With more than 5,000 people working in 35 major financial centres in 24 countries, and more than half of these outside the UK, Allen & Overy truly is a global firm.
Our international reach gives us the ability to provide world class expertise combined with local knowledge enabling us to work on some of the most exciting and complex transactions. Our rapid advances in areas such as Central and Eastern Europe and the Far East are indicative of our forward-thinking strategy. The future of Allen & Overy’s success is in increased international working and by working with us you will be a part of this. In 2010, we expanded our international reach to include offices in Australia and Qatar.
About the Training Contract
You’ll gain global experience, work on cutting-edge deals and learn from lawyers who are leaders in their field of practice. We are renowned for the high quality of our Banking, Corporate and International Capital Markets advice but also have major strengths in Dispute Resolution, Employment & Benefits, Tax and Real Estate. As a trainee you will be involved in a number of interesting and complex deals and cases. Trainees play an active part in each transaction, so your contributions make a real difference to the success of your team.
Your training will be based on three or six month rotations (known as ’seats’) through a number of departments or practice areas, where you will sit with a partner or an associate. Seats are available in all our practice areas, allowing trainees to experience the full range of work we do, with the priority seat system enabling you to spend time in an area that is of particular interest.
Our core areas of expertise are Corporate, Banking and International Capital Markets and as a trainee you will spend at least twelve months of your training contract gaining experience in at least two of these areas. Our trainees also need to gain contentious experience during their training contract which they do in our Litigation or Employment departments. We now offer our trainees the option of completing a Litigation course to gain their contentious experience if they are sure their interests lie elsewhere. The course is run by Nottingham Law School and consists of five days’ tuition and regular visits to a legal advice centre throughout your training contract to gain practical contentious experience (and provide valuable pro bono help).
We currently offer 36 international seats in 19 of our offices and trainees usually apply for secondments for the final six months of their training contract. International secondments are particularly useful as they provide trainees with an awareness of cultural and regional differences, which is especially important as most of the work we do is cross-border and international.
We also offer a number of client secondments, which enable our trainees to better understand our clients’ businesses, by working alongside them. These secondments normally take place in the second year of training.
Alongside their day-to-day work, we encourage our trainees to get involved with pro bono and community projects. As a trainee you could become involved in a number of pro bono initiatives such as giving free legal advice at the Battersea Legal Advice Centre evening surgery or working for organisations such as Interights. Last year 94% of our trainees got involved with one of our pro bono initiatives.
What we look for
Individuality. There’s no such thing as a typical Allen & Overy candidate – quite the opposite in fact. We’re open-minded and interested in people who share that quality.
We are looking for individuals who can demonstrate a strong academic performance – you’ll be heading for at least a 2(i), in any degree discipline, and have 340 UCAS points (AAB) at A-level (or equivalent). But beyond this we want to see evidence of teamwork, communication skills, planning and organisation, problem solving, commercial awareness and commitment – to a career in law, and to a career with A&O.
The Legal Practice Course
We provide the Allen & Overy LPC at The College of Law in London, which all of our future trainees study before commencing their training contract with us. This is a one year course (which is preceded by the GDL if you did not study law at university). Our fee earners and training team have worked closely with The College of Law to develop a bespoke LPC that reflects the particular requirements of a legal career in the City. The course features materials based on real examples of the transactions we do and enables you to familiarise yourself with our precedents, making it easier when you start at A&O. The modules you will take focus on our core practice areas (Banking, Corporate and International Capital Markets) to ensure your time at Law School provides the best possible preparation for your training contract with us.
To find out more and to apply directly to the Allen & Overy Training Contract, please follow this link to the Allen & Overy website. However, if you require any information or advice with regard to reasonable adjustments, please contact Justin Penney on 07776 090 508 or email info@employ-ability.org.uk
Law undergraduates/ graduates Training Contract Closing date: 31st July 2010
Non-law undergraduate/ graduates Training Contract opens for applications on 1st November 2010
