Get more from law - Baker McKenzie€¦ · to get a taster of life with Baker McKenzie – and get...

Get more from lawGRADUATE LAW CAREERSbakermckenzie.com/londongraduates

3

4

5

8

9

11

12

14

15

17

22

23

25

26

27

29

32

33

The Baker McKenzie journey

Get more from Law

Our clients

The kind of lawyers we are

We are inclusive and diverse

Routes to a Training Contract

Getting to know each other

Vacation Schemes

International Vacation Scheme

Training Contract

Fast Track LPC

The benefits of a Training Contract with us

How to apply

Hints and tips

Vacation Scheme profile

Training Contract profile

Our most recent awards

Notes

Contents

“If you’re reading this, the chances are you’re about to embark on your career in law. Where you begin that journey matters. There’ll be law firms queuing up to tell you that they’re global in their reach and reputation. Others will be keen to push their dazzling list of FTSE100 clients. Some will major on the complex caseload they can offer. A select few will be able to lay claim to serving up all of the above. And we’re one of them.”

Alex Chadwick London Managing Partner

bakermckenzie.com/londongraduates 2

Get more out of your Baker McKenzie journey We are The New Lawyers. Lawyers who collaborate across borders, markets and industries around the globe to solve our clients' most complex problems.

Today’s ever-changing geopolitical landscape means it’s never been more important for us to enable our clients to successfully navigate through change and complexity. It’s why we look for graduates who can think differently, share new ideas and harness the latest technologies to give our clients confidence against a backdrop of uncertainty.

A career with us means being part of a diverse, friendly and inclusive team – after all, the best ideas come when different perspectives come together. What’s more, our clients are based all over the world and it’s important for us to reflect their diversity. You can expect to deliver high profile, quality work with all the responsibility you need to learn and progress quickly.

Our roots can be traced back to a shared taxi ride home for two successful lawyers in 1948. In that cab, Russell Baker and John McKenzie discovered they had a shared vision – the desire to create a global law firm of talented, local lawyers.

Fast-forward 70 years and that firm now has offices in almost 80 worldwide locations. Our London office is the largest, with over 400 legal professionals serving our vast portfolio of clients, usually in collaboration with teams in our international offices.

And it’s in London that your exciting career in law with Baker McKenzie could soon begin.

3 Baker McKenzie

Explore a future with more possibilities Get more from Law. Get excited by the huge potential of a career with Baker McKenzie.

You’ll find the work here is as interesting as it is impactful. We have a wide variety of practice areas, an impressive range of international opportunities and training that’s proven to turn talented graduates into leading lawyers.

At Baker McKenzie, we foster an environment that’s genuinely collegiate, collaborative and supportive. Our annual graduate intake is 33, which means more visibility from day one, more early responsibility and more opportunity to thrive in our key practice areas:

• Banking• Corporate• Dispute Resolution• Employment• EU, Competition & Trade• Intellectual Property

• IT/Commercial• Pensions• Real Estate• Structured Capital Markets• Tax

Over the course of your training, you’ll have the opportunity to experience up to four of these practice areas, one of which must be transactional, given the strategic importance this type of work has to our firm.


Our clientsYou’ll want to assess the strength and diversity of a law firm’s client list before taking your application further.

Ours bears all the hallmarks of a premier law firm at the top of its game and includes:

• Household consumer brands

• Household names

• Investment banks

• Multinational technology companies

• Private equity houses

• Tech powerhouses

• Venture capital funds

• World-leading automotive companies

That combination should give you an insight into the complexity and variety of the opportunities we offer.

We see ourselves as indispensable business partners for each of our clients, with the ability

to deliver local insights and a global reach. We collaborate with our clients to provide them with strategic commercial legal advice and help them grow.

As part of our firm, you could find yourself executing cross-border transactions, securing financing for major projects, and advising clients on the many other multi-jurisdictional challenges they face.

