Guidance for your application

We strongly recommend that you collect the below information in advance. We do not recruit on a rolling basis so having all the information ready will make your application experience as smooth as possible. Once you start the application process you will need to complete it and submit it in one sitting, so ensure you have a stable Wi-Fi connection, too.

You'll be asked for your full name, email, city of application, and a contact number.

This is your opportunity to demonstrate transferable skills from any work experience you have obtained, and you can add as many relevant entries as you like. These can be paid or unpaid positions and do not need to be specific to the legal sector. Focus on providing evidence of the impact you had in each role, so look beyond generic responsibilities and show where you went above and beyond the expected. You will add this information in the 'Description' section.

For each role include: Your job title, the company, the role location, the dates you worked/volunteered there, and a description of your impact.

The next questions are opportunity specific, such as your degree subject and year of study. Read this section carefully otherwise your application may not be considered.

Tell us about your right to work in the UK, and whether you can speak or write in more than one language. If you have extenuating circumstances relating to your academics or requests for reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we ask for this information and supporting evidence here.

Here you can list each Clifford Chance virtual internship that you have completed. Whilst this does not form part of our assessment process and is for reporting purposes only, we strongly recommend completing at least one before applying. If you have previously attended an interview/assessment with Clifford Chance, we ask this question here too.

Information on your academic performance starts with your sixth-form/post-16 studies. We'll want to know where and when you completed/are completing your studies and the results of each subject or module in each year of study you have received to date. If you are a university student or graduate, we will ask you to provide the average percentage grade received for each year of study, even if some of your modules do not contribute towards your final degree certification. Academic transcripts will be verified at a later stage of the process.

SPARK and London Training Contract
This section presents the opportunity for you to differentiate yourself as an applicant. We recommend that you spend some time crafting responses to the below three questions in advance and take the time to watch our top application tips video. As with your work experience entries, we're looking for evidence of impact in the examples you choose to share with us and how you can bring your unique experiences into the application form in an authentic way for you.

• In no more than 1440 characters including spaces (this is approx. 200 words), describe a time when you faced a significant challenge. What actions did you take in response, and how would this experience help you manage the demands of a trainee solicitor?
• In no more than 1440 characters including spaces (this is approx. 200 words), describe a time when you demonstrated a skill(s) that will be important for success as a trainee solicitor. What did you do, and how would you apply this skill in the role of a trainee solicitor?
• In no more than 1440 characters including spaces (this is approx. 200 words), describe a time when you needed to understand and respond to the needs of another person or group. What did you do, and how would this approach be important when delivering client service as a trainee solicitor?

London Insight Day
This section presents the opportunity for you to differentiate yourself as an applicant. We recommend that you spend some time crafting responses to the below three questions in advance and take the time to watch our top application tips video. As with your work experience entries, we're looking for evidence of impact in the examples you choose to share with us and how you can bring your unique experiences into the application form in an authentic way for you.

• In no more than 1440 characters (this is approx. 200 words), what are your motivations for applying to the London Insight Day?
• In no more than 1440 characters including spaces (this is approx. 200 words), describe a time when you demonstrated a skill(s) that will be important for success as a trainee solicitor. What did you do, and how would you apply this skill in the role of a trainee solicitor?

In this penultimate section of the application form we ask a series of multiple-choice questions that allow the firm to monitor the implementation of our equal opportunities policy. We review this data anonymously and separately from the rest of your application, and it will not be available to or accessed by those shortlisting or interviewing candidates. It shouldn’t take long, and we would encourage you to complete it so that we can have a full picture of our recruitment patterns, and so that we can effectively measure and monitor candidates' experience throughout our recruitment process.

