Your career

Great change for you

It takes determination, energy and talent to make it to the top of the legal profession. Rest assured, our first-rate training, and many, many opportunities to make an impact, will help you to get there. Whatever you want from your career, Linklaters is the best place to start. And to give you an idea of what that might look like, here's a typical career path.

Associate

Years 0-6

You'll start your career in one of our practice areas as an Associate. You'll work directly with clients and senior Linklaters colleagues on highly complex, often ground-breaking cross-border transactions. With just the right level of support to ensure that you feel confident to take on the new challenges you are facing, you'll grow in responsibility day by day. And the more responsibility you command, the more you'll get.

You'll be gaining an incomparable breadth of experience, due to the global scope of the firm and the big profile of the deals you'll be working on.

We'll support you through your bar exams and your pro-bono work, enabling you to work flexibly around your commitments. Team spirit is fostered and social connections are easily made at our weekend retreat for Associates, our Associate workshops and, it goes without saying, in our on-site restaurant.

> Apply for an Associate position

Managing Associate (MA)

Year 6+

If you've demonstrated significant technical expertise, leadership qualities and the ability to operate at a senior level, the next step is promotion to Managing Associate (MA).

As an MA, you'll be more engaged in the business: solving the most difficult legal issues, nurturing client relationships, leading teams and accounting for financial performance. And as you''ll be a future leader of our firm, you'll also join our Leaders of the Future training programme, in conjunction with the University of Cambridge.

Counsel and Partner

The Counsel role is designed to recognise the above and beyond capabilities of senior lawyers and the additional leadership responsibilities that they assume. It is also a promotional step.

Once you've proven yourself with clients and colleagues, the very best Managing Associates and Counsel may be considered for election to the partnership, combining serious experience with a track record of strong performance, Partners are leaders and world-class experts in their fields.

Beyond the path

Development isn't all about job titles. You'll pick up invaluable skills on high-profile projects, working with brilliant colleagues. And our size and success mean we can offer an unrivalled choice as you develop. Stay flexible, and you can take up secondments abroad, or with clients. As our business evolves, so will you, with the chance to explore new opportunities and new areas of law. Your ongoing training, meanwhile, will be covered by the Linklaters Law & Business School.

Ongoing training

Ongoing training is vital to becoming a successful commercial lawyer. It's why at Linklaters, you can look forward to continuous training and development throughout your career, via on-the-job learning and the Linklaters Law & Business School. The School was developed in partnership with some of the world's most prestigious institutions, including Harvard Law School and the University of Cambridge. In one holistic syllabus, we've combined business skills and technical knowledge, for the rounded expertise you need. And as well as milestone programmes from Trainee to Partner level, much of our training is international.

Launching leaders

Wherever our people succeed, everyone wins. So we're proud to count former colleagues among our clients and to find them in many leadership roles in industry and government.