Callum Florance

Overall highlight of working at the firm so far

The clerkship at Clifford Chance’s Sydney Office was a great opportunity to understand the firm's local, regional, and global aspects. Getting hands-on experience from week one and travelling to Clifford Chance’s Singapore Office were absolute highlights—both rare opportunities for clerks.

The graduate programme deepened my understanding of commercial and corporate law. Unlike many firms where competition exists within teams, Clifford Chance fosters collaboration. As a Law Graduate, you work across multiple matters with different partners and lawyers, providing a diverse experience. This approach broadened my exposure across Litigation and Corporate rotations.

The collaborative, supportive and social culture of Clifford Chance’s Sydney Office is a key feature of this firm. From partners to business professionals, everyone is open to grabbing a coffee and sharing their experiences. This general approachability and willingness to share helped me build meaningful relationships at work, promoting seamless teamwork on a matter or a deal.

The biggest surprise is the encouragement you receive for your ideas. If you have an idea and a case for it, you can spearhead social events, legal tech training, and business development projects. This entrepreneurial spirit has been crucial in developing my confidence in speaking up and taking ownership.

International & domestic secondment opportunities

The graduate programme at Clifford Chance’s Sydney Office has a guaranteed international rotation – spending six months at one of Clifford Chance’s international offices. Throughout my Litigation and Corporate rotations, secondments were actively encouraged because Clifford Chance views these secondments as an opportunity to strengthen its international networks.

I recently attended Clifford Chance’s APAC Corporate and Litigation offsite in Bangkok, which emphasised cross-border collaboration. Meeting lawyers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, and Tokyo and participating in team-building activities made for a memorable experience.

Opportunity to work across multiple partners and areas of law

The graduate programme at Clifford Chance’s Sydney Office is reflective of the English ‘training contract’ model for young lawyers, where you learn and obtain experience across 2 years in 4 rotations.

Within Corporate, Litigation, and Global Financial Markets practice groups, there are sub-disciplines allowing you to focus on specific areas or gain broad experience.

In my Litigation rotation, I worked on commercial litigation, regulatory work, takeovers panel proceedings, and general corporate advisory. My Corporate rotation involved private and public M&A, foreign acquisitions, private equity, real estate, and privacy law. This cross-disciplinary exposure provides a strong foundation among newly qualified lawyers – equipping you with a good understanding of the equity, debt, and litigious aspects of transactions.

Learning & development

Each rotation for the graduate programme at Clifford Chance’s Sydney Office begins with an introduction to legal issues and tools and approaches available to solve them. In Litigation, we covered witness evidence, briefing barristers, communicating with opposing counsel, and litigation and arbitration structures. In Corporate, the Singapore team trained us on private M&A, due diligence, private equity, share sales, and warranty and indemnity insurance. This formal training is reinforced by hands-on learning, with supervisors and partners providing regular guidance. Their mentorship has been invaluable in shaping my skills and understanding of commercial and corporate law.

Life outside of work

The graduate programme at Clifford Chance's Sydney Office offers many opportunities beyond work. I volunteered to be a First Aid Officer, where I trained to support colleagues during a medical event. I routinely provide support to the Work Health and Safety Committee in amending workplace policies. As a member of the Enable Network (Clifford Chance’s affinity network for persons with disabilities and their allies) and Sydney Social Committee, I lead projects to make the office more inclusive.

Advice for prospective applicants

For Clerks: Get involved in as much work and networking as possible during your short stint. This will help you assess whether Clifford Chance is the right fit for you, including working collaboratively and across multiple partners.

For Law Graduates: Keep an open mind and explore different opportunities – Clifford Chance has opportunities ranging from pro bono to legal tech and commercial practice. Pushing yourself to try new things will help you develop invaluable skills and relationships.