Australian Clerkships.

As a truly global firm, Linklaters is committed to hiring and training the best graduates throughout the world. Over the last ten years, we have built strong networks with the leading Australian universities. Our aim is to encourage talented law students to apply for clerkships overseas, primarily in London, but also potentially in Hong Kong.

The London experience

Linklaters, Australian clerkships

Every winter, we run a four-week clerkship in London for penultimate-year law students studying in Australia. It's an exceptional opportunity to experience our work, our people and our culture: there's no better way to discover whether Linklaters is right for you. The clerkship is aimed at law students in their penultimate year of university and whilst we host presentations for students at Melbourne, Monash, UNSW, UTS, UQ and Sydney, we welcome applications from other leading Australian universities. In fact in 2011 we received applications from seven different universities across Australia.

The selection process is rigorous but, once the experience begins, it's all about developing and adding to your skills and giving you authentic insights into the firm - the testing and the assessment have already been done.

The scheme lasts for four weeks and runs in November to December. We will reimburse the cost of your flights and organise accommodation for you during this time, whilst also paying you throughout the scheme. During the last two weeks of your clerkship you will be joined by a group of UK non-law students as they commence a two-week vacation scheme with us. This provides a fantastic opportunity for you to meet a wide variety of people who will hopefully become your future colleagues.

Insight & understanding

You'll be treated just like a trainee. You will sit with a principal, you will be involved in real deals, you will work hard and you will also enjoy a very active social life – as well as the variety of challenges on offer. The typical features of the clerkship are similar to our UK vacation schemes. We want you to go away with a genuine understanding of Linklaters. You'll see what trainees do in London and the wealth of opportunities available to you and you will develop a pretty clear impression of whether you would like to train here. When you complete the clerkship, we will automatically offer you an interview for a training contract. If all goes well, you can then return to Australia to finish your degree, with the security of a training contract in your pocket. We will also then support you through the College of Law/PLT in Australia before you relocate to London.

To read more about Miki Rohr's experience of an Australian Clerkship last year, click here.

Training Contracts

Your next stop will be our London office where you will complete a two-year training contract, alongside all our other trainees. The only difference is that towards the end of your training contract you will take the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS), so that you can be admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales. This means you will be dual-English and Australian law qualified.

Clare Dahlstrom is one of our talented Australian trainees. To listen to her experiences on her clerkship and to follow her on her training contract click here. 

To apply

To apply for our Australian Clerkship, which runs from November to December 2012, you need to complete an online application form between 1 March 2012 and 10 April 2012. Selected students will be interviewed in Australia in May. Our clerkship in London will run in November to December 2012.

For further information about these opportunities please contact us on our Global Facebook page or at graduate.recruitment@linklaters.com.

To learn more about our Australian opportunities, please click here.