Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Sector:

Law
Note: If still at university and studying law, the earliest you can apply is during your penultimate year. And, if you’re studying a non-law subject, it’s during your final year.

Ranking in Times Top 100 Graduate Employers:

2006: 57
2007: 55
2008: 63
2009: 54
2010: 77

Link to Careers Web site

Graduate Job Programme

Applications open on 1 November 2010 for the 2013 intakes from law and non-law applicants

Applications Closing Date: 31st July 2011

2011/2012 6-12 Month Placements

Not offered

2011 Summer/Vacation Internships

Accepting applications for the 2011 vacation scheme from penultimate-year undergraduates. If you are on a four-year course with your third year abroad, you can apply in your second year for a placement after you return.

The deadline for applications is tbc

Competencies and Other Requirements

Life as a commercial lawyer in an international law firm is a challenge:

* The work is complicated
* The hours can be long
* And you need to be organised.

So, we look for certain qualities:

Academic ability
We are looking for a consistently high level of achievement at A level (or equivalent) and throughout your degree, which doesn’t have to be in law. This would normally mean a 2:1 or first for each year at university and a majority of A grades at A-level.

Analytical ability
The sort of work undertaken in the firm means that we need to recruit those who can think clearly through a problem. You will need to be able to explain complex issues in a simple language and make sense of a complicated situation. We look for people who can see alternative ways of approaching and solving problems.

Determination and drive
The career path you are thinking of following is not an easy one. It will be intellectually and commercially satisfying, but will ask a lot of you. We therefore need to identify those individuals who can fit a lot into their lives and who have plenty of enthusiasm, energy and drive.

Curiosity
Our strategy of pursuing the highest quality, most stimulating work means that our people need to enjoy dealing with new ideas and adapting to new challenges. So you need to be able to see the big picture as clearly as the detail, and have an appetite for finding out about things you have never come across before.

Teamwork and interpersonal skills
Life here is all about teamwork. So you need to enjoy working with others. You will need these skills to get on with a range of colleagues and clients.

Organisation and discipline
Our lawyers manage huge transactions in multiple jurisdictions. They need to keep up with development in the law, their clients’ businesses and the jobs they are working on. We need to know that you can multitask, that you can keep track and that you don’t lose your cool.

Commercial sense
This comes with experience and time. But what we look for is the instinct and potential to develop a commercial sense.

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