What are your retention rates like?

Of the 15 trainees qualifying in September 2011, 12 received job offers. That's an 80% retention rate. Taking on loads of trainees and creating artificial internal competition isn't our style. We prefer to recruit a smaller, select number of trainees and put all our efforts into developing their potential. Your potential.

Will you accept a 2:2 or below degree grade?

Yes. We're not prescriptive when it comes to particular grades at A Level or degree. We look at the bigger picture. We want to recruit bright, intelligent people and we think our selection procedure measures whether you have the skills and attributes we look for in our trainees.

Do you offer client secondments?

Absolutely. Recent trainees have spent time at the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Unilever. Big, blue-chip names. We provide secondments for our qualified lawyers too.

What is your stance on mature students?

We simply aim to recruit the best people. We want to hear from people of all ages and backgrounds. Take some of our current trainees. One of them used to be a record producer, another was a baker. We even have an ex-prima ballerina in the firm!

How do you feel about people deferring offers for a year?

We're certainly happy to consider it. Obviously, saying yes will depend on how many requests we receive from others in the same in-take.

Which Legal Practice Course (LPC) / Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) providers do you recommend?

Our preferred LPC provider is the College of Law in Birmingham. We've worked with them to develop a tailored LPC (LPC Plus as it's known). As a Birmingham College of Law student, you'll learn about Wragge & Co's working practices, precedents and culture, as well as meeting trainees and fee earners. It's up to you where you study the GDL.

Will I be able to use language skills and work overseas?

Definitely. You'll be able to put your linguistic abilities to use translating documents or when talking to international clients. You might want to join one of our international desks. And once qualified, you could ask to go on secondments overseas, usually to develop relationships with another law firm or sometimes with a client.

What else is different about Wragge & Co?

Where to start. One key difference is that all our partners are equity partners. While this might seem a bit abstract, especially at this stage of your career, it's crucial to our culture as all our partners genuinely share in the success and development of the firm. This encourages a culture of mutual support and involvement. The key to our success.

Is paralegal work available at Wragge & Co?

It is, yes. We've a large number of paralegals here, and some of them go on to apply for training contracts with us. Of course, they still have to meet the same standards required by external applicants. If you'd like to know more, head to the Paralegal / Legal executives section on our website.

Application Form and Situational Judgement Test

The first thing you need to do is fill out an online application form. Here's where you can tell us a bit about yourself and why you're applying to Wragge & Co. Don't forget to look at our top tips before you put fingers to keyboard. When we receive your form we will ask you to complete an online Situational Judgement Test as part of the first stage of our application process. This test has been designed specifically for Wragge & Co and it assesses how well you'd deal with situations you might face as a trainee.

Online Verbal Reasoning Test

Once we've reviewed your Situational Judgement Test and application form, we'll invite selected candidates to complete an online verbal reasoning test. If you're successful there, we'll invite you to a telephone interview. So you know, you could be asked to re-take both the Situational Judgement Test and verbal reasoning test on an assessment day.

Telephone Interview

This is a brief (about 10 minutes) discussion to enable us to get to know you a bit better. We will pre-arrange a time slot for the telephone discussion with you, so you are fully prepared for our call.

Assessment days

Assessments days are the final part of the process for our vacation schemes and training contract applications.

Vacation scheme assessment day

For places on our vacation schemes, it's a half-day assessment. There'll be a group exercise, a role play exercise and a short interview with a partner and a member of the HR team. You'll also get to meet some of our current trainees. Generally, these half-day assessments are held from mid-February to early March.

Training contract assessment day

For our training contracts, there's also a group exercise, a role play exercise and an interview with a partner and a member of the HR team. One of the partners will also talk to you about the firm and answer any questions you have. You'll also have lunch with a couple of trainees. Assessment days for training contracts take place from mid-August to early September.

1. Research, research, research.

Make sure you understand the firm and the role of a commercial lawyer. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Think about why you want to be a commercial lawyer and what skills you have.

2. Know our selection criteria inside-out.

Consider whether you fit those criteria and then tailor your application and performance at an assessment day to show us how you meet them.

3. Answer the question and follow the instructions.

Sounds obvious, doesn't it? Be sure to follow the application form to the letter and always try and answer the specific question during the interview. Following instruction is a key skill for a lawyer.

4. Get some work experience.

Vacation schemes and/or commercial work experience will give you a real insight into the role of a commercial solicitor. And in the case of commercial work experience, how a business is run.

5. Have an interest in business and be able to show evidence of that interest.

Make sure you're bang up-to-date with business news and current affairs. Be ready to talk about the business world.

6. Think about your writing style.

Be professional, be concise, but keep your enthusiasm and personality.

7. Be very firm specific.

Why do you want a training contract at Wragge & Co? How do our values match your own? How can we help you be the lawyer you want to be?

8. Be yourself.

This is really important. Never try to be someone you're not, especially at the assessment day. Be yourself rather than what you think the firm wants you to be.

9. Show enthusiasm.

It goes a long, long way. If you care, we'll notice.

10. Check through your application and then check through it again.

And then double check it. There's no room for spelling or grammatical errors. Take your time and always get someone else to read it through. A fresh pair of eyes will make all the difference.