The University of Manchester’s Law Fair returns to Whitworth Hall on Thursday 19 November 2026, giving students and recent graduates the chance to meet the law firms, professional bodies and training providers recruiting for careers in law. The fair runs from 11am to 3pm and is open to law and non-law students alike.

Organised by the university’s Careers Service, the fair brings the legal profession onto campus in a single day, with employers on hand to talk about training contracts, vacation schemes and the different routes into the profession.

Who will be there

Employers confirmed for the fair include Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), CMS, Pinsent Masons, Slater and Gordon, and Latham and Watkins, alongside leading providers of further legal training and careers advice, including BPP University Law School, The University of Law and Chambers and Partners. The full list of attending employers is published on CareerConnect, the university’s careers platform.

The fair is aimed at anyone interested in a career in law, whether they are studying the subject or considering it from another degree. Visitors can find out about law firms, training contracts and vacation schemes, and talk directly to recruiters, trainees and representatives of the professional bodies about what each route involves.

Training contracts and vacation schemes

For many students, the fair is the first step towards a training contract, the two-year period of recognised training that qualifies a graduate as a solicitor. Vacation schemes, the short work placements firms run for students, are often the way in: many firms recruit a large share of their future trainees from students they have already met on a scheme.

That makes the timing important. Law fairs usually run from September to December, and many firms’ vacation scheme deadlines fall in December, January and February. Students who meet recruiters at the fair can ask what firms look for in applications, when their deadlines fall and how their schemes are structured, before they apply.

How to attend

Students and graduates can register their interest through CareerConnect to receive an event reminder, or simply turn up on the day. The Careers Service notes that places for students and graduates are available at all of its fairs, and that any information suggesting a fair is full or has a waiting list applies to potential exhibitors only.

The Law Fair is the latest in the university’s programme of in-person careers fairs for 2026, following its STEM Careers Fair on 6 and 7 October and its Autumn Careers Fair on 20 and 21 October. As with those events, the Law Fair takes place in Whitworth Hall, the university’s historic hall on its Oxford Road campus.

How to make the most of the day

Visitors are advised to check the employer list on CareerConnect before they arrive and to pick out the firms they most want to speak to, so they can use the four hours well. Recruiters expect questions about their training contracts, vacation schemes, application deadlines and the kind of work trainees actually do, and students who have read up on a firm first tend to get far more from the conversation.

For students weighing up a career in law, the fair is a chance to compare firms side by side, to hear from the training providers who run the postgraduate courses, and to leave with a clearer picture of the route ahead. Full details are on the University of Manchester Careers Service fairs page, with the employer list on CareerConnect.