Your career

Great change for you

It takes determination, drive and talent to make it to the top of the legal profession. We’ll help you get there - with first-rate training and unrivalled opportunities to make an impact. Whatever you want from your career, Linklaters is the best place to be.

Here's a typical career path for an Associate joining Linklaters:

Associate

Following a successful traineeship, the next step is to continue your work experience as an Associate. At Linklaters you'll work directly with clients and senior colleagues on highly complex, often ground-breaking cross-border transactions.

We’ll provide just the right level of support to make sure you feel confident to take on new challenges. You’ll grow in responsibility day by day. And the more responsibility you command, the more you'll get.

The global scope of the firm, and the high profile of the deals you’ll work on, mean that you’ll gain an incomparable breadth of experience.

Managing Associate

You've demonstrated significant technical expertise, leadership qualities and the ability to operate at a senior level. So the next step is promotion to Managing Associate (MA). To achieve this, you’ll need six years or more experience as an Associate.

As an MA, you'll be more engaged in the business. We’ll look to you to solve the most difficult legal issues. You’ll be instrumental to nurturing strong client relationships. And you will be confident to lead teams and account for financial performance.

That’s not all. You’ll also join our Leaders of the Future training programme, in conjunction with the University of Cambridge. Because you will be a future leader of our firm.

Counsel and Partner

The Counsel role recognises senior lawyers who have what it takes to go above and beyond. It is a prestigious promotional step for those who can handle additional leadership responsibilities.

When you've proven yourself, with clients and colleagues, to be among the best of our MA's or Counsel, we may consider you for election to the partnership. With a significant track record of exceptional 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.