DLA Piper gives you five working days and no clock for its Watson Glaser

DLA Piper uses the Watson Glaser for UK early careers applicants and says it is untimed. Our reasoning test practises the same core move, judging whether a statement is supported by a short passage, and because the firm removes the clock, accuracy is the whole game.

Our questions are original and are not Watson Glaser items. DLA Piper sends its own practice assessment before the scored one, and that is a closer guide to the format. The firm does not publish a pass mark, and it does not describe the virtual case study in any detail on the pages we read.

Most firms that use the Watson Glaser set a time limit. DLA Piper's early careers pages say its version is untimed and can be completed at your own pace, with a recommendation to finish in one sitting and a firm limit of five working days from the link arriving.

With no clock, speed buys you nothing and every error is avoidable. Read each passage twice, decide what it actually commits to, and only then look at the statements. If an answer depends on something the passage does not say, it does not follow. Our free Watson-Glaser-style practice test explains the reason behind every answer, which is the habit an untimed test rewards.

Several prep sites describe a DLA Piper Watson Glaser of up to 40 questions in about 30 minutes, and some candidate posts mention a timed version. The firm's own statement is the opposite, and we follow the firm. Formats change between cycles, so read your invitation before you begin.

The safe approach is to prepare for accuracy first and pace second. If your invitation turns out to be timed, untimed practice will still have built the habit that matters most, which is answering from the passage alone.

DLA Piper says candidates can take a further practice assessment before the final one. Treat it as a diagnostic, not a warm-up. Note which of the question types (inference, assumptions, deduction, interpretation, evaluating arguments) produced your mistakes.

Spend the days before the scored attempt on that type only. Free material helps here: our verbal reasoning questions train the true, false and cannot-say judgement that sits underneath most of those types.

DLA Piper says it offers up to 65 training contracts across the UK each year and typically recruits trainees through its summer internship, though it may at times recruit outside it. Applicants need a 2:1, or to be on track for one, and the firm says it cannot sponsor visas for the internship.

Deadlines differ by office. The early careers page listed London as closed on 23 October 2026 and the Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester internships as closing on 20 November 2026. Discovery Days have separate fixed closing dates.

The firm's FAQ refers to a video interview and says that candidates who need extra time must say so before starting, after which time is added. Candidates who progress beyond the online assessment may then be considered for a virtual case study.

For the video, prepare two minutes on why DLA Piper and why that office. For the case, practise reading a short commercial brief and writing a structured note: the issue, the options, a recommendation and a risk. Our case study and written tasks guide covers the shape.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and DLA Piper has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• Prep sites commonly report a DLA Piper Watson Glaser of up to 40 questions in about 30 minutes, which conflicts with the firm's statement that the test is untimed.
• A candidate describes an online application followed by a pre-recorded video interview that assessed motivation and situational judgement.
• One guide lists a telephone interview and an assessment day in an older version of the process.