Our work encompasses some of the biggest deals in the UK and globally, including Bain Capital’s £2.2 billion sale of the Brake’s Group, the £11.5 billion merger of Towers Watson and Willis Group, and the Gherkin receivership, one of London’s largest real estate restructurings. Meanwhile, our Environmental Practice has a long-standing commitment to helping companies respond to the risks and opportunities of environmental law and regulation.

5 Baker McKenzie

“At Baker McKenzie, Trainees are expected to interface with clients pretty much from the start. So when training, I spent time on secondment in Hong Kong and that meant going and working with one of my clients

on a listing there.”

James Heller, Associate


“Baker McKenzie’s working culture is incredibly diverse. In terms of the type of work you do, the type of clients you work with, and the

various offices you work with.”

Sunny Mann, Partner

7 Baker McKenzie

We’ve got more in the mix Baker McKenzie is all about enabling our lawyers to be the best they can be. Yes, we are a big firm, but not so big that we don’t recognise the importance of new talent.

We never forget that we were all trainees once. Recent graduates excited about entering the world of work and a little awestruck by the potential and opportunities a career in law could give us.

Join us, and you’ll be part of a firm that will support you every step of the way, starting from day one. We’re determined to stand out from the rest. Not just through the quality of the support we provide and the work we do, but also by the importance we place on promoting an inclusive and diverse culture.

We’re proud to be the first truly global law firm, a status achieved by our belief that a diverse workforce is stronger and best placed to serve our clients. Our approach is certainly attracting its fair share of admirers – we've featured in the 2018 Sunday Times 'Best Companies To Work For' most years since 2011. And we’ve been in The Times ‘Top 100 Graduate Employers’ every year since 2013, having first featured in 2010.

Apply for one of our Vacation Schemes or a Training Contract and you’ll soon find out why.


We are inclusive and diverseWe believe that the more inclusive and diverse we are, the more successful we can be. Diversity creates a positive working environment, encourages a greater range of viewpoints, boosts our creativity and helps us respond more effectively to client needs.

You’ll enjoy the freedom to be yourself at Baker McKenzie, regardless of age, gender, race, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, HIV status and socio-economic background.

We’re one of just a handful of law firms with a dedicated Diversity Partner, and one of just eleven Social Mobility Business Compact Champions in the UK (we’ve even received an award for our approach). We were also one of the first two organisations in any industry to become Contextual Recruitment Pioneers and to introduce name-blind recruitment.

To prove our commitment to inclusion and diversity, we have a number of internal networks which you will be encouraged to join. These include:

• BAKERWELLBEING

• BAKERWOMEN

• BAKERLGBT+ALLIES

• BAKERETHNICITY

• BAKEROPPORTUNITY

• BAKERCARERS

Corporate Social Responsibility

We take CSR seriously, evidenced by our formal programme that covers:

Charity – We support two different charities every year and run a Volunteer Day Scheme, giving staff the opportunity to take paid time off to work with charities during office hours.

Pro Bono – Our major pro bono clients include NSPCC, Save the Children and Cancer Research UK.

Sustainability – We have implemented a number of initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint, including establishing a green roof at our London office.

9 Baker McKenzie

“I think the most striking thing about working at Baker McKenzie is their commitment to diversity. It’s something people here are truly passionate about. It’s not just a tick-box exercise.”

Bobby Sarkodee-Adoo, Associate


Routes to a Training ContractWhether your degree is in law or another discipline, there are many ways to become a commercial lawyer. This illustration shows you the different paths you can take to secure a Training Contract offer:

LAWDEGREE

NON-LAWDEGREE

OPTIONALVACATION SCHEME

TRAININGCONTRACT

LPC

GDL

11 Baker McKenzie

Getting to know each other Open Days

Our open days give you the perfect opportunity to get a taster of life with Baker McKenzie – and get more of a feel for what a career in the field of law is like more generally. You’ll meet with our current trainees as well as with some of the most senior people in the firm, including our partners. And you’ll be able to ask them more about their experiences with us over lunch.

We want you to get a lot out of the day – including some new skills. It means you can expect to undertake some interactive workshops on everything from negotiation through to application skills. There are four open days to choose from, so if you’d like to experience one, there should be a date to suit you.

