Why train with Russell-Cooke?
Many of the outstanding lawyers you’ll meet here trained with Russell-Cooke
At Russell-Cooke you will get an unrivalled breadth of work; every trainee is recruited in the hope they will be a future partner; you will be a wheel not just a cog; you’ll get lots of client contact, training and support.
Explore your legal career journey with Russell-Cooke
Discover our training contract and vacation scheme
Discover the pathways to your legal career with Russell-Cooke through our dynamic training contract and immersive vacation scheme experiences. Applications for our 2027 training contract and 2025 vacation scheme have now closed.
Our training contract
It is our aim that your training will have a lasting influence over your legal career. Our training contract will ensure you gain practical experience of widely differing types of legal practice. Find out more and how to apply via our training contract page.
Our vacation scheme
The vacation scheme at Russell-Cooke is a great way to experience what it's really like to work at a leading law firm.
We believe that our vacation scheme offers the right balance of support and autonomy, and really demonstrates what life is like as a Russell-Cooke trainee. Find out more and how to apply via our vacation scheme page.
Graduate recruitment FAQs
Thinking of applying for graduate recruitment programme? Here you can find the answers to our most frequently asked questions.
Russell-Cooke in Chambers Student 2025
The Chambers Student 2025 True Picture is here, giving prospective trainees details on everything from Russell-Cooke’s services to how its training contract is structured, through to trainee life and office culture.
Get to know our new graduate recruitment partner
From 1 July 2024, family partner Jemma Pollock took on a new role as our graduate recruitment partner. Learn more about Jemma, her journey into the legal profession and Russell-Cooke and what heading up graduate recruitment means to her.
Blogs from Russell-Cooke trainees
Read the latest blogs written by our trainees on life at Russell-Cooke
24.04.2025
From both sides: perspectives from partner and trainee in enfranchisement
24.03.2025
How commercial awareness shapes client service: real estate vs private client
20.02.2025
Paramedic to trainee solicitor: “I had to convince myself that I had a shot at being a lawyer”—The Law Society
By numbers
Our graduate recruitment insights
With a total staff of 360, Russell-Cooke brings together a diverse and collaborative community to support your growth. For our 2026 intake, we're excited to offer 12 training contract vacancies, each representing a chance to embark on a transformative journey with us. Our current first-year trainee salary is £46k increasing to £48.5k for second year trainees.
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12
Training contracts vacancies for 2026 -
360
Total number of staff -
£46k
First year trainee base starting salary (as at 2025) -
£48.5k
Second year trainee salary (as at 2025)
“I had a lot of involvement from the beginning of a client’s sale of a commercial property, and felt a real sense of achievement when the sale completed”
Get in touch
If you have any questions that have not been answered on the site, or if you want a confidential chat about whether Russell-Cooke might be right for you, do get in touch.
Russell-Cooke rated ‘outstanding’ in RollOnFriday 2025 results
Russell-Cooke has come in joint 10th in RollOnFriday’s annual Best Law Firms to Work At survey, scoring a 76% satisfaction rate among over 7,000 respondents for the second year running. The firm’s score exceeds the average satisfaction score of 67%, with respondents ‘very satisfied’ overall.
