London's Graduate Recruitment Programme
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Click here to read "A week in the life of our trainees" The London office of McDermott Will & Emery was founded in 1998. We are already recognised as being in the top ten of the 100-plus US law firms operating in London by the legal media. We have 80 lawyers and tax professionals at present in London, almost all of whom are English-qualified, and we continue to have ambitious growth plans for London and for Europe. We provide practical business oriented legal advice to multinational and national corporates, financial institutions, investment banks and private clients. Most of our partners were head of practice at their former firms and are recognised as leaders in their fields by the most respected professional directories and market commentators. Our lawyers bring a wealth of impressive legal experience in the areas on which they advise. These include banking & finance, corporate, including corporate finance, M&A and private equity, EU competition, employment, IP, IT and e-business, litigation and arbitration, pensions and incentives, taxation, telecoms and US securities. In our London practice, we are seeking the brightest, best and most entrepreneurial graduates. Our training programme is deliberately exclusive. Since we only take a small number of trainees a year they need to be self-reliant, academic high fliers who want to make their mark. We offer a bespoke and broad-based training working with acknowledged “leaders in their field” who are rated by our clients, our peers, and the leading legal directories. If you are committed to practising English law in a U.S. firm then please send in your curriculum vitae with a covering letter explaining why you should be considered for an interview. We recruit both law and non-law graduates, and because we deliberately have so few trainees you get much more partner access and supervision than you would in many other firms. We are looking for candidates with a strong academic background (2:1 or above) and require good A levels, at least one A grade and 2 B grades, excluding General Studies or their equivalent, and common sense and initiative. We normally recruit trainee solicitors two years ahead of the date when they will commence work, so for example the closing date for applications for 2009 is between 1 April 2007 and 31st July 2007. Interviews for training contracts are held in the Autumn each year, and shortlisted applicants will be called back for a second interview and a written test. Interviews will be conducted by partners within the firm. We will let you know within two weeks of any interview if we can offer you a training contract. Our trainee solicitors usually spend time in four to six practice groups to ensure they receive a good exposure to different legal disciplines, but this is very flexible. In the past, the majority of trainee solicitors have been offered positions on qualification and have accepted and stayed with the firm as solicitors. The Package As at 2007 salaries were as follows: 1st year trainee solicitors: £39.000 Benefits Medical and dental insurance, life assurance, permanent health insurance, 5% pension contribution, interest-free season ticket loan, 25 days annual leave, subsidised gym membership. Sponsorship & Awards CPE and LPC funding; tuition for relevant courses and a maintenance grant. The Role We provide business-oriented legal advice to multinational and national corporates, (including FTSE100), financial institutions, investment banks and private clients. As such we regularly act on highly complex high value transactions, assignments and litigation. We operate across a number of practice groups focusing on the diverse needs of our European and international client base. As a trainee solicitor with McDermott Will & Emery you will be expected to assist in the provision of legal services and the giving of legal advice to clients of the firm to the highest standard. As such you will therefore need to keep up-to-date with the relevant areas of law and practice, understand and comply with the Solicitors Rules of Conduct. You will also need to attend external and/or internal training courses as appropriate. Graduates who meet the challenge get good quality work and working in close knit teams means your training is effectively accelerated. Seats You will be employed to work in several areas of the Firm's practice with four to six seats in our key practice groups. However, because of the developing nature of our business, flexibility is key to ensure we deliver a comprehensive service to our clients, and we may need you to undertake different or additional aspects of work at various times. We will monitor your progress on a formal and informal basis to ensure you receive ongoing training and have the opportunity to give feedback on the programme itself and on the disciplines which you feel are of most interest to you. We are very flexible in relation to the duration of your stay in departments so that we can meet your aspirations as well as those of the Firm. Teamwork To achieve your objectives you will be expected to work as part of a team with partners, lawyers, fee earners, other trainees and support staff as and when appropriate. You must therefore be capable of delegating tasks and supervising where appropriate, as team work and interpersonal skills are highly valued by the Firm. Culture We value our people and our culture is open, dynamic and entrepreneurial. You will find our teams friendly and supportive. Contacts If you have any questions or would like to apply, please contact
Áine Wood at
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