To apply, please visit: bakermckenzie.com/londongraduates

First Year Insight Scheme

Run over two days, the scheme gives you a broad insight into how a big, global law firm like ours operates and the sort of projects we work on. It involves a series of interactive workshops, networking opportunities, lawyer shadowing and one-to-one sessions with our Graduate Recruitment & Development team.

As you’d expect, to join us on this scheme, you’ll need to be in the first year of your university degree. We’ll also want to see a minimum of 340 UCAS points (or equivalent). We use a contextualised recruitment system, so we will consider those with real potential who fall slightly short of our criteria.

"I had such an incredible time at Baker McKenzie for their two-day First Year Insight Scheme. Both days were packed full of networking opportunities and commercial insights and I got a true feel for the friendly culture the firm embodies."

Emma Bayley-Melendez, First Year Insight Scheme Student 2018

Open Days

25th October 2018 6th December 2018 10th December 2018 9th January 2019

First Year Insight Scheme

17th-18th April 2019

Application deadline

19th October 2018 25th November 2018 25th November 2018 31st December 2018

Application deadline

31st January 2019

All applications open 1st October 2018


“The highlight of the Vacation Scheme was just feeling like you were important and that you were adding value. I did get given lots of pieces of work from lots of different people, so that did make me feel like I was able to work here and gave me confidence.”

Abigail Saffron, Vacation Scheme Student

13 Baker McKenzie

Vacation SchemesOur Vacation Schemes give you the chance to experience life with us over either two or three weeks. It’s the perfect opportunity to decide whether you think your future could be in law – and in particular, with Baker McKenzie.

Spring Vacation Scheme 2 weeks

For law and non-law undergraduates in their final year and graduates.

Scheme runs: 1st – 12th April 2019

When to apply: We’re open for applications between 1st October 2018 and 30th November 2018

Summer Vacation Scheme 3 weeks

For law and non-law undergraduates in their penultimate year of study (or the second or third year of a four-year course) and graduates.

Scheme runs: 1st: 17th June – 5th July 2019 2nd: 15th July – 2nd August 2019

When to apply: Open for applications between 1st October 2018 and 15th January 2019 Whichever scheme you choose, you’ll experience two of our main practice areas. We think that it’s really important that your experience with us mirrors the reality of the role of a Trainee and life at the firm.

We’ll involve you in live transactions, deals and cases and, where possible, we’ll encourage you to attend internal, departmental and client meetings as well as court hearings. The opportunity to socialise with trainees and other vacation schemers is important to us so we will host a number of events for you to attend. Recent socials have included rounders in the park, ping pong, pizza making, mini golf and afternoon tea on the Thames.

Because transactional work is at the heart of what we do, we’ll encourage you to spend one of your two seats in our Corporate or Banking teams. We won’t expect you to know everything, so we’ll provide training sessions to help familiarise you with some of our typical transactions, and to help you develop a range of key skills that you’ll need if you go on to join us as a Trainee. You’ll also take part in a client pitch exercise which is a great opportunity to work closely with other people on the Vacation Scheme.


International Vacation Scheme Enjoy more international exposure. Lasting for eight to 12 weeks between June and September, our International Vacation Scheme will see you spending time in our London office and in one of our many international offices, such as New York, Sydney, Budapest, Johannesburg or Hong Kong.

You’ll get to experience life across several practice areas, getting involved in live transactions, deals and cases, and as many meetings and hearings as possible.

To ensure you get the most out of your international experience, we’ll make all flight, transfer and accommodation arrangements on your behalf, doing our best to ensure that where you stay overseas is within walking distance of the office. It’s the perfect way to experience living and working in another jurisdiction and culture.

This scheme is open to students who accept a Training Contract offer with us.

When to apply: We’ll discuss how you can apply for this scheme once you’ve accepted your Training Contract offer. If your initial application is successful, you’ll be invited to meet with our Graduate Recruitment Partner to discuss your motivation for taking part in the Scheme.

15 Baker McKenzie

"In 2017, I was fortunate enough to visit the Firm’s Johannesburg office before starting my training contract. Not only was this an incredible learning experience, but it also made me appreciate just how connected all the Baker McKenzie offices are."

