Freshfields | training contract | vacation scheme

• Freshfields

  Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is the fruit of a merger between Freshfields, an old and established UK firm, and two German firms – Bruckhaus from Hamburg and Deringer from Stuttgart. It is undoubtedly a big big player, with offices in 27 key business centres around the world. Part of the esteemed ‘magic circle’ in the UK, Freshfields employs over 5600 people with over 2500 fee earners.
  
  With a hand in nearly every deal often worth billions of pounds, Freshfields client list is a veritable who’s who of business giants across many sectors and geographies. Some of them are ABN Amro, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, HP, Tesco, Siemens, Sony ITV, Formula One, Bank of England, Deutsche Bank, LSE, ICI and Zurich Financial Services. Please bear in mind, this is merely a snap shot!
  
  Recent awards include Law Firm of the Year – Legal Business Awards 2008; International Law Firm of the Year – PLC Which Lawyer? Awards 2008; M&A Firm of the Year – Acquisitions Monthly 2007 and European Law Firm of the Year – International Finance Law Review 2007. Needless to say, an excellent place to kick off your career.

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  • Training Contract

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  A long and historic pedigree, critical and ground-breaking alliances across the globe and the ability to change with time has helped Freshfields become one of the premier law firms in the world. A blue-chip transactional and deal-driven practice, the firm attracting some of the biggest deals in the world.
  
  As with all magic circle firms, you will be expected to work hard, with much of their work largely transaction driven. Despite this, trainees are more than well compensated, with one of the best salary packages in the city.
  
  In summary, Freshfields provides a superb training and development programme, the chance to work on the world’s biggest and most lucrative deals, fat salary packages and a gold star on your CV. Undoubtedly one of the best out there.

  At Freshfields, ‘corporate is king’ – a significant portion of the firm’s income is generated in the corporate department, considered among the best practices globally. Cross-border M&A, private equity, fund management and regulatory are main sub-areas in the corporate practice.
  
  Other departments are in finance – asset finance, banking, structured finance, insolvency; and energy/infrastructure; dispute resolution; competition, employment, environment, real estate, tax and IP/IT.

  Maximum number of As at A-level and a high second or first class degree are minimum academic qualifications required. In addition, candidates should be able to demonstrate, through actual experiences and examples, qualities such as clarity of thought & communication, oral & written language skills and creativity.
  
  You must also be able to demonstrate good team & interpersonal skills, enthusiasm, commercial awareness and be a self-starter. Put simply, you will need to be an exceptional candidate.

  Each year, Freshfields offers around 100 training contracts and covers all practice areas in which the firm operates. A two week induction programme kicks-off the two year training period which is split into eight three-month seats, some of which could be a client secondment or an international stint.
  
  Reviews are conducted once every three months, and at all times, trainees are encouraged to look forward and think on what they would like to work on next. Other training includes departmental presentations, workshops and seminars on latest developments in law and business; professional and technical skills, resources and infrastructure.
  
  A unique Simulated Office programme runs parallel with the LPC, allowing trainees to manage meetings, manage clients and numerous scenarios on a day-to-day basis.

  For more information on the Freshfields Graduate Scheme, further details are available via this link

  Freshfields conducts four vacation placement schemes each year, each running for three weeks. The schedule is 23 March – 9 April; 22 June – 10 July; 13 July – 31 July and 3 August – 21 August. Twenty places are available in each programme.
  
  Visitors spend three weeks in the practice group of their choice, working closely with an associate minder. The scheme includes an induction, a group project, a research task with a partner minder and a one day mock transaction. Social events include a day trip to one of the firm's European offices.
  
  Seat selection can be as per trainee’s choice provided positions are available at that point. Trainees will get an in-depth presentation of all departments, case studies involving commercial transactions and group exercises to help trainees learn and improve on team work and general management skills.
  
  Freshfields also holds several Open Days & Workshops throughout the year, covering information on the firm, its work, managing clients, how deals and transactions are implemented and other general information. One set of Open Days is aimed exclusively at non-law students, usually conducted during the winter vacation.
  
  This workshop is for two days and trainees will get to complete and review a case study and shadow a current trainee through a typical work day. The second batch of workshops is conducted over the Easter vacation and open to students from any discipline.

  Course fees for GDL & LPC will be covered by the firm. An annual grant of £6,250 is paid for the GDL and £7,250 for the LPC. Vacation scheme trainees will receive a weekly allowance of £275.
  
  Salaries for the first and second years of training are currently at £39,000 and £44,000 respectively. Benefits provided include 25 days’ annual vacation, interest-free season ticket loan, life assurance, on-site doctor & dentist and a £2,000 interest- free advance on salary. Trainees can also avail of unpaid leave at the end of the training contract.

  Vacation scheme applications may be completed and submitted between 19 November and 18 January. Training Contract applications should be completed and submitted between 1 November and 31 July. Shortlisted candidates will be required to attend an interview at the firm’s London offices. The assessment will begin with a written test, followed by two rounds of interviews and a tour of the offices conducted by a current trainee.
  
  Access to the forms is available in the career section of the firm’s website at freshfields.com/uktrainees/application. For further information and details, the graduate recruitment team can be contacted at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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