NQ Salary
£175,000
TC Salary
£60,000 / £65,000 (year 1 / year 2)
Annual Intake
c.19 per year (London), August intake
Seats
6 seats
This profile is compiled from publicly available sources and may not reflect the latest changes. Always check the firm's official careers page for current deadlines, application processes, and programme details.
Sidley Austin's London office has 65 partners and 136 associates, and the firm has 21 offices elsewhere. Chambers UK 2027 ranks it Band 2 for big-ticket leveraged finance for sponsors, life sciences regulatory work, debt capital markets and financial services regulation, and Band 3 for data protection, infrastructure and non-contentious insurance.
The training contract
Generated by Folio · folioapp.co.uk · 22 October 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.
One of the six seats is spent in the AI Knowledge Lab
Winter Vacation Scheme 2026
1 Sept 2026 – 25 Sept 2026
Opens 1 September · Closes 25 September · Rolling
Spring Vacation Scheme 2027
28 Sept 2026 – 8 Jan 2027
Opens 28 September · Closes 8 January · Rolling
Summer Vacation Scheme 2027
28 Sept 2026 – 8 Jan 2027
Opens 28 September · Closes 8 January · Rolling
Training Contract (via vacation scheme only)
28 Sept 2026 – 8 Jan 2027
Recruited exclusively through the vacation schemes · No direct training contract application
Sidley Insight Day
11 Jan 2027 – 5 Feb 2027
Opens 11 January · Closes 5 February · Event 4 March 2027, for first-years
Undergraduate Bursary Programme
5 Apr 2027 – 21 May 2027
Opens 5 April · Closes 21 May
Assessment processes change annually. Always check the firm's website for current details.
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Sign up free →Vacation Scheme
Method
After an eligibility check on the application form, a selection of eligible applicants is invited to a situational judgement test of scenario-based, numerical and verbal questions, then straight into a video interview of four questions on commercial awareness and the firm, with two minutes to prepare and two to answer each. Then a one-to-one interview in London with two senior managing associates or partners. The firm names no vendor.
Tests
For students at UK state schools or sixth form colleges with a household income of no more than £30,000, first in the immediate family to attend university, predicted AAA at A level, holding an offer to read law at a UK university from 2027, and either a full-time carer or eligible for free school meals (or at a school where 20% of pupils are). A £3,500 bursary paid in three instalments across the first year, renewable for later years on a 2.1, with a trainee mentor and a week of work experience.
Applications open 5 April 2027 and close 21 May 2027.
A summer week at the London office, open nationally to Year 12 students who meet the PRIME criteria: meeting lawyers and support staff, career development workshops and hands-on project work, with a further week run with the Social Mobility Business Partnership.
PRIME's listing has not been updated since the 2022 programme, which ran 18 to 22 July 2022. Check with the firm for the current dates.
Independent Resource
Folio is an independent student project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Sidley Austin. 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.