Graduate Recruitment

Why Forbes?

Forbes offers the best of both worlds. If you are looking for a "city" practice without the everyday hassles of travelling to and working in the "big city", then Forbes could be for you. One of the largest practices in the North, we have 60 partners, 11 offices, 380 staff and a reputation for being progressive and forward-looking.

The firm has a broad based practice dealing with both commercial and private client work and can, therefore, provide a varied and exciting training contract. We are, however, especially noted for excellence in our business law; civil litigation; insurance; crime; family and employment departments. We have a number of Higher Court advocates and the firm holds many Legal Aid Agency contracts.

At Forbes, people are an integral part of our culture and business, One Team is one for the firm's stand out values and your success is our success.

Our aim is to keep things as straightforward as possible whilst ensuring the needs of our clients are put first.

  • Client Contact

  • Approachability

  • Job Satisfaction

  • Quality of Work

  • Confident of being kept on

  • Living up to expectations

  • Work/Life balance

The firm supports, and encourages agile working for a great work-life balance. With a focus on learning and development, we are proud to have consistently high trainee solicitor retention rates.

Training Contacts for Period of Recognised Training or Qualifying Work Experience

The traditional route for qualification. If you have completed your LPC or have already completed your SQE 1 and 2 exams, this is the route for you!

A Period of Recognised Training will consist of four, six month training seats. From the beginning of your training, you will be given hands on client work to deal with. As you become embedded into the team your responsibilities will grow along with your learning and development and there will be opportunities to be involved in more complex cases. All of which is helping you in your journey to qualification. Trainees will be supported throughout with one to ones with experienced solicitors, mentors and dedicated Training Partners.

Our applications are now closed.

 

Insight into a Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship

My name is Rebecca, and I am a third year trainee at Forbes. I am currently undertaking a seat in the Defendant Insurance department, within the Social Services sub team. I am on the Graduate Apprenticeship Programme, and this means that my route to qualification is slightly different to the traditional trainee solicitor. Prior to commencing this course, I graduated with a degree in law whilst working as a part-time paralegal at Forbes in the Housing Litigation department.

The Solicitors Qualifying Exam (‘SQE’) is the modern route to solicitor qualification and focuses on sitting two centralised exams.  At Forbes, they offer the Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship which follows the SQE route to qualification and combines work experience and university studies in a 3-year programme. At the end of the programme, I will have completed the following elements:

Professional Masters in the Legal Practice Course and Qualifying Work Experience 

For the qualifying work experience, I undertake various seats within the firm identical to the traditional training contract. Alongside working in practice, I study the Legal Practice Course (‘the LPC’) at university and as I am enrolled on a part-time course, it is one day a week which is known to my colleagues as my study leave day. The breakdown of your week is 80% on the job and 20% study. I have completed the first semester of the LPC and my university day consisted of on campus lecturers, seminars and workshops.

 

An average study day in the life is as follows:

9am-11am – Lecture in Civil / Criminal Litigation

11am-1pm – Seminar 1 in Civil / Criminal Litigation

2pm- 4pm – Seminar 2 in Civil / Criminal Litigation

4pm-6pm – Workshop in Wills and Probate

I am currently the only SQE graduate from Forbes on this year’s cohort at university, however, there are other SQE graduates on the course from other law firms that you can make friends with and spend your university days with whilst on campus. Connecting with other SQE graduates has allowed me an insight into other law firms and practice areas.

Apprenticeship Portfolio

Alongside the above, there is an apprenticeship portfolio that is to be complete before you can sit the SQE 2 exam. The portfolio focuses on evidencing your experience in line with the requirements of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

SQE Exams (SQE 1 and SQE 2)

Year 3 of the programme focuses on the SQE centralised exams and after completion of the LPC, we begin revision for the SQE 1. The SQE 1 tests functioning legal knowledge and recaps over the modules studied in a law degree through multiple choice questions. The SQE 2 tests an individual’s skills and practice areas through various exercise stations.

Upon successful completion of all elements of the programme, you can admit yourself to the SRA to be admitted as a Solicitor of England and Wales.

Any Advice?

My advice for those starting the Graduate Solicitor programme is to ensure that you are organised with both your workload in practice and your academic studies. It is essential that you are organised as there is a lot of elements running side by side and it is important that you meet both work and academic deadlines. As the university day is a full day spent on campus, there is additional study to complete outside of the allocated study day. There is homework as well as lecture and seminar preparation for the week ahead. Further, for each module there are assignment deadlines and exam revision. Therefore, it is key to remain organised and likewise, it is a good skill to perfect in the legal profession.

As I come to the end of my first year, I have found that I have developed in many aspects since becoming a trainee at Forbes. The programme has allowed me to meet lots of people across the firm, network with people from other firms on the course and engage with a variety of clients.  Personally, I have grown in confidence, and I am able to reflect this in all aspects of my life. Academically, I have developed a lot and feel that I have learnt and demonstrated growth every day since becoming a trainee. At present, I am really looking forward to continuing with year 2 of the programme.

Graduate Recruitment Process (Save the Dates!)

Online Application  (Closing Date: 28th May 2026)
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Whether you are applying for a traditional training contract or a Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship, your journey starts with an online application.

Applications for our Graduate Recruitment process open every year, at the beginning of January and close on the 28th May.