Lewis Malkin, Trainee Solicitor


Training ContractEach year, we recruit 33 of the best and brightest Trainees. Individuals who we believe will make well-rounded lawyers and help our firm continue to stand out from the rest.

As a Baker McKenzie Trainee, you’ll gain real exposure quickly. We’ll give you the very best technical and skills training, delivered by our own lawyers, often Partners. We’re big believers that the more we support you, the more you can shape us.

Our Training Contracts last for two years and give you the opportunity to experience four of our key practice areas (known as seats), for six months each. Our seat rotation ensures you experience different areas of law, including contentious law. Corporate work is at the heart of our firm, so all Trainees are required to complete six months in a Corporate or Banking seat.

Throughout your Training Contract, you’ll be able to call on the personal and professional support of both our Graduate Recruitment & Development and Learning & Development teams. During each seat, you’ll get department-specific training and be assigned a supervisor who’ll mentor you and provide you with work. Every department has a Trainee Partner who will be responsible for overseeing your progress and ensuring you continuously develop appropriate skills and experience.

All Trainees have the opportunity to apply for a three-month secondment to one of our international offices, or to one of our clients’ in-house legal teams for six months.

At the start of your final seat, there will be a briefing session with the Graduate Recruitment & Development team which will outline the qualification process. It’s followed by

a one-to-one meeting with the Training Principal who will discuss your preferences and provide guidance. Our current Newly Qualified starting salary is £77,000.

To join us, you’ll need at least a 2:1 degree along with a minimum of 340 UCAS points (or equivalent). We use a contextualised recruitment system, so if you show real potential but fall slightly short of our criteria, we'll still consider you.

We’re determined to recruit the best people from a variety of backgrounds – and that’s exactly why we look at your achievements in the context in which they were gained. We’ll also take into consideration any mitigating circumstances related to a disability or long-term health condition.

We encourage applications from law and non-law undergraduates, recent graduates or career changers. We’re looking for those who have achieved a consistently high level of performance and have an international focus, strong leadership skills, as well as intellect and initiative.

When to apply for Training Contracts starting in 2021:

Final year students and graduates: Open for applications between 1st October 2018 and 31st March 2019

Penultimate year students, final year students and graduates: Open for applications between 1st June 2019 and 1st July 2019

17 Baker McKenzie

“It’s amazing to do work for some of the big-name clients that you always come across in everyday life. You undertake some work for them and then later read about them in the paper. There’s a great culture here with lots of things going on outside of work – you can get involved in sports teams and charitable activities, for example. We’re encouraged to undertake pro bono work too.”

Isabelle Forrest, Trainee Solicitor


“You definitely feel valued here. You’re trusted to do stimulating, complex work, coming up with your own solutions, but the firm also respects that you have a life outside of work too. There’s also a great balance in that you join as part of a small intake, yet you get to work on big transactions.”

Niraj Visani, Trainee Solicitor

19 Baker McKenzie

21 Baker McKenzie

Fast Track LPCBefore you start your Training Contract, you’ll need to complete our specifically tailored Fast Track Legal Practice Course (LPC) alongside your future trainees at the BPP University, Holborn, London.

The course covers all the key skills you’ll need and the core practice areas – plus, it offers you three specialised electives: Debt Finance, Equity Finance and Private Acquisitions. These electives are aligned with our global transactional focus.

Our September intake of graduates start their LPC in January, with our March intake beginning their LPC in July. All non-law graduates and those without a qualifying law degree will need to complete the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) before commencing this Fast Track LPC.

Throughout the LPC, you’ll take part in practice group overviews and practical workshops with our lawyers. The purpose of these is to increase your understanding of our practices and develop your commercial awareness and client relationship skills. It will also help you to get to know your peers before you start.

You’ll have the opportunity to convert your LPC to a Master of Laws (LLM).


