Our opportunities
What makes us different
The attention we give to training and support makes us stand out as an employer. We offer well-rounded programmes to help you develop your understanding of commercial law - and put you on the path to becoming a successful lawyer.
What is Legal Operations?
Legal Operations uses innovative solutions to optimise the way legal services are delivered to our clients. We use the best combination of people, process, tech and data to deliver the highest quality legal advice faster and at the right price.
What is the Legal Operations graduate scheme?
This graduate scheme is structured around four areas: Resource Management, Knowledge & Learning, Re:Link and Innovation. We’ll look at your experience, goals and assessment centre performance before placing you in the ‘home seat’ that suits you best. You’ll spend the majority of the 18-month scheme in your ‘home seat’, and also experience shorter placements within the other areas, to ensure you build experience, knowledge and contacts within Legal Operations.
Legal Operations graduates will be expected to contribute to Assistant level roles and projects within ‘home seats’ and whilst on placements. You’ll be given the tools and training to complete allocated tasks, join team meetings and communicate regularly and effectively with our lawyer, trainee and business teams populations.
The scheme will start in September 2022 and, subject to performance expectations being met, there will be an opportunity for a permanent position at Linklaters following the scheme.
Please note all candidates will need to be available for an in-person assessment centre at our Silk Street, London office on 10 August.
Why join?
The legal sector develops rapidly, and so will you. On offer is a wide variety of transferable and sought-after business skills, deep industry knowledge and the freedom to achieve and think differently.
Legal Operations is continually expanding its presence at Linklaters (and in the wider industry). This scheme will give you what it takes to be at the forefront of change.
You’ll work with - and learn from - innovative business professionals with diverse experience across multiple sectors, and alongside our best-in-class legal teams. All of this will build on a holistic in-house and external training programme, providing you with all the tools you need to build your career and make an impact at Linklaters.
During your first few months, you will be sent on the Legal Operations Consortium 4-week course, providing training on the Legal Operations industry, ranging from how law firms operate, learning about ‘the lawyer’s mindset’, setting and reviewing pricing models and what is the latest in Legal Technology.
What skills are we looking for?
You’ll need a strong academic record, and a wide-ranging set of interests and skills outside of your university studies. You’ll have a minimum of a 2:1 degree, in any subject. We’re looking for strong interpersonal skills, commercial awareness, motivation, problem-solving skills and the ability to learn business and legal concepts efficiently.
Who are the four core teams you could be placed with?
Our Resource Management team ensures that matters are resourced efficiently, cost effectively and fairly, taking into consideration sustainable utilisation levels and the professional development of our lawyers.
Each member of the Resource Management team tailors their role to the specific needs of the practice group so they can offer the greatest value. With access to diversity related data, utilisation statistics, career development objectives, associate/client relationships and skill gaps, RMs are well equipped to help their respective practice groups make the best decision when organising support on new matters; taking a more objective stance on allocation and avoiding unconscious bias ensuring work is spread fairly amongst our Associate population.
Innovation is about doing things differently to improve the client and lawyer experience as well as increase efficiency. It runs through everything we do at Linklaters – our legal advice, the way we deliver our services to clients and the way we run our business.
We have a core Innovation team with members based in London, Germany, Italy and Asia, and combine that with innovation lawyers embedded across core practice groups working side-by side with the lawyers and business managers. Our work is practice driven (through an ideation platform) and we also tackle some big future themes, such as leveraging data, XR and design thinking approaches to the way we work.
Knowledge and Learning is critical to the success of the firm and Linklaters places a very high value on both developing the knowledge and skills of every individual and, crucially, sharing our knowledge across the global firm. We are committed to providing excellent, relevant and exciting knowledge and learning that develop capabilities for the future.
Included in the graduate scheme is our Knowledge Technologies team, who are responsible for bringing the knowledge & expertise of the whole firm to every client, on every matter, through the development and promotion of Knowledge Systems. The tech is the best in the market – and used by our lawyers and business development teams every day. The opportunity to work in this area would include full training, and frequent collaboration with our Online Content team, Film & Media team and Technology functions.
Re:link is the firm's flexible contract lawyer platform. We provide Linklaters' clients and our practices with swift access to a community of high-quality contract lawyers to address fixed term or flexible resourcing needs.
Our clients are always challenging us to service their needs with increased innovation and efficiency and Re:link forms part of the firm's response to this challenge. Some examples of circumstances where Re:Link excels include where a Linklaters client is:
- in need of short-term expert cover for a team member going on leave
- is under-resourced but they are restricted regarding the recruitment of permanent hires
- working on a short-term project which requires niche expertise
- asking for a Linklaters' secondee and the practice is unable to send one.
What will the application process consist of?
Online application: submit your CV and covering letter here.
Online assessment: if your CV generates interest from one of our hiring managers, you’ll be sent a link to complete our online assessment, where we test your critical thinking skills
Virtual interview: if you perform well at the online assessment, we’ll invite you to a virtual interview to learn more about you, what you can bring to the graduate scheme and what your ‘home seat’ preferences are.
Assessment Centre: We’ll then send invites to the assessment centre, held at our Silk Street, London office on 10 August. The assessment centre will provide a chance to see our great offices and meet the teams you could potentially be working. You will be asked to take part in a group case study and interview with your potential ‘home seat’ manager.