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London Vacation Scheme and
Training Contract Brochure
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Key Facts
700
Lawyers worldwide
46
London fee-earners
10
Offices worldwide
Areas of Practice Worldwide
• Corporate
• Finance Markets & Funds
• Insolvency & Restructuring
• Real Estate
• Tax
• Private Wealth
• Intellectual Property
• Litigation
• Private Credit
• Structured Finance & Securitization
• Employment
About Us
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Welcome from Chris Hitchins, Managing Partner, London
Katten is an innovative, entrepreneurial, ambitious and growing US law firm that has made
huge strides in recent years. Today, we are the full-service, business-oriented law f irm our
founders envisioned, with around 700 lawyers providing sophisticated, high-value legal
services across the United States, the UK and China.
We have evolved, but our vision remains the same and we are proud to have retained the drive
and ambition of the early years. This is especially true of our London office, where we have
spent the last 10 years establishing the firm in the UK. We pride ourselves on our
responsiveness and commitment to outstanding client service, and offer expert, integrated
legal advice servicing both domestic and transatlantic clients operating in the UK, continental
Europe, the United States and Asia.
Our philosophy remains centred around the same principles that guided the firm’s founding: a
desire to be nimble, strategic, creative and client-centric. Most importantly, a desire to be
different. Indeed, we believe our culture is unique, especially compared to other US law firms.
We have the resources, support and management of a big established firm. However, we have
the mindset and flexibility of a specialist boutique firm.
Crucially, our people are driven, commercial professionals — but we are so much more than
that. We are a friendly, inclusive, approachable group who value the contributions of every
individual at Katten, and we look out for each other. We have embraced hybrid working with
our KattenFlex policy while retaining our regular socials and other in-office events to allow us
to mix regularly with each other. We have rolled out a wellbeing programme, which educates
us all on the different aspects of wellbeing — whether physical, financial or emotional. We have
trained 10 Mental Health First Aiders from across the office to ensure we know how to
recognise when our colleagues may need extra support. Put simply, Katten cares.
Our plan for the future is built on a simple premise: to make Katten a more competitive,
engaging and rewarding law firm for everyone — individually, collectively, professionally and
financially. Our trainees will become the great lawyers of the future, and will drive the firm
forward.
Chris Hitchins
Managing Partner, London
Welcome from Chris Hitchins
My top tips for candidates to any law firm, are to
research the firm’s website in advance, have a think
about what that firm’s goals are, what its client base
is, and the type of work it does for them, and make
sure that you sound convincing in the application,
interview or placement that it’s that law firm that you
want, by reference to what the firm says about itself.
Subsequently, if you are lucky enough to have a
choice of firms at offer stage, choose the one which
has the right working culture for you and aligns with
your values, and where you can see yourself thriving.
They are all quite different!
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Overview
Katten’s training contracts are offered to students who take part in our summer vacation
scheme, which next year will be taking place from 17 to 21 June 2024 inclusive. The scheme
aims to give students first-hand experience of what it is like to train and work at Katten, so you
can better understand whether Katten is the right fit for you.
During the week you will sit primarily within one of our practice groups, sharing a room with
associates and senior associates gaining invaluable insights into the work they do. We always
encourage you to seek out opportunities within other practice areas too — our aim is to create
well-rounded lawyers with strong legal knowledge, so both the vacation scheme week and
training contract are designed with this flexibility in mind.
On the vacation scheme you can expect to get involved in drafting memos and research, a
mixture of individual and group tasks (both legal and nonlegal) and attend various skills
sessions on presenting and business development to name a few. Social events including
album clubs, the London Legal Walk, small group lunches and networking evenings allow our
students to get to know our lawyers, from current trainees through to partners, on a more
personal level.
We welcome applications from all degree disciplines. The scheme is open to all graduates,
penultimate-year LLB students and final-year non-law undergraduates.
Application Process
In an effort to make our recruitment process as fair as possible we use blind recruitment,
which is the removal of all identifying information from CVs and cover letters. Further details,
including guidelines on how to blind your CV, can be found here
.
