Middle East Summer Vacation Scheme 2025

A two-week Summer Vacation Scheme with Clifford Chance offers outstanding opportunities to experience what a career with us is really all about. You’ll have the chance to get involved in exciting, stimulating, and challenging work and gain a fascinating insight into the life of a Clifford Chance lawyer. 

Clifford Chance is one of the world's leading law firms, offering local and global clients expert advice on all aspects of commercial law. The Firm has unrivalled scale and depth of legal resources across five continents and five core practice areas.

Give yourself the best start

During your two weeks with us, you will be right at the heart of the action, working alongside experienced lawyers in two of our key practice areas – Corporate, Global Financial Markets, Litigation, Debt Capital Markets, Real Estate & Construction, and Projects. 

You will have the opportunity to work on live deals, do pro-bono work and attend office-wide socials. The expectation will be for you to be eager to learn, ask questions, and immerse yourself as much as possible. There will be many opportunities for networking with Clifford Chance employees in our Middle East offices and you'll be encouraged to make the most of these. 

Unbeatable support and development

The Early Acquisition Team will support you in preparing for the scheme and throughout the two weeks you spend with us.  During your time here, you will also be supported by a Supervising Associate and a dedicated Trainee Buddy.

Your Supervising Associate will set tasks, provide feedback and be able to provide insight into their experience and career in the relevant practice area. Your Trainee Buddy will guide you through those tasks and be on hand to answer any queries – legal and otherwise – you might have. 

Between the two, they'll offer a snapshot of the life and work you can expect at different stages of your career as a Clifford Chance lawyer.

Am I eligible?

Our Middle East Summer Vacation Scheme is open to all penultimate year and final year students, and graduates.

Required experience and skills

Outside of our academic requirements, you do not need any specific experience or legal knowledge to apply for the scheme. What you will need, however, are:

•        A strong commitment to building your career in the Middle East  

•        Astute business awareness and excellent problem-solving skills 

•        The ability to distinguish between legal and business issues 

•        An inquisitive mind and the ability to articulate and share knowledge and ideas.

•        The desire to provide exceptional service, and put clients at the heart of everything you do

•        Outstanding leadership and collaboration skills and a natural enthusiasm for being part of a team

•        The ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, high-pressure, high-performance environment

•        Strong oral and written communication skills (fluent Arabic drafting and speaking skills would be preferred)

•        An eagerness to learn from those around you; to gain exposure within the Firm and beyond

•        Pride in your work and a willingness to take responsibility for your own career 

•        A genuine interest in the role, the Firm and its clients, and an understanding of how they align with your own skills and ambitions.

About the Firm

Clifford Chance is one of the largest international law firms in the world. With over 30 offices across the globe, we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, providing them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the Firm’s global standards with in-depth local expertise.

Our One Firm global strategy is focused on targeted growth led by the needs of our core clients, those who we can best support with the breadth and depth of Clifford Chance’s expertise, across the sectors and geographies, which matter most to them.

Our Firm, work and people span jurisdictions, cultures, and languages. We offer our clients a truly international perspective. We believe every career should be rewarding and stimulating - full of opportunities to learn, thrive, and grow. That’s why we’re so proud of our inclusive, friendly, and team-based approach to work.

You’ll find our clients in commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, regulators, trade bodies, and not-for-profit organisations. But no matter who they are or why they’ve reached out to us, we provide a world-class service every step of the way. And that’s possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and conscientious approach to work that you’ll find across all of our teams.

Whichever area of the business you join, you’ll become an integral part of an innovative, diverse and ambitious team of people. Clifford Chance is a place where the brightest minds and the best of colleagues meet.

Equal Opportunities

At Clifford Chance we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our Firm, and society.

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally, regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age. This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment, including pay, promotion, training, transfer, and every other aspect of employment.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration, and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our Firm. Find out more here.

Apply now

Please be aware that we only review your application form. If you upload your CV, this will pre-populate some of your application; however, your CV will not be reviewed. Please do NOT upload a covering letter, as this will not be reviewed.