Australia

Working at Clifford Chance in Australia offers constant exposure to top-tier domestic work along with multi-jurisdictional matters from around Asia Pacific and our global network – opportunities that few firms in Australia can provide.

Our Australian practice was formed to help clients make the most of domestic and regional opportunities; Australia has a mature economy, substantial natural resources and long-standing business links with Asia Pacific markets.

Our local team of more than 160 people are leaders in their fields. They bring decades of experience, expertise and specialist knowledge to businesses looking to expand or defend their interests in Australia and around the world. Clifford Chance Australia offers the resources, reputation, and market leading work for a bright career in law. We're seeking the brightest Graduates to join our journey and thrive in our high-performing, collegiate teams.

Vacation Clerkship

We run vacations clerkships in both of our offices over the summer. This is the primary way of gaining a place on our coveted graduate program.

Our clerkship program is designed to provide you with a real insight to life at Clifford Chance Australia. Throughout the program, you will work alongside all levels of lawyers, including partners, while you assist with real-time matters and are given space to demonstrate your skills. You will have two seat rotations, allowing you to experience different aspects of our key practice areas.

But that is not all, a key aspect of our Clerkship is the trips we offer to enable candidates to witness our seamless global network first-hand. For candidates in Sydney, you can expect a business visit to locations such as Singapore or Hong Kong. In Perth, we give candidates the opportunity to visit Sydney and explore the depth of our Australian offering. The scheme will also host sessions from professionals across the firm to give you a real insight into how our firm works – from Finance to our Legal Technology teams. As well as showing you the things that matter to us, such as introductions and opportunities to be involved in our affinity groups ARCUS, Accelerate and REACH.

We run clerkships in our Perth and Sydney offices.

Sydney

Sydney:
Applications open: Wednesday, 11 June at 9am
Applications close: Sunday, 13 July at midnight
Interviews: August
Offer day: Wednesday, 10 September at 9am

Perth

Perth:
Applications open: Monday, 23 June at 9am
Applications close: Sunday, 27 July at midnight
Interviews: August
Clerkship offer day: Friday, 12 September at 9am

As a Clifford Chance graduate, you become a valued team member from day one. You will be close to the action, with an active role in client relationships and business development early on. You will enjoy the challenge of working on a wide variety of international, market-leading and landmark transactions, often collaborating with colleagues from other offices and practice areas.

You will undertake four rotations that will include a combination of seats in our practice areas of Corporate, Global Financial Markets, and Litigation & Dispute Resolution.

Crucially, one of your seats will be an international secondment, allowing you to gain real insight into how our cross-border collaboration contributes to our success and experience how other jurisdictions operate. Allowing Graduates to develop their personal network internationally is a key aspect of our firm's success and continued dedication to delivering the best work to our clients. Recent secondment destinations include Singapore, Dubai, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

We operate Graduate Programs in both of our Australian offices. On average, we introduce cohorts of 4 Graduates in Perth and 6-8 Graduates in Sydney annually.

Graduate Program benefits

Competitive Salary
20 days leave (with a bonus top up of 5 days annually)
Medical and Extras insurance schemes
Life assurance schemes
Forward-thinking parental leave policy
Clearly defined professional development program
Opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects in a world leading organisation

Graduate positions in our Sydney and Perth offices are available for February 2026.

Applications open: Monday, 24 February
Applications close: Sunday, 6 April at midnight
Interview period: May
Graduate offers made: Wednesday, 4 June

Apply here

Training

From the moment you start with us, you will be closely supported both informally and through formal mentoring, with advice and guidance from the HR team, your supervisor and buddy throughout each rotation. We recognise that quality training and supervision is the key to getting the most from your training period.

The training and mentoring you receive will ensure you are up-to-date with legal developments in the areas where you work and help you develop business skills such as time management, communication and client relationship skills. The continued technical training will include Practice Group Bootcamps, Academy Programs and in depth on the job learning, which will ensure you quickly become an expert in your field.

Callum Florance

Law Graduate

The collaborative culture of Clifford Chance’s Sydney Office is a key feature. From partners to business professionals, everyone is open to sharing their experiences over coffee. This approachability and willingness to share helped me build meaningful relationships at work.

Gabriel Merga

Law Graduate

Clifford Chance is a perfect firm for an enthusiastic and bright person looking to start their career as a lawyer in Australia and those who want a truly global career.

Patricia Veng

Law Graduate

A highlight of my graduate programme was attending the 2024 APAC GFM Offsite in Bangkok. Meeting APAC colleagues and learning about the firm's network was great. This experience early in my career was a privilege and shows the strength of a global firm.

Jasmin L Green

Law Graduate

Working in small teams allowed me to take up greater responsibilities. The firm balances responsibility and support - whereby you are given opportunities to step up and take on interesting work while feeling supported with training and mentorship.

You can expect the following recruitment stages when applying for a Clerk or Graduate role with us in Australia:

Online written application.
First round interview with a Partner and Lawyer (CV Blind).
A written case study and a second-round interview with a Partner and Lawyer.
Offer of Clerkship /Graduate Program or feedback from the process.

To be successful, you will need to demonstrate your potential to become a first-class professional, and your willingness to take advantage of the many opportunities that you encounter. You must exhibit ambition, drive and commitment and the desire to build relationships and deliver outstanding service. We're also looking for business awareness, a keen commercial insight, a strong ability to lead and manage and to clearly articulate your ideas.

Our candidates should demonstrate intellectual curiosity, common sense, and the capacity to quickly assimilate detailed information. When applying, consider how you can best demonstrate these qualities and provide examples from your education, work or extra-curricular activities.

If you require reasonable adjustments to be made, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Vacation Clerkship