiled from publicly available sources and may not reflect the most current data. Salary and deadline figures are approximate, based on prior recruitment cycles. Always check the firm's official graduate recruitment page for confirmed details.