Skadden Vacation Scheme 2027

Pays £500 a week in London.

No published policyVacation Scheme

Unconfirmed. Skadden publishes no sponsorship policy for its vacation scheme, so we cannot state a firm answer. No visa sponsorship or right-to-work statement was found; only 2026 scheme dates were confirmed at time of research.

Sponsors grads?: Not published
Pay vs threshold: Not published
Opportunity: vacation scheme
Pay: £500 per week
2027 cycle: Applications are open yearly from 1 September to 1 December, covering the current application window; no year-specific 2027 dates are separately published
Confidence: medium

Skadden Vacation Scheme: at a glance

Skadden's London vacation scheme is the only route to its training contracts: all training contract positions are filled from vacation scheme participants. Students sit in two departments, get first-hand experience of working on global transactions and network with people at the firm. Three schemes run each year, in late March to early April, in April, and in late June to early July, and applications are open from 1 September to 1 December. Source

Start date: Tuesday 30 March (first scheme); further schemes start Monday 12 April and Monday 21 June“Tuesday 30 March to 9 April Monday 12 April to Friday 23 April Monday 21 June to Friday 2 July”Source
Who can apply: Students from any university and degree discipline who have reached at least the penultimate year of a law degree or the final year of a non-law degree“Undergraduate candidates need to have at least reached the penultimate year of their law degree or the final year of a non-law degree in order to apply.”Source
Locations: LondonSource
Starting pay: £500 per week“We remunerate vacation scheme students £500 per week to assist with expenses.”Source
Degree requirement: Minimum 2:1 (or equivalent)“including a minimum of a 2:1 (or equivalent) at degree level”Source

How Skadden recruits

Annual window 1 September to 1 December (2026 window, 2027 vacation schemes; year not printed on the page). 5 stages, from Skadden's own careers pages, checked 2026-10-04. Test providers are named only where Skadden names them.

Application submission
Application form
Submit an online application in the 1 September to 1 December window. Reviewed on a rolling basis, but no decisions until after the deadline.
“There are five stages to our graduate recruitment process: Application submission”
Source
Online psychometric assessment and essential competencies assessment
Online tests
AI-powered online assessment run by Suited, measuring personality, values and other competencies. Taken after applying.
“We believe that artificial intelligence-powered assessment tools provide students an opportunity to share additional information about themselves that will allow us to get to know them better. Accordingly, as part of our application process, candidates will be asked to take an online assessment after they submit their application. The assessment will be administered by Suited.”
Source
Online written exercise
Written exercise
An online written exercise.
“Online written exercise”
Source
Video interview with two lawyers
Live video interview
A video interview with two of the firm's lawyers.
“Video interview with two lawyers”
Source
Vacation scheme
Other stage
Vacation placement; training contracts are offered only to scheme participants.
“Skadden offers training contracts to the students who participate in our vacation placement program.”
Source

Every programme and stage at Skadden

The catch: Training contracts are only offered to vacation scheme alumni, so this is the sole route in; 2027-specific scheme dates not yet published at time of research (only 2026 dates visible).

Skadden early careers Verify on gov.uk See the licence record

Applying to Skadden? Check your CV first.

Most graduate applications are filtered by an ATS before a human ever sees them. GoRizzume Pro scores your CV against the job description and shows you what to fix.

Try Pro free for 7 days

£0 today, then Pro is £14.99/month from day 8Card needed.We email you the day before you pay.Cancel anytime in Settings, Billing.

What Skadden publishes about this programme

Checked against Skadden's own careers pages on 2026-09-22. Anything not published is worth asking the early careers team before you apply.

Visa sponsorship policy: not 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

Sources

https://www.skadden.com/careers/attorneys/law-students-and-graduates/united-kingdom

Verdict last checked 2026-09-18. Application dates last checked 2026-09-22. How we check programme verdicts

Common questions

Does Skadden sponsor visas for its vacation scheme?

Unconfirmed. Skadden publishes no sponsorship policy for its vacation scheme, so we cannot state a firm answer. Two-week placements run in spring or summer, open to penultimate-year law students and final-year non-law students of any university. Applications open 1 September and close 1 December, with a written exercise in December for those who progress. Training contracts are offered exclusively to vacation scheme participants. No visa sponsorship or right-to-work statement was found; only 2026 scheme dates were confirmed at time of research.

What is the Skadden vacation scheme?

Does the pay clear the UK Skilled Worker salary threshold?

The pay for this scheme is not published clearly enough to judge against the threshold.

What is the catch international students miss with Skadden?

Training contracts are only offered to vacation scheme alumni, so this is the sole route in; 2027-specific scheme dates not yet published at time of research (only 2026 dates visible).

When do applications open for the Skadden vacation scheme?

Applications are open yearly from 1 September to 1 December, covering the current application window; no year-specific 2027 dates are separately published. Checked on 2026-09-22 against Skadden's own site.

When does the Skadden vacation scheme start?

Tuesday 30 March (first scheme); further schemes start Monday 12 April and Monday 21 June, according to Skadden's own careers information.

Who can apply for the Skadden vacation scheme?

Students from any university and degree discipline who have reached at least the penultimate year of a law degree or the final year of a non-law degree, according to Skadden's own careers information.

Where is the Skadden vacation scheme based?

London, according to Skadden's own careers information.

What does the Skadden vacation scheme pay?

£500 per week, according to Skadden's own careers information.

What degree do you need for the Skadden vacation scheme?

Minimum 2:1 (or equivalent), according to Skadden's own careers information.

How should I confirm Skadden's sponsorship before applying?

Read the specific vacancy on Skadden'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

Before you apply

Check your CV against UK applicant tracking systems, then tailor it to the schemes that can actually sponsor you. GoRizzume Pro and Premium start with a 7-day free trial on monthly billing.