Mishcon is using an AI chatbot to interview aspiring trainees

Imagine applying for a City training contract without the long-form application, no polished paragraphs or agonising over character counts. Instead, the first interaction is a virtual AI interview. That's the approach Mishcon de Reya is now testing for its 2026 recruitment season.

The firm is using a new platform called Bright Apply, which uses information from candidates’ applications to start a conversation, automatically tailoring the questions to each applicant. The interview is untimed and has practice rounds so candidates can become comfortable with the interface.

Candidates respond to the set of questions verbally or in writing with the system generating a transcript for further review. The firm emphasises that decisions remain entirely with human reviewers on its early careers team.

Early feedback

Mishcon says initial feedback from applicants has been positive, with 93% of students reporting that the AI chat responses felt “personalised and relevant to them”. One candidate said of the new format: “I felt like it better captured my complete view and personality.”

Feedback elsewhere online has been a little more mixed.

One commenter on the TCLA forum said they "really enjoyed the chat interview - it took a long time, but it was a breath of fresh air after so many pie charts, graphs and video recordings at other firms." Meanwhile, several discussions on the uklaw subreddit complained the chatbot asked "the same question over and over again", sometimes just "in different ways".

Mishcon recruits around 30 trainees a year exclusively through its vacation schemes, running four programmes annually in its London office.

What they said

Tom Wicksteed, early careers manager at Mishcon de Reya, said: "The Bright Apply tool puts candidates at the heart of the process, giving them a better chance to show us who they are and what they are able to bring to our firm, at an earlier stage of the process."

Kirsten Barnes, CEO of Bright Network, said: "Drawing on our experience, we've designed a tool that improves the process for both applicants and recruiters, using advanced machine learning to identify authentic, high-potential candidates from a large pool in a fair, transparent, and data-driven way."

She added: "Crucially, this technology enhances human judgment, rather than replacing it, making it easier to focus on potential and talent instead of getting lost in the volume of applications."