Bristol Training Contract 2026 – Projects & Construction

What is Projects & Construction?

The construction industry is one of the UK's major industries, contributing to 7% of the UK's GDP and accounting for around 3 million jobs. It can include the building of houses, renewable energy projects, roads, tunnels, hospitals, and sporting stadiums (to name a few).

The work that we do supports the legal framework that keeps the wheels of this fundamental industry moving.

As a construction lawyer, you work primarily in the field of contract law. This can be negotiating and drafting construction contracts at the outset of a project, advising clients on managing the contracts throughout a project, and dealing with disputes that may arise at any point.

Clyde & Co's Projects & Construction offering

Projects and Construction at Clyde & Co is a large global team of 200 lawyers, working with a wide variety of clients.

No one project is the same and we work on a massive range of projects, from the operation of African power plants to the construction of west country housing developments and ground-breaking offshore windfarms. Projects can be small scale, medium scale or on a grand scale, such as the £23bn Hinckley Point C project in Somerset.

The Projects and Construction group is a friendly welcoming team and would support you throughout your career as a Projects & Construction lawyer.

What does the job involve?

As a Projects & Construction lawyer, you would have the opportunity to work on a wide variety of different contentious and non-contentious matters. You could be leading a High Court disputes case one day or drafting the contracts for a major new deal the next day. Every day is different, and you can shape your career around what interests you.

You will work closely with qualified solicitors in the team and would be supported in your development from day one. Our team has a long history of developing trainees right through to the top, with two of our recent partners having been trained at Clyde & Co themselves.

About the programme:

We're proud to be partnering with the University of Law to delivery an exceptional and innovative LLM course incorporating SQE1, SQE2, as well as an SQE Plus programme that has been developed by our lawyers in collaboration with the University, and is bespoke to Clyde & Co. Not only you will be thoroughly prepared for all academic aspects of the SQE, the world-class teaching and exclusive resources will equip you with the fundamental skills and technical savvy essential to succeed as a lawyer at Clyde & Co.

Throughout your studies you will receive comprehensive and personalised support from your dedicated academic tutor, as well as a Trainee Buddy and a Mentor from the firm. We also have a year's programme of social events and engagement days for our Future Trainees, so you can get to know us and each other before your Training Contract begins. Once you have completed the 11 months study, you will join us to undertake your qualifying work experience (QWE) via a two-year training contract.

What we are looking for

We are looking for those who are interested in projects and construction law and committed to a career as a solicitor at Clyde & Co as well as the following:

• You will need to have achieved an AAB at A-Level and a 2:1 degree in any discipline. Mitigating circumstances will be taken into consideration.
• By August 2026 you will need to have completed your SQE. If you have not already completed this, Clyde & Co will enrol you onto the relevant courses starting September 2025. Therefore, law students will need to be in their final year, or have graduated, and non-law students will currently need to be completing their PGDL, ready to start the SQE next September.

What we offer

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package as a newly qualified solicitor. You will also be entitled to a range of rewards and benefits:

• Private medical
• Pension scheme
• Group income protection
• Maternity and paternity pay
• Holiday purchase
• Season ticket loan
• Cycle to work scheme
• Gym subsidy

We'll make sure you have plenty of support throughout your programme - alongside having support from your dedicated supervisor, University of Law skills coach and tutor, you will also have regular one to one session with the early careers team and will be allocated a mentor from one of our newly qualified lawyers, enabling you to get peer-to-peer support and guidance. You can also look forward to a tailored induction programme and on-going internal training designed to ensure you have the skills, knowledge, and commercial acumen you need to become a well-rounded solicitor.

Recruitment Process

• Complete an online application
• Digital simulation - consisting of situational assessment & video interview
• In-person assessment centre
• Offers and feedback

Strengths Based Assessment

During our process we are assessing candidates based on the strengths that will deliver success in a role. This is great for the individual, doing work they love, and great for the employer, having team members who love what they do.