NQ Salary
£177,000 + discretionary bonus
TC Salary
£58,000 / £63,000 (year 1 / year 2)
Annual Intake
c.20 per year (London), September intake
Seats
4 seats
This profile is compiled from publicly available sources and may not reflect the latest changes. Always check Skadden's official careers page for current deadlines, application processes, and programme details.
Made legendary by the hostile takeover era of the 1980s, Skadden remains a global powerhouse for complex cross-border M&A and antitrust. Its London office is consistently top-ranked for UK public takeovers, major regulatory clearances and transformative corporate transactions.
Culture & Values
Skadden takes around 20 trainees a year in London into four six-month seats. There is no compulsory first seat: trainees rank fifteen seat options before joining and seats are allocated in pairs, so the first year is mapped out on arrival. Qualification choices are made in the final seat, with the trainee development team allocating jobs within about a month. The work is demanding and deal-focused, and trainees get exposure to high-profile cross-border transactions early.
Generated by Folio · folioapp.co.uk · 5 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.
Assessment processes change annually. Always check the firm's website for current details.
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Method
“Five stages, stated on the firm's own graduate page: application (opens 1 Sep, closes 1 Dec, not reviewed on a rolling basis), then an online psychometric and essential competencies assessment administered by Suited, measuring over 100 factors across personality, values and competencies, then an online written exercise, then a video interview with two lawyers, then the vacation scheme. Requires minimum 2:1 degree. Recruits exclusively via vacation schemes (~20 trainees/year, £500/week); there is no direct route. Full SQE fees + £20,000 maintenance grant.”
Tests
A unique trainee programme launched in 2020 in partnership with the Legal Education Foundation's Justice First Fellowship, for prospective trainees with a strong interest in social welfare law. Candidates are recruited through the LEF Justice First Fellowship pipeline. Contact graduate.recruitment.uk@skadden.com for details.
Check skadden.com/careers for current cycle details
Independent Resource
Folio is an independent student project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Skadden. 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.