International Summer Legal Clerk Review

The time I spent at Baker & McKenzie was one of the most reward experiences of my life. I was fortunate enough to be selected to complete an international clerkship with the firm, and spent three weeks working in London and then three weeks working in New York. The people I met in both offices were incredibly friendly and supportive. I cannot think of two better cities to spend time in and the events I attended from client briefings in New York to dinner at the Royal Exchange in London were some of the most rewarding of my life.

A huge effort was made to place every piece of work you did in context, so you could see how the small tasks you were completing fitted into the bigger picture. This really made you feel part of the team and meant that you felt the small pieces of work you completed were valued. The amount of time even partners invested in vacation students was outstanding and as a result you felt that you were there not only there to be evaluated for a training contract, but to examine the firm to see if it was right for you. Everyone helped to make sure that I felt valued and appreciated, from taking me out for lunch on my last day in New York to emailing me after the scheme to wish me luck for the future.

HR were fantastic organising the London scheme with huge efficiency and ensuring every intern was able to get maximum benefit from the programme. The London office provided a lot of hands on support, and both my supervisors were really encouraging and gave up a huge amount of their own time to guide and advise me. In New York however I was a lot more independent and even given my own office. It took a while to get use to this, but by the end of my time there I really appreciated the skills I learnt and the confidence I gained from this added freedom.

The work load varied depending on the needs of the department and the firm. In London I was busy every day and also always had something I could be doing. In fact I was almost late for the leaving lunch because I was in court at the RCJ and had to run down Fleet Street to make it in time. In New York it took longer to establish myself in the office and I had to work harder to network and find work, but learning how to do this was one of the most useful skills I learnt from the scheme. By the end of my time in New York, I was involved in several really interesting projects and found that I was really busy pretty much up to my last hour in the office before Friday drinks in the New York office’s library.

I was given a range of responsibilities, which increased as the people you were working for gradually developed confidence in you. As a non-lawyer I had expected to be completing made-up tasks or else doing administration, this could not have been further from the truth. By the end of the scheme I had helped update a client alert, write a news release about a new arbitration publication and even helped to check a contract to ensure the mark up changes had been made. I was given enough responsibility to keep me interested and feeling useful, but at the same time I felt protected and supervised, so the responsibility I was given did not feel too intimidating.

The scheme was a huge learning curve, aside from the practical skills I learnt such as how to complete a legal research tasks, I also learnt much more important softer skills. For example, I learnt how to work in an office environment and how to manage expectations, which is surprisingly difficult because your natural impulse is to say yes to everything. However, the biggest skill I have taken from the scheme is added confidence. Living for three weeks on my own in New York at first seemed really intimidating, however by the end of the scheme I felt almost like a local, so that when I was offered a chance to attend a networking event by myself for young arbitrators I jumped at the chance. These skills are for life and will stay with me throughout my future career.

Baker & McKenzie have a reputation for being a friendly law firm, and they certainly lived up to this. Everyone in the London office made a huge effort to welcome us, and there was definitely a very strong open door policy.

HR could have not have been more helpful and organised. In both London and New York a huge effort was made to ensure I was happy and well looked after. Baker & McKenzie organised both my flights to and accommodation in New York, and even organised a taxi to take me to the airport.

A huge amount of time and effort was invested in me on both sides of the Atlantic. The London office were particularly good at developing and training us, both formally through a series of talks and workshops, and informally through conversations with our trainee buddies and supervisors.

The vacation scheme is definitely viewed as part of the recruitment process and everyone receives a training contract interview at the end of the programme. Many of us were fortunate enough to be offered a training contract with the firm.

Our group became incredible close and many of us are still in contact with each other months after the scheme finished. There were several organised socials events throughout the scheme, including dinners and a cookery class. The trainees made a huge effort to get to know us and we had a great couple of nights with them.

London and New York are not the cheapest cities. I was lucky enough to be able to commute from home into London, and in New York the firm paid for my accommodation. The internship was paid which helped a lot. However, despite the cost of these cities I would not have wanted to work anywhere else despite the higher cost of living.

Both London and New York have huge nightlife scenes. However, I was 20 when I went to New York so did not have much chance to sample the clubs over there. In London, we went out a couple of time and had some really good nights.

There were a range of opportunities, including sampling pro bono work and attending firm sporting events (I was invited to Baker & McKenzie hockey training and a Netball match). We were also invited to a range of events as the weekly departmental Friday night drinks. There was a large emphasis placed on getting to know the firm on both a professional and a social level.