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Pinsent Masons Vacation Scheme 2027

Pays £476 to £520 a week depending on location.

Only some tracksVacation Placement

Only in part. Pinsent Masons sponsors its vacation placement for some tracks or offices, not all. The firm states that due to the government's salary threshold for sponsorship, it can only accept international candidates seeking tier-4/Skilled Worker sponsorship at its London office; Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds cannot offer this.

Sponsors grads?
Some tracks
Pay vs threshold
Borderline
Opportunity
vacation scheme
Pay
£520 per week (London), £476 per week (Birmingham/Manchester/Leeds)
2027 cycle
Applications open 15 September 2026; London closes 4 November 2026 at 12pm, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds close 2 December 2026 at 12pm; placement runs 28 June to 9 July 2027
Confidence
high

Pinsent Masons Vacation Placement: at a glance

Pinsent Masons' two-week vacation placement starts with a UK-wide induction, then places you in one practice area with a dedicated supervisor and a buddy who set hands-on tasks and give feedback. Vacation placement students do not submit a separate training contract application: feedback from the placement is used to assess them for a training contract, which would start in September 2029. Source

Duration
2 weeksSource
Start date
28 June 2027Source
Who can apply
Law students in their penultimate year or beyond, non-law students in their final year or beyond, or graduates“You have reached the penultimate year of a law degree or beyond You have reached the final year of a non-law degree or beyond You have already graduated”Source
Locations
London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds“Based in our London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds offices”Source
Starting pay
£520 per week in London; £476 per week in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds (rates as of June 2026)Source
Degree requirement
2:1 degree or above, achieved or predicted, plus minimum ABB at A level (or 128 UCAS points) in one sitting without resits“2.1 degree or above already gained or predicted to achieve.”Source

How Pinsent Masons recruits

Vacation placement 2027 (London closes 4 November 2026; Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds close 2 December 2026). 7 stages, from Pinsent Masons's own careers pages, checked 2026-10-03. Test providers are named only where Pinsent Masons names them.

  1. Registration and application

    Application form

    Eligibility check, then academic background and employment history.

    “We first check that you're eligible for the programme you're applying to. If you are, we'll ask you to provide information about your academic background and any relevant employment history.”
    Source

  2. Online blended assessment

    Situational judgement test

    Blended online assessment: situational judgement questions plus recorded video questions, reviewed alongside the application. AI-generated responses are not allowed.

    “The next stage of the recruitment process involves completing your online blended assessment. This includes a range of situational judgement questions and a series of video questions, allowing us to assess how you would approach different workplace scenarios.”
    Source

  3. Video questions (within the blended assessment)

    Recorded video interview

    Recorded video answers inside the blended assessment: untimed preparation, up to 2 minutes per answer once recording starts.

    • up to 2 minutes per answer
    “You can take as much time as you need to prepare for your video responses however once you start recording you will have a maximum of 2 minutes to record your response.”
    SourceHow to prepare for a one-way video interview

  4. Assessment centre

    Assessment centre

    In-person assessment centre with three exercises: one-to-one interview, business simulation and case study.

    “If you pass the online blended assessment, we’ll ask you to book a place at one of our in-person assessment centres. You will complete three exercises over the day – This will include a one-to-one interview, a business simulation exercise and a case study.”
    Source

  5. One-to-one interview

    Final interview

    One-to-one interview at the assessment centre. Interviewer not specified.

    “This will include a one-to-one interview, a business simulation exercise and a case study.”
    Source

  6. Business simulation exercise and case study

    Case study

    Business simulation exercise and a case study at the assessment centre.

    “This will include a one-to-one interview, a business simulation exercise and a case study.”
    Source

  7. Offer

    Offer

    Outcome given soon after the assessment centre.

    “Whatever the outcome, we’ll let you know as soon as we can after the assessment centre.”
    Source

Every programme and stage at Pinsent Masons

“Due to the government's salary threshold for sponsorship under the skilled worker visa, Pinsent Masons are only able to accept applications from international candidates seeking tier-4 sponsorship, applicable only at our London office”
Pinsent Masons, from its own careers pages
The catch: Sponsorship route is London-only; regional offices (Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds) cannot sponsor even for the eventual training contract via this route.
Pinsent Masons early careersVerify on gov.ukSee the licence record

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What Pinsent Masons publishes about this programme

Checked against Pinsent Masons's own careers pages on 2026-10-01. Anything not published is worth asking the early careers team before you apply.

  • Visa sponsorship policy: published
  • Application dates: published
  • Programme description: published
  • Duration and start date: published
  • Who can apply: published
  • Pay: published
  • Locations: published
  • Degree requirement: published
  • Recruitment stages: published

More early careers programmes at Pinsent Masons

Sources

Verdict last checked 2026-09-18. Application dates last checked 2026-10-01. How we check programme verdicts

Common questions

Does Pinsent Masons sponsor visas for its vacation placement?

Only in part. Pinsent Masons sponsors its vacation placement for some tracks or offices, not all. The firm states that due to the government's salary threshold for sponsorship, it can only accept international candidates seeking tier-4/Skilled Worker sponsorship at its London office; Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds cannot offer this. Regardless of office, applicants must hold valid right-to-work status to complete the placement itself. Pay is £520 per week in London and £476 elsewhere.

What is the Pinsent Masons vacation placement?

Pinsent Masons' two-week vacation placement starts with a UK-wide induction, then places you in one practice area with a dedicated supervisor and a buddy who set hands-on tasks and give feedback. Vacation placement students do not submit a separate training contract application: feedback from the placement is used to assess them for a training contract, which would start in September 2029.

Does the pay clear the UK Skilled Worker salary threshold?

The pay for this scheme sits close to the threshold, so it can depend on the office, the occupation going rate, or the new-entrant discount.

What is the catch international students miss with Pinsent Masons?

Sponsorship route is London-only; regional offices (Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds) cannot sponsor even for the eventual training contract via this route.

When do applications open for the Pinsent Masons vacation placement?

Applications open 15 September 2026; London closes 4 November 2026 at 12pm, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds close 2 December 2026 at 12pm; placement runs 28 June to 9 July 2027. Checked on 2026-10-01 against Pinsent Masons's own site.

How long is the Pinsent Masons vacation placement?

2 weeks, according to Pinsent Masons's own careers information.

When does the Pinsent Masons vacation placement start?

28 June 2027, according to Pinsent Masons's own careers information.

Who can apply for the Pinsent Masons vacation placement?

Law students in their penultimate year or beyond, non-law students in their final year or beyond, or graduates, according to Pinsent Masons's own careers information.

Where is the Pinsent Masons vacation placement based?

London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, according to Pinsent Masons's own careers information.

What does the Pinsent Masons vacation placement pay?

£520 per week in London; £476 per week in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds (rates as of June 2026), according to Pinsent Masons's own careers information.

What degree do you need for the Pinsent Masons vacation placement?

2:1 degree or above, achieved or predicted, plus minimum ABB at A level (or 128 UCAS points) in one sitting without resits, according to Pinsent Masons's own careers information.

How should I confirm Pinsent Masons's sponsorship before applying?

Read the specific vacancy on Pinsent Masons'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

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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.