Graduate
Schemes
Wherever you join us – in IT, BD & Marketing, HR or Innovation, you will find yourself working within a fast-paced, supportive and innovative environment where quality is expected.
A Stepping stone after university
Addleshaw Goddard is an exciting place to begin and shape your career as a graduate, whether you are looking for a career in Innovation, Human Resources, IT or Business Development & Marketing. All teams work closely with each other and with the four core legal groups, playing an integral role in the delivery of a premium service to our clients.
MEET OUR PEOPLE
The best advocates of our Early Career Programmes are the people who work here. See what they have to say about one of our flagship programmes, the Innovation Graduate Scheme.
Business Development & Marketing
Are you passionate about marketing, sales or communications?
Our Business Development & Marketing team is the perfect place for anyone who wants to make an impact in these areas. As part of this award-winning department you'll work to support the firm's strategy and help drive profitable revenue growth. You'll have the opportunity to deliver our imaginative and impactful services and brand proposition to a range of industry sectors - all while being part of a dynamic, innovative and close-working team.
Key Information
Applications open: Monday 20 April 2026
Applications close: Friday 29 May 2026
Intake: Monday 5 October 2026
Location: Leeds or Manchester
Duration: 2 years
Entry requirements: Undergraduate Degree (in any discipline)
CYBER Security Graduate
Are you interested in specialising in Cyber Security?
The Cyber Security team are instrumental in protecting and providing integrity of data for Addleshaw Goddard and its clients by ensuring our confidential and commercially sensitive data are secure and not at risk of data breaches and cyber-attacks.
This two-year scheme will provide the successful graduate with knowledge, skills and experience to become an Cyber Security specialist in a large organisation.
KEY INFORMATION
Applications open: Monday 20 April 2026
Applications close: Friday 29 May 2026
Intake: Monday 5 October 2026
Location: Leeds
Duration: 2 years
Entry requirements: Undergraduate Degree (STEM)
Innovation
Innovation is part of our DNA and our passion is driven by our clients. We're proud to be listed as one of the most innovative Law firms in Europe.
The 2-year Innovation Graduate Scheme focuses on equipping you with the skills needed to lead innovation in a rapidly changing legal industry. Through the Scheme, you will develop problem-solving skills, learn new technologies as well as gaining experience from client engagements. You will rotate within our specialist Innovation Group teams which include AG Consulting, Innovation and Legal Technology, Managed Legal Services and Research and Knowledge Services. Working on a diverse range of projects, you will directly contribute and add value while gaining broad exposure to how innovation drives change across the legal industry.
Key Information
Applications open: December 2026
Applications close: January 2027
Intake: September 2027
Location: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds & Manchester
Duration: 2 years
Entry requirements: Undergraduate Degree (in any discipline)
PLACEMENT SCHEME
Intake: April 2027
Location: Manchester office (and potentially in our Leeds office, dependent on candidate numbers in these locations)
Salary: Paid one week placement
HR Advisor - Graduate
Are you looking to start a career in HR?
Join us as a HR Advisor Graduate on our two-year programme where you will be exposed to the full life cycle of HR activities at AG (such as Business Partnering, Employee Relations and Performance Management). You will receive full sponsorship to complete the CIPD qualification, allowing you to gain practical experience while earning a professional qualification.
Key Information
Intake: To be confirmed
Closing Date: To be confirmed
Location: Leeds / Manchester
Duration: 2 years
Entry requirements: Undergraduate Degree (in any discipline)
Recruitment process: Following the application form, applicants will complete a voice interview before being invited to attend an assessment centre in our Manchester office as the final stage of the recruitment process.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Application Form
Candidates who wish to apply to us must complete the relevant online application form.
Pre Assessment Centre Test or VOICE INTERVIEW
Innovation Graduate Scheme:
Candidates will be required to complete one exercise prior to the assessment centre.
Business Services Graduate Scheme(s):
Depending on the outcome of your application form and further testing (where required), you will be invited to complete a voice interview. The voice interview can be recorded at a time and location convenient to you.
During this stage, individual questions will appear and you'll have a short amount of time to plan your response, before having to record and submit your attempt.
We use this stage of the process to understand your motivations for the role and working at Addleshaw Goddard.
