Survey Results - Trainee feedback on Clifford Chance

The lowdown - Trainees (in their own words) on Clifford Chance

Why did you choose this firm over any others? ‘It’s a great place to work with lots of perks, friendly people and the best quality of work all round’, ‘the wide range of excellent clients’, ‘they were interested in people with different degrees, not just law’, ‘the vacation scheme and approachable culture’, ‘it’s the best place to train and start a legal career’, ‘I didn’t know what area of law I wanted to go into and CC had the best breadth and depth across  practice areas for me to figure that out’, ‘due to the people I met before applying’, ‘the status and the pro bono opportunities’, ‘because of its top rankings’

Best thing about the firm? ‘Seniority doesn’t matter – you can take on as much responsibility and technical work as you can handle/ask for, even as a trainee’, ‘the collegiality – I generally feel comfortable talking to all of my colleagues’, ‘how friendly and normal everyone is’, ‘the really nice people and the international secondments’, ‘the training and the quality of work’, ‘the opportunities to work on high-profile matters’, ‘CC has done a good job of employing like-minded people who are good at their jobs. The work benefits are good, with nice ancillary facilities in the building, like a squash court, gym, pool, hairdressers, auditorium and bar’

Worst thing about the firm? ‘Having to deal with the points system in order to secure a seat; it removes any personal quality out of the decision-making process’, ‘the hours can be long’, ‘some of the communication with HR and graduate development isn’t the smoothest’, ‘the lack of work/life balance’, ‘the policies tend to change a lot, e.g. the seat selection system’, ‘there aren’t that many social activities or opportunities’, ‘sometimes you feel like a small cog in the corporate machine’, ‘the working hours expected in return for the trainee salary’

Best moment? ‘An in-person meeting with around 30 lenders – most meetings are online now’, ‘any time I’ve been given responsibility to run something myself but knowing the associates are there to support me as required’, ‘catch-ups with supervisors who genuinely support your development’, ‘closing my first deal and being given the responsibility and autonomy to do so’, ‘managing and leading on matters’, ‘working on things that were new in the market’, ‘participating in a pro bono activity with a well-known charity’

Worst moment? ‘Consistently very late nights’, ‘working until 4am on my own in the department – it was a real moment of isolation and wondering why I was doing this’, ‘a day when I was so overwhelmed with work and couldn’t push back against it’, ‘working until midnight for three months straight’, ‘making a mistake’, ‘being told I was ineligible to do a particular secondment’, ‘having no work at times’, ‘doing repetitive, low-level tasks’, ‘having my abilities as a lawyers questioned by a colleague’

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance has a ‘long-standing and excellent reputation in the financial and corporate markets’. In fact, ‘whichever seat I want to sit in, the firm is ranked as one of the best in that practice area’ raved one trainee. Recruits applied to the magic circle firm because they ‘felt that it would offer the best legal training and exposure to high-quality work and clients’. The training at Clifford Chance is ‘exceptional’ – it’s ‘well-structured and guided’ – and offers a healthy balance of ‘formal classroom sessions’ and ‘hands-on, interesting work and client contact’. ‘It seemed like the people were normal when I had conversations with them at the assessment day’, said one respondent. Trainees were also encouraged to ‘see people like me in and succeeding at the firm, and not just your stereotypical upper-class Oxbridge males’. Some of the best things about Clifford Chance  are the ‘international reach and secondments’, and that ‘you have autonomy at an early stage’ – ‘they really push you to stretch yourself and develop’. Associated best moments were ‘drafting an LPA on my own and receiving positive feedback on it’, and ‘getting to lead on negotiations on a contract with a client, whilst knowing that the senior associate was always there to guide and help me as a safety net’. The ‘ever-changing seat selection process, which is based on a ‘points/bidding strategy’ irritates trainees, especially because it makes it ‘difficult to plan for the future’. ‘The expectation that your weeknights are kept free for work’ is also a frustration. Thankfully, ‘everyone I have had the pleasure of working with is so passionate, caring and driven about their work’, which helps to soften the blow. For ‘thorough training, amazing opportunities, fantastic secondments and wonderful people’, research Clifford Chance.

Why Clifford Chance? Ope Oreyemi, trainee, Clifford Chance

Ope Oreyemi, Clifford Chance

Departments to date: Asset finance; Finance, Abu Dhabi (secondment)

University: University of Oxford

Degree: Law

I joined the firm in August 2020, following the completion of my undergraduate law degree at the University of Oxford, as well as the Legal Practice Course.

One of my highlights in the application process was the supportiveness of the graduate recruitment team, and the attention to detail that they showed to every candidate, even prior to sending any applications.

I chose a career in law primarily because I’ve always been interested in businesses, corporations and the financial system. The ability to use the law to facilitate and implement the strategies of such institutions, and be a trusted advisor, both in the legal sense, but also in these institutions’ wider commercial objectives, always appealed to me.

In terms of my decision to join Clifford Chance, the reality is that a lot of firms do very high-quality work, but there were two things that stood out to me when applying to the firm. The first is the firm’s strength in such a wide range of practice areas. Given the rotational nature of the training contract, having a breadth of strong practice areas to choose from when selecting your seats is certainly ideal. This allows for a fully immersive training contract experience, and certainly aids training and development.

