Two years

Over four six-month seats (placements), you'll work on a range of live projects and have real influence. There's no substitute for the depth and quality of insight that comes from spending six months in a department. You may also have the chance to take up an international or client secondment. And at the end of the Contract, you'll be able to make a well-informed decision about where to start your career.

Support and feedback

In each department, you'll sit with a Principal, who is on hand to train and supervise. A Group Trainee Solicitor Partner will also give you additional support. With ongoing feedback, you'll have ample opportunity to discuss progress with the Trainee Development Team and draw up a training plan. And as you define your interests, you’ll also have the flexibility to change your preference as you go. You’ll also benefit from seminars and training modules that are specific to your seat and practice area.

Two years

This is a unique opportunity to train and qualify as a lawyer in England and Wales before starting a commercial law career in Hong Kong, Beijing or Shanghai.

Training starts with our bespoke Legal Practice Course at the University of Law in Moorgate. We'll cover course fees and even provide a maintenance grant of £7,000.

Next, you'll start working on live client cases during four six-month seats. These take place in London as well as Beijing, Hong Kong or Shanghai (two seats will be in London and two in China offices). You'll build skills and experience in practice areas, and, with ongoing training and support, develop the professional skills you need. Once qualified, you'll then start your career as an Associate in Beijing, Hong Kong or Shanghai.

We're looking for native-level Mandarin-speaking students with a good command of English, who are currently on an undergraduate Law degree, Master of Law (LLM) or Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) programme at a UK university. To meet our needs, you'll need to demonstrate a global outlook, drive and ambition, backed up by abilities like intelligence and commercial awareness.

Two to four weeks

For a head start in your career, apply to our Winter, Spring or Summer Vacation Schemes. They offer a taste of life in commercial law at a global firm, and they put you in the best possible position to secure a Training Contract here. We'll also pay you £400 per week while you're with us.

Our Winter, Spring and Summer Vacation Schemes are for penultimate and final-year undergraduates, graduates and postgraduates (studying Law and non-Law subjects).

You'll be involved in real deals, sit with a Principal, work hard and enjoy an active social life. You'll also attend professional development sessions. These offer a broader understanding of our global business strategy and practice areas, and help you to develop essential skills like negotiation and pitching.

More informally, you'll have the ear of experienced lawyers. A Trainee ‘buddy’ in each department is on hand to integrate you into the team, as well as a Principal, who is an Associate or Managing Associate. This reflects the support you can look forward to if you join us as a Trainee. You'll also get to know us, and other Vacation Scheme students, through our social events (often a highlight!).

After attending the Vacation Scheme, we'll automatically offer you a final interview for our Training Contract with one of our Partners. The selection process for our Schemes is tough, because they are there to help prepare you, and we want you to be successful in your Training Contract application.

Our strategic alliance

Linklaters has formed a successful strategic alliance with Allens.

Allens is a leading international law firm that has maintained some of the world’s longest client relationships, some stretching back more than 160 years. Clients are diverse, and include 55 of the world’s top 100 companies and more than 75 of Australia’s top 100 companies.

Working for them, you'll join around 450 lawyers across Asia and Australia. You'll have access to accelerated technical and skills development and Partners who'll help you be the best you can be. The Clerkship and graduate programmes equip lawyers to lead the market even in this rapidly changing business environment.

Allens accepts applications from students in the penultimate year of their law degree and run Clerkship programmes throughout the Australian summer in all offices.

In Perth and Melbourne, Allens programmes coincide with the Australian winter holidays. The alliance accepts applications from students who would like to complete Clerkships in London and Australia.

FOUR WEEKS

If you're an ambitious, penultimate-year student at an Australasian university, you can join us on a Clerkship in London. This is an ideal way to sample our work, people and culture, and discover whether starting your career with Linklaters in London is right for you. We'll organise and pay for your flight and accommodation and provide £400 each week to cover living costs.

The Clerkship is similar to our UK Vacation Schemes. After an induction, you'll work alongside experienced lawyers in two practice areas. There, you'll be treated just like a Trainee, so that you can get an authentic understanding of working life here.

You'll be involved in real deals, sit with a Principal, work hard and enjoy an active social life. You'll also attend professional development sessions for a broader understanding of our global business strategy and practice areas. They'll help you to develop skills such as negotiation and pitching. More informally, experienced lawyers and trainees are on hand to answer questions and advise you.

Once you complete the Clerkship, we'll automatically offer you an interview with a Partner, for our London Training Contract. We'll then support you through the College of Law/PLT or equivalent in Australia before arranging your relocation to London.

Back in the UK, you'll start our two-year Training Contract, alongside our other trainees. The only difference is that you'll also take the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS) so that you can be admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales. The net result is that you will be dual-qualified in England and Wales as well as in your home jurisdiction.

We welcome applications from penultimate-year Law students at all leading Australasian universities. You'll need to show you are committed to a career with the firm, starting in London, and the selection process is rigorous, so do your homework. To apply for our next Australian Clerkship (November to December 2018), the first step is to complete an online application form. If selected, you'll be interviewed in Australia in May 2018.

Four weeks

In November and December, we run a Clerkship in London for penultimate and final-year international law students at South African universities who want to start their careers in London. If you're at a leading law school in South Africa, this is your opportunity to discover if commercial law, London and Linklaters are right for you. We'll organise and pay for your flight and accommodation for the duration of the scheme, as well as paying you £400 per week.

The African Clerkship is similar to our UK Vacation Schemes. After an induction, you'll be treated just like a Trainee, because we want you to get to know us properly. You'll be involved in real deals, sit with a Principal, work hard and enjoy an active social life.

You'll also attend professional development sessions. You'll take away a broader understanding of our global business strategy and practice areas, and develop skills like negotiation and pitching. More informally, you'll be supported by our experienced lawyers and Trainees.

Once you complete the Clerkship, we'll automatically offer you an interview for a London Training Contract. If successful, you can then return to South Africa to finish your degree, with the security of a London Training Contract to start when you graduate.

Two days

This insight programme offers a taste of life in commercial law at a global firm. And it's intended to put you in the best possible position to secure a place on our Vacation Schemes.

On day one, you'll learn about our culture, work and strategy and attend workshops to develop commercial skills such as teamwork and networking. The Graduate Recruitment Team will share their advice on making an impression, and you'll attend a social evening event (because it's not all about work).

During day two, you'll shadow Trainees and Associates and attend a personal impact masterclass to help you stand out when applying for our Vacation Schemes. Then after the programme, you'll automatically be offered a place at a Vacation Scheme assessment day.

The Pathfinder is open to first-year undergraduates studying any degree at UK and Irish universities. Or if you're taking a four-year undergraduate degree, you can apply in the second year.