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Dentons Trainee Solicitor Programme

Pays £54,000 a year.

NoTrainee Solicitor Programme

No. Dentons does not sponsor its trainee solicitor programme for international students who need a visa. Dentons publishes exact starting salaries by office but confirms it no longer accepts direct Trainee Solicitor Programme applications for London, Milton Keynes, Scotland or Dublin, recruiting those trainees exclusively from its Vacation Scheme, which cannot sponsor a visa. A separate Middle East Trainee Solicitor Programme remains open to direct applications, but requires existing right to work in the GCC rather than UK sponsorship.

Sponsors grads?
No
Pay vs threshold
Clears the threshold
Opportunity
training contract
Pay
London £54,000 (£112,500 NQ). Scotland £33,000 (£70,000 NQ). Milton Keynes £37,500 (£72,000 NQ). Dublin €45,000
2027 cycle
Middle East direct applications only: 1 September 2026 to 26 February 2027. UK and Dublin: no direct application route; see Vacation Scheme dates
Confidence
high

How Dentons recruits

2026 to 2027 recruitment cycle (UK and Dublin trainees recruited via vacation schemes; Middle East direct applications to 26 February 2027). 4 stages, from Dentons's own careers pages, checked 2026-10-03. Test providers are named only where Dentons names them.

  1. Application form

    Application form

    Short online form covering education, work history and activities. One application per year, to a specific location. Contextual recruitment via Rare.

    “When you begin your path to Dentons, it all starts with a short online application form. It's your chance to share your education, work history, and the activities that define you. You can make one application to us each year.”
    Source

  2. Legal High Potential Assessment

    Online tests

    Untimed online assessment of scenario-based, numerical and verbal questions, about 45 minutes. A shorter practice test is provided first.

    • about 45 minutes
    “If you meet our initial criteria in the application form, next up is our Legal High Potential Assessment. To make sure we get a well-rounded view of all our applicants, it consists of scenario-based, numerical and verbal questions. [...] It's untimed, but typically takes approximately 45 minutes to complete.”
    Source

  3. Interview

    Other stage

    Interview with short questions on past experience, skills, drivers, strengths and motivation for commercial law and Dentons. Format (live or recorded) not stated.

    “The interview will see you answer some short questions. It will also look at your past experiences and the skills you've developed through them, along with your key drivers and strengths. We'll also look at why you've chosen to apply to a commercial law firm, and to us specifically.”
    Source

  4. Assessment centre

    Assessment centre

    Final stage: written exercise, case study and interview.

    “This is the final stage of the application process. Our assessment centres consist of a written exercise, a case study and an interview.”
    Source

Every programme and stage at Dentons

“Because of the nature of the scheme, we can't sponsor candidates for a visa.”
Dentons, from its own careers pages
The catch: The firm funds substantial maintenance grants during study (PGDL £10,000, SQE £17,000, Diploma £10,000), but none of that helps a candidate who cannot get past the unsponsored Vacation Scheme gate first.
Dentons early careersVerify on gov.ukSee the licence record

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What Dentons publishes about this programme

Checked against Dentons's own careers pages on 2026-09-24. Anything not published is worth asking the early careers team before you apply.

  • Visa sponsorship policy: published
  • Application dates: published
  • Programme description: not published
  • Duration and start date: not published
  • Who can apply: not published
  • Pay: published
  • Locations: not published
  • Degree requirement: not published
  • Recruitment stages: published

More early careers programmes at Dentons

Sources

Verdict last checked 2026-09-24. How we check programme verdicts

Common questions

Does Dentons sponsor visas for its trainee solicitor programme?

No. Dentons does not sponsor its trainee solicitor programme for international students who need a visa. Dentons publishes exact starting salaries by office but confirms it no longer accepts direct Trainee Solicitor Programme applications for London, Milton Keynes, Scotland or Dublin, recruiting those trainees exclusively from its Vacation Scheme, which cannot sponsor a visa. A separate Middle East Trainee Solicitor Programme remains open to direct applications, but requires existing right to work in the GCC rather than UK sponsorship.

Does the pay clear the UK Skilled Worker salary threshold?

The pay for this scheme clears the Skilled Worker salary threshold.

What is the catch international students miss with Dentons?

The firm funds substantial maintenance grants during study (PGDL £10,000, SQE £17,000, Diploma £10,000), but none of that helps a candidate who cannot get past the unsponsored Vacation Scheme gate first.

When do applications open for the Dentons trainee solicitor programme?

Middle East direct applications only: 1 September 2026 to 26 February 2027. UK and Dublin: no direct application route; see Vacation Scheme dates. Checked on 2026-09-24 against Dentons's own site.

How should I confirm Dentons's sponsorship before applying?

Read the specific vacancy on Dentons's careers site, ask its early-careers team directly, and check the employer on the gov.uk Register of Licensed Sponsors. Policies and thresholds change, so treat this page as a starting point and confirm for the exact role and cycle.

Related guides

All visa and sponsorship guides

Other law schemes

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Other law schemes we track

Sponsorship data: Home Office register + job ad wording. Not immigration advice, verify on gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. How we check this data.