The benefits of a Training Contract with usWe’ll give you more responsibility – and more rewards. We believe in looking after all our people right from the start of their careers with us. With this in mind, we offer Trainees a starting salary of £45,000, rising to £49,000 in year two. That’s in the upper quartile of City law firms. This comes with a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

Dining Discounts – Tastecard and Gourmet Card

Cycle To Work Scheme

Concierge and Discounts Service

Foreign Currency Exchange and

Travel Insurance

Gym Subsidy

Gadget Insurance

23 Baker McKenzie

Private Medical Insurance

Life Assurance & Income Protection

Season Ticket Loans

Group Personal Pension Plan

Mortgage Advice

Childcare Vouchers, Emergency Childcare, Dependent Care and

Home Care

Give As You Earn Scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee Healthcare Programmes including health screening, onsite GP, onsite physiotherapy, private A&E,

flu jabs and eye care

GDL and Fast Track LPC students: We’ll pay your

course fees and a maintenance grant towards living expenses at

£6,000 for the GDL and £8,000 for the Fast Track LPC

Dental Insurance

Independent Financial Advice


How to apply for our Training Contracts and Vacation Schemes

1 Online application Tell us about your academic record, work experience, extra-curricular activities and positions of responsibility using our online form, and include a covering letter.

2 Online testing If you meet our criteria, we’ll send you links to an online test.

3 Video interview The next stage of the process is a video interview that will invite you to respond to pre-recorded questions.

4 Assessment centre Our assessment centre consists of a group exercise, a Partner interview based on a case study, an Associate interview and an informal lunch with our Trainees.

5 Offer If you receive an offer of a Vacation Scheme or Training Contract, a member of the Graduate Recruitment & Development team will talk you through the details and answer any questions you may have. Following the call, the offer letter and onboarding process will be emailed to you for your convenience.

Applicants with disabilitiesIf you consider yourself to have a disability or a health condition, any information you share with us will be treated in the strictest confidence. Our aim is to provide you with as much help, support and reassurance as possible.

If your disability or health condition makes it difficult to apply for any of our vacancies via our website, please contact the Graduate Recruitment & Development team on 0044 20 7919 1000 or email [email protected]

25 Baker McKenzie

Hints and tips We want every applicant to be at their best during the selection process, so here are a few tips to help:

Be detailed – making your application

Make sure you provide enough information so we can make a well-informed decision about your potential. And double check everything for accuracy.

Be prepared – the online testing

Ensure you understand what is required of you and undertake practice tests.

Be yourself – your video interview

Talking to a camera can be daunting but it is an opportunity for you to verbally showcase your skills and research. Ensure that you take advantage of the practice questions to familiarise yourself with the process and don't forget to smile!

Be confident – the assessment centre

Show us you’ve got what it takes to succeed here. Make sure your passion and enthusiasm come across, and always remember that the Partner interview is a two-way process, giving you a chance to assess us as much as we’ll assess you.

Summary of key application dates First Year Insight Scheme: Open for applications between 1st October 2018 and 31st January 2019

Open Days: Open for applications between 1st October 2018 and 19th October or 31st December 2018, depending which day you apply for

Spring Vacation Scheme 2019: Open for applications between 1st October 2018 and 30th November 2018

Assessment centres to be held in January 2019

Summer Vacation Scheme 2019: Open for applications between 1st October 2018 and 15th January 2019

Assessment centres to be held in March 2019

Training Contract 2021

Finalists & Graduates: Open for applications between 1st October 2018 and 31st March 2019

Assessment centres to be held in May 2019

Penultimate Year Students: Open for applications between 1st June 2019 and 1st July 2019

Assessment centres to be held in August 2019


Natalie Haydon Vacation Scheme Student

"There were a number of things that appealed to me about working for Baker McKenzie. The global nature of the firm. Its tier one strength across a breadth of practice areas. And its reputation for being a friendly and approachable place to work. All of this was confirmed after I spent a week of work experience with them after my first year at university, and that’s why I decided to apply for the Vacation Scheme.

I had a brilliant experience on the scheme – I met some lovely people and got a great snapshot of life at the firm. There was a good balance between work and getting to know people through networking events, volunteering and workshops. It made me realise how much I wanted to work there.