Finally, you'll be asked to click 'Next' which will redirect you to one of our external providers where you'll be asked some contextual recruitment questions. These questions allow employers to assess candidates fairly by considering their academic and personal backgrounds. This step must be completed before you can submit your application.
Note – Redirects between these platforms may take up to 10 seconds so please do not refresh your browser or navigate away from the page whilst it is loading. If you do, you may lose your application and need to restart from the beginning.
Once you've submitted your application you will receive a link to complete the Watson Glaser test.

We do not recruit on a rolling basis so having all the information ready will make your application experience as smooth as possible. Once you start the application process you will need to complete it and submit it in one sitting, so ensure you have a stable Wi-Fi connection, too. We strongly recommend that you collect the below information in a document that you can amend over the coming months.

You'll be asked for your full name, email, city of application, and a contact number.

This is your opportunity to demonstrate transferable skills from any work experience you have obtained, and you can add as many relevant entries as you like. These can be paid or unpaid positions and do not need to be specific to the legal sector. Examples might include volunteering, coaching/mentoring, supporting faith or community groups, care related responsibilities, regular weekend jobs, and so on.

Focus on providing evidence of the impact you had in each role, so look beyond generic responsibilities and show where you went above and beyond the expected. You will add this information in the 'Description' section.

For each role include: Your job title, the company, the role location, the dates you worked/volunteered there, and a description of your impact. When describing your impact, using the STAR technique provide a useful structure to follow.

The next questions ensure that you can attend the mandatory elements of the scheme, and that you have the right to work in the UK. You'll also be asked if you meet at least two of the eight qualifying social mobility criteria such as whether you attend(ed) a state-funded, non-fee-paying school or college since age 11, and if you are/were eligible for free school meals etc.

If you can speak or write in more than one language, you can tell us this information here and should you have extenuating circumstances relating to your academics or requests for reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we ask for this information and supporting evidence here, too.

Here you can list each Clifford Chance virtual internship that you have completed. Whilst this does not form part of our assessment process and is for reporting purposes only, we strongly recommend completing at least Ready, Set, Law before applying.

We'll first want to know where and when you completed your GCSEs or equivalent, and the results you obtained for each subject. We'll then ask the same for your sixth form/post 16 education studies including any predicted grades.

This section presents the opportunity for you to differentiate yourself as an applicant. We recommend that you spend some time crafting responses to the below two questions in advance and take the time to watch our top application tips video. As with your work experience entries, we're looking for evidence of impact in the examples you choose to share with us and how you can bring your unique experiences into the application form in an authentic way for you.

• In no more than 1440 characters including spaces (this is approx. 200 words), please detail why are you interested in pursuing a legal career. Please include any research, study, future ambitions and any other relevant details or experiences.
• In no more than 1440 characters including spaces (approx. 200 words), please describe a time when you demonstrated a skill(s) that will help you succeed on the ACCESS Programme. What did you do, and how would you apply this skill in the role of a trainee solicitor? You may draw on extra-curricular activities, positions of responsibility, volunteering, hobbies, an achievement you are most proud of, or any other relevant experience.

In this section we ask a series of multiple-choice questions that allow the firm to monitor the implementation of our equal opportunities policy. We review this data anonymously and separately from the rest of your application, and it will not be available to or accessed by those shortlisting or interviewing candidates. It shouldn’t take long, and we would encourage you to complete it so that we can have a full picture of our recruitment patterns, and so that we can effectively measure and monitor candidates' experience throughout our recruitment process.

Finally, you'll be asked to click 'Next' which will redirect you to one of our external providers where you'll be asked some contextual recruitment questions. These questions allow employers to assess candidates fairly by considering their academic and personal backgrounds. This step must be completed before you can submit your application.

Note – Redirects between these platforms may take up to 10 seconds so please do not refresh your browser or navigate away from the page whilst it is loading. If you do, you may lose your application and need to restart from the beginning.

Once you've submitted your application you will receive guidance on how and when to complete The Clifford Chance Immersive Online Assessment and The Watson Glaser Test. We strongly recommend practicing as much as possible to become familiar with the format and question styles.