NQ Salary
~£150,000
TC Salary
£60,000 / £65,000 (year 1 / year 2, from Sept 2026)
Annual Intake
c.25–30 per year
Seats
4 seats
This profile is compiled from publicly available sources and may not reflect the latest changes. Always check Macfarlanes's official careers page for current deadlines, application processes, and programme details.
Macfarlanes runs almost entirely from a single London office, with a small Brussels base, and concentrates on private capital, private wealth, M&A and disputes. It holds Chambers UK Band 1 rankings for private equity buyouts, investment funds and tax, and is best known for mid-market private equity work. Its tax practice, which the directories call 'unique in the London market' for its strength and depth, has kept expanding while carrying Band 1 rankings from both Chambers and Legal 500.
Culture & Values
The intake is small and the training is hands-on: trainees rotate through four six-month seats in small teams that leave a newcomer nowhere to hide. The firm kept 24 of its 28 qualifying trainees in 2025, and about half of each intake has already done a vacation scheme before starting. Trainees are in the office at least four days a week, with Fridays usually remote.
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Method
“Provider: Cappfinity. Two-stage online assessment. Stage 1: scenario-based SJT and critical reasoning tasks across practice areas (Corporate/M&A, Banking/Finance, Private Client, Litigation). Stage 2: immersive job simulation — join a fictional project team and respond to realistic trainee scenarios. Both stages assessed application-blind.”
Tests
For first-year LLB students at Brunel University London who are from underrepresented backgrounds. Three-year programme delivered in partnership with Brunel Law School.
Applications typically open in early calendar year
Widening access to law programme for students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Applications open annually
Independent Resource
Folio is an independent student project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Macfarlanes. 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. Last verified: 2026-07-21. Always check the firm's official graduate recruitment page for confirmed details.
Generated by Folio · folioapp.co.uk · 22 July 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.