First Stage - Shortlisting and Video Presentation (2nd June 2026)
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After the closing date, all applications are reviewed against our selection criteria. Applicants who meet our selection criteria will be invited to submit a short video presentation, the topic of which will be provided in advance.  You will be contacted following the closing date and will be required to submit your video by the 2nd June 2026.

What do we look for in applications?

  • Qualifications (Law Degree, GDL) at 2:1 and above;

  • Completion of the LPC or SQE 1, or working towards;

  • Dedication to Law (work experience, attendance at courts, pro-bono, legal clinics, work placements etc.);

  • Knowledge of the Firm (Our Values, who we are, etc.);

  • Local Connections (Northwest, Manchester, Leeds);

  • IT Knowledge/Experience (Microsoft Office and other IT systems);

  • Evidence of Teamwork and Collaboration;

  • Evidence of Organisation Skills and Time Management;

  • Attention to Detail (Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation);

  • Commercial Awareness;

  • Response to application questions (Understanding of what has been asked, research skills, problem solving, critical thinking etc);

Second Stage - Assessment Day (18th June 2026) 
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Should your video presentation prove successful, you will be invited to attend an assessment date on Thursday 18th June 2026 with other successful candidates and the Graduate Recruitment team.  On the assessment day you will be required to undertake a number of exercises both individually and within a team and you will be assessed on a number of criteria throughout the day.  

Third Stage - Final Interview and Presentation (2nd July 2026)
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Candidates that are successful after the assessment day, will be invited to a final stage panel interview where a presentation will be required. The topic of the presentation will be provided in advance.  The interviews will be scheduled to take place on the 2nd July 2026.

A day in the life of a Trainee Solicitor

My name is Beth and I am a second year trainee at Forbes Solicitors LLP. I am currently undertaking my third seat in the Governance, Procurement, and Information (GPI) department at Forbes, having spent my first seat in the Crime team, and my second within the Family department.

The GPI team at Forbes provide advice to a wide range of clients across the public, private, and third sectors to ensure they operate effectively and properly. The three main elements of the team’s expertise commonly overlap, so I knew that I would be undertaking a wide range of work involving various areas of law throughout my seat in the department.

From the beginning of my GPI seat I was extremely busy with finding my way around a new office at Gordon House, seeing a number of new faces within the various teams that are based here, and learning about the department and the way it works on a day-to-day basis. From my first day within the team, I was afforded the responsibility of undertaking legal research to assist a client in relation to a Data Protection query, so I knew the rest of my time here would involve me having a hands-on approach within the department.

Take a look below at a typical day in my life working from the office within the GPI team:

 

Pre-work: I usually begin the morning by taking a trip to my local gym and working out for around an hour. I then head to the office at Gordon House and upon my arrival, I make my first coffee of the day!

Morning: I log onto our system at Forbes, read and respond to emails, check my diary, and make a list of what I need to do for the day. Our team has a 10:00am meeting every morning to discuss what work we have to complete that day. Within the meeting, we collaborate with each other regarding our work and ensure that everyone is provided with the relevant assistance and/or supervision, where necessary. Following on from our meeting, I will undertake any tasks that are required of me that day which can sometimes consist of joining forces with other departments such as the Housing and Regeneration Team to work in partnership and provide appropriate advice to our clients. This means that I am able to meet and chat with even more of my colleagues at Forbes which is fantastic!

Lunchtime: I usually bring my own lunch into the office and eat within our open seated canteen area. I regularly chat with other colleagues in the office within my lunch period about our day, how our week is going, and what we have been up to recently.

Afternoon: I continue with my work which varies on a daily basis. It can consist of undertaking legal research in relation to client specific queries ranging from governance, data protection, procurement, and charity law. I also draft documents such as terms and conditions, privacy notices, share purchase agreements plus many more, and I regularly prepare advice reports to send to our clients, providing them with legal advice in respect of their enquiry.

Evening: After I log off and head home, I try to make the most of my evening by heading out for a walk (weather dependent), watching, or playing football, and spending time with friends and family.

I’m glad to be able to say that the GPI team has fully supported me throughout my time here and I feel confident that I have settled into the department well. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many departments were forced to alter the way that they worked. Although the team offers hybrid working, meaning I work from home two days a week, this doesn’t result in me feeling any less supported by my colleagues. My team ensure that they communicate with me consistently throughout any days I am at home, whether this be through telephone calls, emails, or Microsoft Teams meetings.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my first two months of my third seat and consider myself lucky to work for an organisation who ensures there are appropriate structures in place to allow trainee solicitors to thrive throughout their training contracts. I look forward to continuing to work with the GPI department and further developing skills such as drafting, teamwork, and legal research. 

Nice to know....

We receive a significant number of applications annually for approximately three to six positions at Forbes Solicitors.

Once a training contract commences, each trainee will spend approximately six months in four departments from the following practice areas:

  1. Criminal Litigation

  2. Family (Public and Private)

  3. Contentious Trusts and Probate

  4. Insurer Litigation

  5. Non-contentious, essentially comprising Commercial or Residential Property, Wills, Trust & Probate and Contracts and Projects, Corporate and Restructuring

  6. Employment

  7. Dispute Resolution

  8. Housing (Litigation)

  9. Housing (Property)

During each seat, formal appraisals are conducted. During these appraisals, discussions take place regarding performance, learning and development and your Training Diary.

During the course of the training contract, each trainee has the opportunity to meet a mentor who is usually a newly qualified solicitor to help with any other issues that may arise.

Kella Bowers
Training Principal