Assessment Centre
Successful applicants will be invited to our offices for the final assessment process and meet us in person. The assessments comprise of a motivational and competency-based interview, in tray exercise and group assessment.
Placement Scheme
If you have applied for the Innovation Graduate Scheme, you will complete a Placement Scheme around April time, which will allow you to experience life at Addleshaw Goddard and for us to review your performance over an extended period.
Regardless of the type of opportunity or the level of the role, we are looking for a number of skills to be demonstrated in the application process:
Attention to detail: It is important to avoid making mistakes, for example spelling, punctuation, grammar and other typographical errors. Spotting errors and correcting them is one way that you can show us that you have this skill in our process.
Commercial Awareness: This is staying up to date on developments in the business and commercial world and considering how this might affect our firm and our clients. It's something that you develop over a period of time.
Career motivation: Show us that you are committed to starting your career your chosen field and at Addleshaw Goddard. Remember that you may need to articulate that in the voice interview or assessment centre.
Teamwork: We have a collaborative culture so it's important that you can work well with others. Show us that you can listen, communicate and share ideas. This is something that will be assessed in the group assessment in the assessment centre.
Knowledge of Addleshaw Goddard: It is extremely important to research Addleshaw Goddard before starting your application and to understand how you personally align with the firm.
Communication skills: As a people-focused business, we are looking for individuals who can speak, listen, observe and emphasise. You will use your communication skills when dealing with stakeholders internally and externally and this will be assessed at various stages of the application process.
Analytical skills: We're looking for individuals who can analyse core information and question why the information matters to them, and how it impacts their role and Addleshaw Goddard.
Decision making: Are you confident to make effective decisions which contribute to the firm's reputation for delivering high-quality, innovative solutions? We want to see you demonstrate this at various stages of our recruitment process.
What are we looking for?
In the application form, selection is based on strong academics, motivation and attention to detail. Our minimum entry requirement is role dependent and more information is available in the individual Graduate profiles above.
We're looking for Graduates who will embrace change, welcome technology and be constantly learning. With this in mind, applicants who wish to can utilise advanced conversational AI models (such as ChatGPT or Gemini), but we ask that use is limited to refining and developing your individual thoughts, rather than replacing them.
Top tips
- Make sure your application form is free from errors. We often see forms that include typos, have issues with spelling, punctuation and grammar. Complete all sections of the form to the best of your ability and ensure you have provided the necessary information.
- There's space to provide any additional information in regards to your application. If you have any mitigating circumstances, we strongly encourage you to include this information.
- If you have a disability or long-term health condition, we'll provide any adjustments and/or support that you need during the recruitment process. Please let us know in your registration form if you would benefit from any adjustments and email us earlycareers@addleshawgoddard.com.
What are we looking for?
If you are successfully invited through to the second stage of our process, you will be invited to our voice interview (excluding the Innovation Graduate Scheme).
The voice interview is different to a telephone interview, it's something that you would complete online in your own time. You'll be able to see yourself on the recording, but the Early Careers team will not be able to see this.
Before you start your interview, there is the opportunity to practice recording so that you can get used to the system and to check that your sound is working.
When you are ready to start your interview, the question will be played on video, when the video ends, the question will remain on screen in text form and you will have 30 seconds to think about the content and structure of your answer. You will then have one minute and 30 seconds to record your answer. There are typically 2-3 questions in total.
The voice interview should take around 10 minutes to complete, including practice time.
We are looking for people who have clearly researched the firm and who have an understanding of the type of work that an apprentice will be required to do and an appreciation of the skills that they will need to have in order to succeed. There may also be an opportunity to demonstrate your commercial awareness.
Top tips
- Before you start the voice interview, we recommend that you find yourself a suitable place to complete the assessment, ideally a quiet spot with good internet connection, where you are unlikely to be disturbed. We know that some people may not have a suitable environment to do this at home although you could find a quiet spot in your local library.
- Whilst we won't see your video, we recommend dressing in professional attire as this will help with your mindset.
- Use the practice time to familiarise yourself with the system and to make sure that your sound is working correctly.
- Make the most of your thinking time and the time to answer the questions.
- It's okay if you make a mistake, it's how you recover which is the most important part.
- Try to link your responses back to the role, the firm and the Graduate offering.
