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Early Careers

Clifford Chance offers an outstanding opportunity to start, grow and develop as a world-class lawyer.

Starting your career with Clifford Chance is more than a professional commitment. It's a personal contract you make with yourself to commit to excellence, every day. We call this "The Real Contract." It represents the promise our people make to themselves to remain determined in achieving success, no matter how challenging the journey.

 

We invite you to explore "The Real Contract" through the words and voices of Clifford Chance lawyers from across our international network.

The Real Contract

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London Graduate and Student Programmes

ACCESS

ACCESS

ACCESS is a pioneering programme for students in year 12 who meet our qualifying social mobility criteria. For many years, getting work experience in law relied more on who you know than what you know. We want to change this by providing fair access to work experience. This two-year, award-winning development programme has ten pillars that focus on your personal and professional growth. At the end, you might be invited to interview for SPARK, which can lead to a Training Contract.

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SPARK

SPARK

SPARK is an immersive programme that spans across nine months, offering a unique insight into life as a trainee at the firm. This opportunity is for first-year law students (three-year degree), second-year law students (four-year degree), or penultimate year non-law students. With both in-person and virtual content, the programme follows key pillars designed to be dynamic and full of opportunities to meet representatives from the firm and to learn about our business. Following the scheme, you may be invited to a Training Contract interview.

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Training Contract

Training Contract

The Training Contract puts theory into practice. It's when you move from learning about the law to actually doing it. You'll transform from a talented beginner into a professional lawyer. We appreciate that investing in making a quality application takes a lot of your time and energy. The landscape within which you are making your application has never been more competitive. Take the time to do your research, engage with our opportunities and be confident that we are the right firm for you.

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Before you apply

Before you apply

Have you visited our Events hub and Global Virtual Internships? Here you'll find opportunities to equip you with the skills, knowledge and networks to succeed no matter where you are on your journey.

Need help with your application? Read more about our application and assessment process below.

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Middle East Opportunities

 

Middle East Opportunities

 

We have opportunities to join us in our Middle East offices. To find out more and to apply, visit the site below. Please note that you cannot apply for both a Middle East and a London Training Contract in the same academic year.

 Middle East Careers

Global Virtual Internship

Whether you’re a first-year student or a recent graduate, our global virtual internships will give you the skills you need to take that next big step in your career. The content has been created by leading experts from across our global network. It will not only expose you to international work in a way that has never been done before, but also enable you to develop the analytical abilities that will turn you into a leading lawyer of tomorrow.

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Undergraduate of the Year

We're proud to be a partner of the targetjobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards, an annual competition shining a spotlight on the UK's top undergraduate talent.

 

New for 2024/2025 we're launching the 'Career Changer of the Year' Award recognising lifelong learning and the unique perspectives and broad skillsets that career changers can bring.

 

If you've returned to higher education and are currently on a path to change careers, then we want to hear from you.

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Legal Sector Employer of the Year at Target Jobs Awards 2024

For the third consecutive year, Clifford Chance has been named the Most Popular Graduate Recruiter in Law by over 65,000 university students, as recognised at the 2024 Target Jobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards.

Best Innovation in Recruitment at Target Jobs Awards 2024

In 2024 we were recognised for our Global Virtual Internships offering, which since launching in 2020 has received well over 165,000 enrolments. This award win was decided by a pool of over 65,000 students and a panel of student judges – which is further testament to how the impact and innovation we are delivering in this area resonates with students.

The Times Top 100 Legal Employer of Choice 2024

For the third consecutive year, we’re thrilled to be named Graduate Employer of Choice in the legal sector by the Times Top 100. This is based on research from over 13,000 interviews with final year university students. We ranked 16th on this list, which is the highest-ever position achieved by a law firm.

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