JUMP TO CONTENT

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

Download the booklet

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.

Read more
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.

Read more
Training Contract

Training Contract

A Training Contract at Clifford Chance is your launchpad into the world of commercial law. Over two years, you’ll rotate through different practice areas, working alongside some of the world’s leading lawyers on complex, high-profile matters. It’s more than training – it’s real responsibility from day one, with the support to help you thrive.

Read more

Before you apply

We don’t recruit on a rolling basis; all applications are reviewed after the closing date. Before you apply, we encourage you to explore the following:

How we hire Events Hub Global Virtual Internships

How we hire

How we hire

There are specific skills we look for in our Training Contract candidates, all of which tie into the Real Contract skills, find out more about this and our wider recruitment process on the How we hire page.

Events Hub

Events Hub

Our virtual and in-person events will cover a wide range of topics - from application guidance to career development insights and is designed to support you at every stage of the recruitment process.

Global Virtual Internships

Global Virtual Internships

Our award-winning virtual work experience offers in-depth resources to help you explore a career in law. Gain firsthand insight into a lawyer's responsibilities and access learning materials created by experts.

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.

Legal Sector Employer of the Year at Target Jobs Awards 2025

For the fourth consecutive year, Clifford Chance has been named the Most Popular Graduate Recruiter in Law by over 65,000 university students, as recognised at the 2025 Target Jobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards.

The Times Top 100 Legal Employer of Choice 2025

For the fourth 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 14th on this list, which is the highest-ever position achieved by a law firm.

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 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.

Browse Jobs