The second is diversity and inclusion. Diversity has in recent times been pushed to the forefront of many corporations’ and institutions’ agendas. However, a lot of places haven’t necessarily got it quite right with inclusion. For me, inclusion is about ensuring that the policies implemented to improve diversity are sustainable, to the effect that all employees are given equal access to opportunities, and are able to thrive both personally and professionally. Clifford Chance has taken serious and sincere measures to improve both, and I could see that even before joining the firm.

In respect of my training contract, it’s definitely been far from conventional. My first seat was focused on aviation and shipping work, in the asset finance team. The nature of transactions in this seat are relatively fast paced, and it was great to be given a lot of responsibility so early on in my career.

I spent my second seat in the firm’s Abu Dhabi office. Given that you typically do four seats in the training contract, one of the appeals of undertaking an international secondment is that since the offices tend to be a bit smaller, the scope of work tends to be far broader than you might do in London. This means you have the opportunity to get involved in a wide range of practice areas, and I’ve been fortunate to do a mixture of asset finance, project finance, Islamic finance and general banking, as well as some restructuring work.

This seat will be followed by another international secondment, but with a client this time around. The firm’s commitment to giving such opportunities at such an early stage in my career speaks to the truly global nature of a career at Clifford Chance. I’m definitely not a one off – my current supervisor is from the UK, and actually trained in London as well. Having spoken to him, he’s since worked in the firm’s Frankfurt and Abu Dhabi offices, once again proving that a career at Clifford Chance is definitely a passport to travel and work abroad, if that’s something you want from your career.

Outside of the day to day work, I’ve regularly participated in the Clifford Chance weekly football team and also had the chance to get involved in pro bono work. I am currently working with Redress, an NGO committed to implementing anti-torture policies and legislation around the world. Both experiences have been extremely rewarding, and really serve as a reminder to use the platform that is Clifford Chance to do good and meaningful work.

Clifford Chance is a firm of diverse and personable people, meaningful and top-tier work, and a breadth of international opportunities. There has been a lot to learn and it’s definitely been hard work, but if anything, this has made the experience all the more rewarding!

About the firm

The firm: Clifford Chance is one of the world’s largest law firms, with an incredible depth and breadth of expertise that spans five continents. As a single, fully integrated, global partnership, the firm prides itself on its approachable, collegial, team-based way of working, and on the positive difference it makes to its clients right around the world.

With thousands of lawyers working from dozens of offices across the globe, Clifford Chance offers expert advice on all aspects of commercial law. It strives to exceed the expectations of its clients, which include corporates from all the commercial and industrial sectors, governments, regulators, trade bodies and not-for-profit organisations.

Many of Clifford Chance’s deals make the news. All of its work has a real and meaningful impact. Often, it demands the kind of knowledge that only international, cross-practice teams can provide. Its reputation in the field is formidable, which is why organisations turn to the firm not just for legal expertise but also for advice on their most critical business issues.

Senior partner: Michael Bates

Global managing partner: Charles Adams

Other offices: Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Beijing, Brussels, Bucharest, Casablanca, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Newcastle, New York, Paris, Perth, Prague, Rome, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Warsaw, Washington.

Who we are: We’re a leading global corporate law firm, but we’re not a typical one. We’re a team of bright minds and singular thinkers who work together to find solutions to the challenges our clients have. Life here means doing the best work for exceptional clients while being yourself.

What we do: We offer legal expertise across a broad spectrum of commercial issues, and we have a diverse mix of clients.

What we’re looking for: Someone resilient, curious, creative, high performing and able to take challenges while maintaining excellence; someone who continues to evolve and innovate; a great problem-solver; a smart thinker.

What you’ll do: When you start each seat, you’ll have in-depth training in that sector. This will bring you up to speed with the issues and challenges you’re likely to face. You’ll also have a dedicated supervisor in each seat and have regular meetings with the graduate development team.

Perks: Concierge services, free meals in the evenings, onsite healthcare, private healthcare scheme, pension scheme, dental plan, and free gym membership and pool.

SPARK: Clifford Chance SPARK is our award-winning opportunity for exceptional first-year law students, second-year students of a four-year law degree or penultimate year non-law students of a three-year degree.

SPARK has been developed from a one-week internship into a two-year programme to give you deep insights into our work and to develop your legal knowledge, commercial awareness and core business skills.

With both in-person and virtual content, the programme follows key pillars designed to be fast-paced, dynamic and full of opportunities to meet representatives from the firm and to learn about our business.

You’ll benefit from an unparalleled introduction to the high-performance world of commercial law, experiencing a blend of classroom-based learning, dedicated skill development, time spent shadowing our lawyers and more. It can also lead you straight to a training contract. Elements of the programme are paid at £450 per week.

Diversity and inclusion

At Clifford Chance we see inclusion as a core value of the firm and also of the law.

We understand that diversity and inclusion are good for our staff and their families, our firm and our clients, and society. We believe that to help achieve these values we have to be champions of and campaigners for them across our firm, with our clients and in the world.

We see inclusion as an intrinsic value of our firm. It is a matter of justice. It is also a core part of our identity. Our history as a firm has been anchored in innovative and diverse cultures and approaches which have both disrupted traditional attitudes and set global standards.

Please visit www.cliffordchance.com/about_us/responsible-business/inclusion-and-diversity.html to read more.