- If you experience any technical difficulties with the voice interview, please take a screenshot of the error message and send it to earlycareers@addleshawgoddard.com as we are unable to reset interviews without this.
- If you require any adjustments to the voice interview process, please do let us know prior to completing the interview.
What are we looking for?
The assessment centre is the first stage where you will meet Addleshaw Goddard representatives and have the opportunity to convey your motivation and suitability for the role within a number of different contexts.
We're looking for Graduates who can thrive within different scenarios, showing that they can demonstrate soft skills which we feel are essential for the role, such as communication, collaboration and creative thinking skills.
There might be some areas which don't align with your strengths, and that's okay. We're not looking for perfection, but someone who can be adaptable and perform well across the board.
Top tips
Interview
- Try to shake off any interview nerves by making conversation with assessors at appropriate times, and utilise the warm up question to assist with settling yourself.
- Understand the type of questions that you will be asked in advance, as this will inform your preparation.
- Practice motivational questions e.g. why Addleshaw Goddard, why the role, why a Graduate Scheme, and become familiar with speaking your answers out loud. Even if these questions don't get asked, you will feel more confident knowing that your motivation is strong.
- Listen carefully to the question and take time to consider your response before responding. You can also ask for the question to be repeated if helpful.
- Identify opportunities to link back to the question throughout your response and if possible, tie this in with Addleshaw Goddard and knowledge of the role.
- Prepare questions for your interviewers which demonstrate genuine curiosity for the role, the firm and the programme.
Group Exercise
- Consider where your strengths lie - for example, are you a collaborator, a leader, a facilitator? How might you bring these skills into the exercise?
- Make valuable contributions within the task.
- Be focused on completing the aims of the exercise within the allotted time.
- You may deal with individuals who you don't automatically gel with, and that's okay. If you have any difficult group dynamics, you should handle these with grace and positivity and only focus on your own performance.
- If you can, consider whether you can bring in Addleshaw Goddard knowledge to this exercise.
In-Tray Exercise
- Read the instructions very carefully, making sure you understand the task before starting.
- Time management will be crucial!
- Identify proof-reading tactics which will help you to succeed and factor in time for this at the end of the exercise.
WHY JOIN THE INNOVATION GRADUATE SCHEME?
This is the fourth year of our successful Innovation Graduate Scheme which has seen a diverse pool of Innovation Graduates go through the schemes, who are now based in our Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh offices.
Our appetite to learn as a team sees us partnering with technology providers, universities and law schools. We expect all our team members to collaborate with the organisations, such as hackathons and other initiatives to stimulate creative ideas with the single objective of bringing more imagination and more impact to the delivery of solutions and services for our clients.
Establishing an award-winning team early in this space has afforded us the opportunity to be a leader in legal innovation, building a clear career path for you as graduates and nurture your talent to reach your full potential.
INNOVATION PLACEMENT SCHEME
As part of our recruitment process for the Innovation Graduate Scheme, we offer a paid Placement Scheme which provides a unique insight into our Innovation Group and the chance to demonstrate your skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
The one-week scheme will be held in our Manchester office (and potentially in our Leeds office, dependent on candidate numbers in these locations). It's designed to give you an insider's view of what it's like working within our Innovation Group, providing the perfect opportunity to showcase your skills and how well you align with our team.
Why the Placement Scheme Matters
Participation in the Placement Scheme is highly valued, offering you a unique opportunity to engage with our team. A number of Innovation Graduate Scheme places will be offered to successful candidates upon the completion of the Placement Scheme.
Alternative Assessment Centre
We understand that some candidates may be unable to participate in the Placement Scheme due to extenuating circumstances. In these cases, we still encourage you to apply for the Innovation Graduate Scheme. We offer an alternative assessment centre providing an opportunity to demonstrate your suitability for the Innovation Graduate Scheme. Please note that the number of roles available via the alternative assessment centre route will depend on the selection outcome of the Placement Scheme.
We are committed to fairness, transparency and equal opportunities throughout the selection process, ensuring all talented individuals have the chance to build a successful career at Addleshaw Goddard.
Why join Addleshaw Goddard?
Want to join an international law firm with a supporting and nurturing environment where you'll be contributing to major projects from day one? It's time to find out why Addleshaw Goddard is the right next step for you.