To apply, all candidates should submit the following to Frankie Arnold at
lon-trainingcontract@katten.co.uk
:
1. a copy of your cover letter;
2. both a blind and non-blind copy of your CV;
3. a completed copy of this form;
4. your right-to-work documentation.
Key Dates
Applications open
Applications close
Vacation scheme interviews
Vacation Scheme
Training Contract Offers
Summer Vacation Scheme
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Salary
While we can’t say for certain what our 2026 trainee salary will be, our current trainee
salaries are outlined below:
• First-year salary: £50,000
• Second-year salary: £55,000
• Discretionary year-end bonus
Upon qualification, our associates enter lockstep compensation until 5PQE. Our NQ salary
currently sits at £108,000 per annum.
All salaries are reviewed on an annual basis.
Benefits
At Katten, we are proud to offer our employees a complete compensation package — not just
a paycheck. This package includes:
• PGDL/SQE course and assessment fees paid
• PGDL/SQE maintenance grant: £15,000 each
• Private medical insurance
• Private GP
• Eyecare
• Life insurance
• Income protection
• Cycle scheme
• Pension scheme
• Gym allowance
• Wellbeing stipend
Initiatives
At Katten, we recognise that our ability to maintain our inclusive culture requires attracting top
professionals that touch all aspects of diversity. Our commitment is anchored in our investment
to deliver innovative and collaborative solutions for our clients. This includes driving change
and supporting our lawyers and business professionals through various initiatives and affinity
groups, including:
• Women’s Leadership Forum
• London LGBTQIA+
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee
• London ESG Working Group
Renumeration, Benefits and Initiatives
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Key Contacts
Frankie Arnold
HR Assistant
+44 (0) 20 7770 5253
frankie.arnold@katten.co.uk
Leading Individuals,
Charlotte Sallabank
Legal 500, 2023
Ranked Tier 1 for
Corporate M&A
Legal 500, 2023
Transatlantic Firm of The Year
The British Legal Awards, 2022
Firm to Watch for
Insolvency & Restructuring
Legal 500, 2023
Longlisted for
The Legal Cheek Awards
The Legal Cheek, 2024
Recognition and Awards
Recognition and Awards
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US Offices
Charlotte
550 South Tryon Street
Suite 2900
Charlotte, NC 28202-4213
Chicago
525 West Monroe Street
Chicago, IL 60661-3693
Dallas
2121 North Pearl Street
Suite 1100
Dallas, TX 75201-2591
Los Angeles – Century City
2029 Century Park East
Suite 2600
Los Angeles, CA 90067-3012
Los Angeles – Downtown
515 South Flower Street
Suite 4150
Los Angeles, CA 90071-2212
New York
50 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020-1605
Orange County
100 Spectrum Center Drive
Suite 1050
Irvine, CA 92618-4960
Washington, DC
1919 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20006-3404
International Offices
London
Paternoster House
65 St Paul's Churchyard
London, EC4M 8AB
United Kingdom
Shanghai
Suite 4906 Wheelock Square
1717 Nanjing Road West
Shanghai, 200040
P.R. China
© 2023 Katten Muchin Rosenman UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Katten refers to Katten Muchin Rosenman UK LLP and the affiliated partnership as explained at katten.com/disclaimer.
Attorney advertising. Published as a source of information only. The material contained herein is not to be construed as legal
advice or opinion.
Katten Muchin Rosenman UK LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership of solicitors and registered foreign lawyers registered in
England & Wales, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, whose registered office is at Paternoster
House, 65 St Paul’s Churchyard, London E4CM 8AB, Registered No. OC312814.
A list of the members of Katten Muchin Rosenman UK LLP is available for inspection at the registered office. We use the word
"partner" to refer to a member of the LLP.
Katten Muchin Rosenman UK LLP of England & Wales is associated with Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, a US Limited Liability
Partnership with offices in:
CENTURY CITY | CHARLOTTE | CHICAGO | DALLAS | LOS ANGELES | NEW YORK | ORANGE COUNTY | SHANGHAI | WASHINGTON, DC
Recognition and Awards
Offices