Careers

Specific job vacancies are detailed on this page but we continually welcome speculative applications.  Applicants should apply in strictest confidence to the recruitment team by sending a CV and covering letter by email. As we have a large family law department we are continuously seeking applications from experienced family law solicitors specialising in finance and children arrangements during divorce and separation.

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Benefits for David Gray Solicitors Staff

The list of benefits you can expect at David Gray include: Career benefits

• Culture of promoting from within
• Career progression opportunities e.g. Training Contracts, Apprenticeships, Associate and Senior Associate programmes, Pathway to Partnership Programme, Mentoring Programme, optional career progression meetings, annual appraisals
• Autonomous working – we employ trusted people to get on with the job in hand
• Personal development opportunities – we invest in the training and development of staff and support and pay for staff to gain relevant accreditations (e.g. children’s panel, mediation, higher rights)
• Profile raising and recognition – support in gaining listings in the Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and awards nominations.

Work life balance benefits

• Holiday entitlement (22-27 days non-Fee Earner contract, 27-32 days Fee Earner contract) plus bank holidays and extra time off at Christmas (subject to variation)
• Birthdays off in addition to holiday entitlement
• Holiday Purchase Scheme – ability to buy an extra three days
• Homeworking with flexibility
• Paid emergency time off for dependants
• Free personal time to use as you please e.g. early finishes on Fridays
• Staff parties/gatherings/social events/weekends away

Financial benefits

• Bonus Scheme for all staff (staff are eligible after one completed financial year)
• Pension Scheme (matched contributions up to 5%)
• Death in Service benefit providing loved ones with four times your annual salary (for staff with 12 months of continuous employment)
• Maternity (18 weeks full pay, 8 weeks half pay for staff with 18 months of continuous employment)
• Paternity Pay (2 weeks full pay)
• Additional Contractual Adoption and Shared Parental Leave Pay
• Sickness pay (up to 20 days)
• ‘Christmas Club’ Savings Scheme
• Friends and family discount for legal services and free wills for staff
• Travel schemes e.g. discounted POP cards, Railcards, discounted city centre car parking
• Paid time off for fertility treatment

Healthy you benefits

• Employee Assistance Programme -24/7 free access to counselling for you and your family members, health advice, financial assistance, life coaching and advice with practical day to day issues
• Free fresh fruit weekly & tea and coffee
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Training and information sharing via healthcare experts e.g. dementia training, on site health checks, cancer awareness, healthy eating
• Support for and involvement in charities and activities e.g. the Legal Walk, the Legal Bake, Macmillan Coffee Morning, Red Nose Day
• Trained Mental Health First Aiders
• Discounted gym membership

A day in the life of...

Find out more about the day to day work our team does in our 'A cuppa with' series of informal Q&As:

• Laura Williams is a trainee solicitor in our property department.
• Nicola Fisher is an associate solicitor in our private client department
• Emma Neale is a solicitor (now associate solicitor) in our family and court of protection teams.
• Janice Hall  is a senior associate solicitor (now Partner) in our crime and motoring team.
• Bryony Rest is a partner and heads up our immigration department.
• Paul Harbison is a senior associate solicitor in the mental health department.
• Emma Johnson is a paralegal (now trainee solicitor) in our family department.

Induction Programme

Once selected, we offer a comprehensive four week induction programme where you will spend time in each of our departments.  We have an open, friendly culture and you can be assured a good North East welcome.

Equality and Diversity Information

All applicants are requested to complete and return an Equality and Diversity Monitoring Information Form, you can find this at the bottom of the application page. Please note this form is not compulsory. The form is for monitoring purposes only, it is anonymous and will not be included with or linked to your job application. Data on our current company diversity is available here.  

We asked our team what they liked about working here at David Gray:

• “My team. Everyone is caring and appreciative and looking out for one another”
• “Fantastic atmosphere, genuine efforts made by Firm to look after employees by way of benefits provision”
• “Friendly colleagues, relaxed atmosphere and excellent benefits.”
• “Good support within my team and from management”
• “I feel I have been supported through childcare and making things work with my family. I think the firm is supportive when it comes to childcare issues.”

     Some recent photos from our Summer social '24.

Training contracts

When we have training contract vacancies they will be advertised on this page however, we always welcome speculative applications. Applications can be made by CV and covering letter to recruitment@davidgray.co.uk. If you would like to sign up to our mailing list to receive updates about training contract vacancies please email recruitment@davidgray.co.uk.

Our recruitment process for training contracts consists of an interview and a written exercise and/or oral presentation.

Work experience

We offer 6 one week work placements per year to university students. If you would like to apply for work experience in 2025 please send a CV and covering letter to recruitment@davidgray.co.uk by 31 October 2024.

Please note that all of our work placements for 2024 are full.

Equal opportunities

We encourage applications from all sections of our diverse community, irrespective of age, disability, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), sexual orientation, religion or belief, or because someone is married or in a civil partnership. We want an inclusive organisation that reflects our community and where everyone feels empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. We believe our organisation will be a better, more creative and innovative place to work if we can harness the benefit of different perspectives. We are a Disability Confident employer.   Please note that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship. Right to Work in the UK is essential for all vacancies.