Give a brief overview of your role at the firm now, when you joined and your background before joining .
I am a 1st year Paralegal Apprentice and I joined Clifford Chance in September 2022. I have just started my first rotation within the Corporate team, and am now working with Private Equity firms, Banks, insurance companies, and more!
Before I join Clifford Chance, I have worked in various roles in restaurants and hotels where I developed teamwork skills, communication skills, and client support skills that aide me regulatory in my day-to-day working life.
What made you choose an apprenticeship?
I chose the apprenticeship due to work experience I did 4 years ago at Richard Griffiths & Co Solicitors. During these few weeks of work during the summer I developed a strong interest in the legal profession and felt the need to therefore, the Paralegal Apprenticeship would be an amazing opportunity to address that lack of insight.
The apprenticeship has enabled me to gain experience in a variety of legal work, see what lawyers and other legal professionals do, and know what it's like to work for a magic circle law firm. It has also given me insight into what it's like to study law and what challenges and opportunities you could be faced with in a career in law.
What is it that attracted you to your career within the legal sector?
In my opinion, the appeal of working in the legal sector comes from being able to develop a wide range of multipurpose skills such as research, drafting, commercial awareness, and more.
In today's society, many countries such as Australia are reporting skills shortages where jobs that require certain technical or non-technical skills are not being filled and working with a wide range of practise areas on a diverse set of tasks helps set you up to be a good employee as you develop in-demand skills to help your career.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career at Clifford Chance?
I would say go for it! The apprenticeship is such a unique opportunity for apprentices that allows young people to get into traditionally gated areas, giving them access to a wide depth of knowledge, training, and opportunity that gives them a massive advantage over others. Clifford Chance prioritises your development and gives you endless opportunities to work on new projects, learn new things, and help you continuously improve yourself.
What does working at Clifford Chance feel like? What has been your favourite part about working at Clifford Chance?
Having the opportunity to work at a firm like Clifford Chance makes me feel so lucky because I'm starting my career in law in the best position possible. As well as a feeling of accomplishment especially after I have worked hard on a piece of work.
Working at Clifford Chance feels very premium as they maintain their reputation for being a Magic Circle law firm, you the high-profile clients you work with and notice the importance of the work you do as you see it cropping up in global news at times. From that, you can easily derive a good sense of purpose and know that the work you do has an impact which feels amazing. My favourite part of working at Clifford Chance is the extensive training we receive on education topics such as global financial markets where we get taught extensively about certain areas we work in and how everything works. This helps provide a super insightful glance into the wider world and aids the development of commercial awareness!
What is the most enjoyable part of your role? 
