Summer vacation schemes
Our aim is to give you genuine
experience of our work, our people and our culture, so that you can
decide if Linklaters is right for you. We have worked hard to
design a vacation scheme which successfully combines live
experience in our practice areas with workshops and seminars
dedicated to your career development. You will go through a
rigorous selection process to win a place on a scheme but, once you
start, the emphasis is on starting your professional
development and adding to your skills. We'll treat you just like a
trainee: you will sit with a qualified lawyer and will do real work
on real deals; you will work hard but you will also enjoy an active
social life.
Am I eligible?
You will need to be an undergraduate student studying in a UK or
Irish university in order to apply for the vacation scheme. For the
Summer vacation schemes, you will need to be a penultimate-year law
student (a few places are available for penultimate-year non-law
students who can't attend at Christmas due to the academic
calendar).
What you'll do
Before you start one of
our four-week
programmes, we will ask you
to choose the practice areas that most interest you. The graduate
team will be keen to give you the practice area(s) of your choice
wherever possible. You will
complete two practice-area placements (or seats) of a
fortnight each, and will be
paid £300 per week while on our Summer vacation scheme.
Typical features of the scheme.
Induction: Before you join your practice area,
you will spend time getting to know other students, learning about
the strategy of the firm, familiarising yourself with our systems
and generally settling in.
Practice areas: You spend two weeks in each
practice area, so you will work in two different areas of the firm.
An associate, managing associate or partner will act as your
principal, setting you real work from the start.
Trainee buddies: We allocate a trainee to each
vacation scheme student. He or she will act as a 'buddy' while you
are with us. Buddies provide a trainee's view of the firm, showing
you around, introducing you to people, explaining their own work
and offering support and encouragement.
Seminar programme: Our programme of
professional development sessions are designed to give you a
broader understanding of our strategy and the demanding environment
in which we work, as well as giving you the opportunity to develop
your skills in areas such as business analysis, mediation and
pitching to a client. Throughout your time with us, there will be
experienced lawyers available to support you, talk things through
and offer constructive advice and feedback.
Business project: Alongside your live work
experience, you will tackle projects of your own, such as a company
analysis. As you complete the task, experienced lawyers will be on
hand to discuss your progress and give you tips. These projects are
aimed at helping you with your knowledge of commercial
awareness.
Client pitch: You'll work in a team with other
students to develop a mock pitch that you then present to a panel
of partners. Pitching for work can be exciting and dramatic – as
well as critical to our growth, and your own. It's a great exercise
because you also learn about clients, how they see us and what we
have to offer them as a firm.
Litigation mediation: A partner will introduce
a mock litigation scenario based on a dispute between two parties.
With an associate acting as mediator, you'll then negotiate on
behalf of either the claimant or defendant and in turn see how
litigation and mediation works.
Real estate case study: This exercise is aimed
at helping you get a sense of the commercial aspect of the Real
Estate practice. You will be briefed on one of four fictitious
companies and work with other student teams to negotiate deals that
benefit all parties.
Social activities: Our vacation schemes are
designed to give a complete flavour of Linklaters, so there is
plenty going on outside work too. You'll enjoy everything from
informal drinks and dinners to theatre trips and getting involved
in sports clubs.
Community Investment activity: Linklaters is
hugely committed to giving back to the community in which we
operate. Our vacation scheme offers you the opportunity, if you
wish, to partake in a team challenge and get involved in helping a
local charity.
When it's over:
When you have finished the vacation scheme, you are
automatically offered an interview for a training contract. So, if
you apply for a vacation scheme, you don't have to apply for a
training contract separately.
Key dates and deadlines:
Our 2010 summer vacation schemes will run on the following
dates:
Vacation scheme 1: 21 June - 16 July
2010
Vacation scheme 2: 26 July - 20 August
2010
To apply, please click
here.