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Clifford Chance Graduate Careers

Welcome to Clifford Chance's law firm hub. This is the place to find out everything you need to know about one of the UK's leading law firms. 

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The AllAboutLaw perspective on Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance is a global Magic Circle law firm with offices across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. Renowned for their international expertise, the firm has previously been recognised as International Law Firm of the Year at IFLR. Trainees will join a world-leading team and can look forward to working on cutting-edge deals. 

Trainees at this prestigious firm are expected to work hard, which many current trainees see as a strength, describing the work as “fast-paced, complex and rewarding.” Another trainee stated, “it’s the variety of projects and pace of change that keeps me at the firm.” Lawyers feel supported, with a two-year buddy program starting once you receive your training contract offer, allowing you to learn what to expect from a current trainee. 

You will also be well rewarded for your hard work with a competitive starting salary and a variety of benefits offered by the firm, such as concierge services, free meals in the evenings, on-site healthcare, and a free gym and pool. Furthermore, with the firm’s multiple offices across the globe, trainees can spend a seat in places as far as São Paulo and Hong Kong. 

The firm advocates that prestige should not mean exclusivity and is renowned for its commitment to inclusion and democratising access to the profession. It offers several schemes aimed at encouraging those from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a law career. ACCESS work provides two years of work experience, one-on-one tutoring and mentorship to year 12 students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, ensuring access to work experience is no longer about who you know. A former ACCESS alumni described this as a "gateway to accessing contacts and gaining mentorship in an industry that I previously had no connections to."

Furthering this commitment is ACCEPT, the firm’s Insight Day for LGBTQ+ students interested in law, where aspiring lawyers discuss topical issues and learn from professionals about their experience. One trainee describes their experience as follows: “they place such a value on you being an individual which is really refreshing”.

What the firm says

We empower exceptional people

Our high-performance culture produces exceptional legal professionals.

Who we are

As a global law firm our work spans jurisdictions, cultures, and languages – and so do our people. We’ll show you how to combine deep legal expertise and commercial intelligence to grow, transform, protect, and defend our clients' businesses, across every critical moment. 

Together, we’ll operate in the sectors and regions that matter to our clients. With us, you’ll learn lawyers can deliver forward-thinking insights and innovative, tech-enabled solutions tailored to their clients’ sectors and markets.

What’s it like working here?

Our culture is collaborative and inclusive from top to bottom – where diverse perspectives are recognised and valued. Our Trainee lawyers get equal access to opportunities to learn, thrive and grow. You’ll build connections and work with colleagues as one global team. You’ll unlock opportunities for clients, across borders, cultures, legal and commercial disciplines. And you’ll be empowered to take the lead from an early stage.

Equally exceptional

Inclusion is an intrinsic value of our firm. Our history is anchored in diverse cultures and approaches which have both disrupted traditional attitudes and set new global standards. Our goal is to deliver equality of opportunity, equality of aspiration, and equality of experience to everyone who works here.

Wellbeing without exception

Everyone experiences personal and professional challenges, but we are here to support you through any you may face. As part of our commitment to your health and wellbeing, we’ve developed a unique and award-winning resilience programme specifically for Trainees. 

Exceptional growth

We invest in your full potential from the very beginning. You’ll have access to development from your very first day. You'll take part in anaward-winning trainee induction programme; have access to regular feedback sessions; and get a Partner-level sponsor throughout your training contract 

The Clifford Chance Global Academy also provides classroom and online training. However, we know some things can only be learned by experience, which is why over a quarter of our trainees are on secondment at any one time, gaining unique international seat experiences.

Sustainability

We have a comprehensive, Responsible Business Strategy in place. For instance, we align our operations to contribute towards a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on those areas where we can make the greatest contribution, and we intend to continue to do so through to 2030.

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Data

• 1st year trainee£56,000
• 2nd year trainee£61,000
• NQ Salary£150,000
• LPC Course Fees Paid?Yes
• GDL Course Fees Paid?Yes
• GDL Living Costs Grant London£12,500
• GDL Living Costs Grant Ex. Ldn£10,000
• UK Offices2

Awards

• Winner - Most Sustainable Recruitment Campaign
• Winner - Most Sustainable Recruitment Process

Sustainability

Sustainability is incredibly important to this law firm. The firm has signed up to the Sustainable Recruitment Alliance pledge, which is a movement committed to finding more sustainable ways to attract early talent.

Academic requirements

• A-levels Not Assessed
• Degree 2:1

Clifford Chance’s commitment to diversity shines through in their application process. They operate a blind CV policy during assessment centres and use a contextual based recruitment system to make the process more accessible.

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Diversity interests

Clifford Chance see inclusion as a core value of the firm and also of the law. They believe that if you have a commitment to inclusion you must be prepared to use your skills and influence to champion, campaign and work to deliver on your values. So their goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience.

Clifford Chance has a number of employee networks and a mental health advocate initiative championed by senior leaders, which help to engage their colleagues in diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing.

For specific information on each of the employee networks, please visit the Our Culture section of their website 

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