I sat in the corporate and employment departments over my three weeks. This gave me a really nice balance of transactional, contentious and advisory work. Some of my highlights were researching international laws on equal pay for a global tech company, assisting on a carve-out deal involving over 77 jurisdictions and researching child protection laws for a client. You’re encouraged to voice your ideas and everyone was always happy to help and answer any questions I had.

Would I recommend the scheme? Definitely! Not only is it a great opportunity to find out more about working at a global law firm, you also get to find out if it’s the right cultural fit for you. I was very happy to be offered a training contract at the end."

27 Baker McKenzie

Fionnuala Savage Trainee Solicitor

I hadn't really singled out which firm I wanted to work for, but when I started to attend interviews, I saw a distinction across the firms I'd applied for. I really enjoyed my interview with Baker McKenzie. There were only five of us there on the day and I was made to feel really relaxed, whereas at other firms there had been a far more aggressive and competitive atmosphere.

Now I’m in my third seat and taking on more and more responsibility. I love the fact that you always get acknowledged for what you do here – Partners or Associates will take the time to feed back to your supervisor or Training Partner that they’re pleased with your work.

For me, the biggest challenge so far was when I was working in tax. My supervisor was on leave, so I was given the project to run by myself. At first, this all felt a bit

nerve-wracking – but I was confident enough to agree to run the project. It involved carrying out a corporate review, getting involved in conference calls and highlighting where we were at before chasing up any missing information. You quickly get used to things like project management in this environment.

There’s a lot of flexibility here – I’m able to work from the Belfast office when I want to go back home. The firm goes above and beyond to make things work for its Trainees. As well as that, there’s a very friendly and sociable culture – I’ve noticed that even more when I talk to friends in other firms.

29 Baker McKenzie

31 Baker McKenzie

We think this is a great place to work – and it’s fantastic to have been recognised both for how we operate as an employer and how we are as a law firm. Our quality is recognised across the legal world and beyond. These are a selection of our most recent accolades:

• The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2018

• Sunday Times Best Company To Work For 2017

• Best Job Satisfaction – Training Contract – AllAboutLaw Awards 2017

• Best for Diversity & Inclusion – AllAboutLaw Awards 2017

• Strongest Law Firm Brand – Acritas

• “One of the most innovative law firms in Europe” – Financial Times

• Ranked 1st – Acritas’ Sharplegal Global Elite Brand Index, 2010-17

• Ranked in the top 5 law firms – Guardian UK 300 2017

• Ranked in the top 100 employers – Guardian UK 300 2017

• Best Recruiter – Large City firm – LawCareers.Net Training & Recruitment Awards 2016

• Commendation for Diversity – LawCareers.Net Training & Recruitment Awards 2017

• We've been ranked 10th in the government's top 50 UK employers for social mobility, as published in the Social Mobility Employers Index

• We ranked 6th in the Stonewall LGBT Top 100 Employers in 2018

Our awards


Notes

33 Baker McKenzie

Baker & McKenzie LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC311297. A list of

members’ names is open to inspection at its registered office and principal place of business, 100 New Bridge Street, London, EC4V

6JA. Baker & McKenzie LLP is a member of Baker & McKenzie International, a Swiss Verein with member law firms around the world.

In accordance with the terminology commonly used in professional service organisations, reference to a “partner” means a person

who is a member, partner, or equivalent, in such a law firm. Similarly, reference to an “office” means an office of any such law firm.

Baker & McKenzie LLP is regulated and authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales. Further information

regarding the regulatory position is available at http://www.bakermckenzie.com/london/regulatoryinformation/.

This may qualify as “Attorney Advertising” requiring notice in some jurisdictions. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

© 2018 Baker & McKenzie.

All rights reserved.

bakermckenzie.com/londongraduates

facebook.com/BakerMcKenzieGraduates

Get more from law - Baker McKenzie€¦ · to get a taster of life with Baker McKenzie – and get...

Documents

Transcript of Get more from law - Baker McKenzie€¦ · to get a taster of life with Baker McKenzie – and get...