Could organisations more proactively address environmental, social and governance issues before being required to do so by regulation? How might this be achieved and what do you see as the role of the governance professional?
£1000 – 1st Prize
£500- 2nd Prize
Deadline: Monday 6 January 2020
Go to icsa.org.uk/tmep to find out how to enter. Terms and conditions apply.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom will be hosting an open evening on Tuesday 3 December 2019. It will be a great opportunity for aspiring lawyers to gain valuable insights about the firm and network with trainees and solicitors from Skadden.
The event is aimed at law students in their penultimate or in their final year, and non-law students in their final year.
Having to decide between a career in technology or law is now a thing of the past. Those with a dual interest in law and technology have hit the jackpot with IGNITE. Clifford Chance’s law tech training contract enables participants to qualify as solicitors whilst simultaneously gaining expertise in technology, related products and their application in the legal industry.
How does it work?
On the whole, IGNITE mirrors the structure of a traditional training contract – four seats, all six months in duration, hopefully culminating in an offer to join one of Clifford Chance’s six practice areas. The key difference, however, is that trainees on the IGNITE programme have time away from regular fee-earning tasks to develop their knowledge of technology and how it applies to legal practice and client matters.
IGNITE trainees work with the firm’s Best Delivery team members, tech advisors and other lawyers on live projects. They can also spend time with Clifford Chance Applied Solutions – the firm’s product development arm, and have the opportunity to go on a three-month secondment to a client’s office, something which current (and the first ever) IGNITE trainee Adam Hunter considers invaluable. ‘I get to see the pain points of the business and understand the demands on clients’.
A mentor from one of the firm’s tech groups is also available to offer guidance, advice and oversee trainee progress.
Why has it been created?
IGNITE is the first training contract of its kind and forms part of Clifford Chance’s long-term strategy to be the global law firm of choice. For future trainee Hayley Kwan, a computer science graduate from Imperial College London, IGNITE was the perfect vehicle to combine her interest in pursuing a legal career with her background in technology. ‘It seemed like the most opportune way to do both was to do a tech training contract. When I first started looking, there weren’t any on the market so when Clifford Chance launched IGNITE I was so happy, it was like a dream!’
‘Law is a competitive field’, says Lorraine Chimbga, who is soon to embark on the IGNITE programme, ‘It’s not just about charging the most billable hours. The law firms which will succeed in the future are the ones that invest in technology and emerging areas now.’
The training programme was created to address the increasing need for lawyers to be better equipped to deal with the growing number of tech-related issues faced by clients and be in a position to provide suggestions on how workplace practices can be improved through digital innovation. This formed a large part of the reason why future IGNITE trainee Daniel Redmond applied: ‘it was obvious that technology was going to have a massive impact on the way that legal services were being delivered. It’s a dynamic and fast-moving area and there’s no clear path to where it’s going. This was an opportunity to shape how it’s going to play out’.
How is IGNITE different?
One thing that IGNITE trainees have in common is a desire to hit the ground running. ‘A lot of firms are interested in technology, but generally it’s an incubator model from what I’ve seen’, says Daniel. ‘That’s cool but it also means that most of the interaction would probably be between the entrepreneurs and partners, without much involvement from junior-level staff. Whereas if you’re an IGNITE trainee, you’re in the trenches working on problems on a daily basis. You can really get a ground view of what’s happening and how you can implement change’.
Future trainee Walter Myer agrees that the tech training contract is unique. ‘IGNITE bridges the gap between fee-earning solicitors and technological advisors, by giving selected trainees one foot in each door. That experience will be invaluable for those trainees intent on future-proofing their legal training, and will deliver value to the firm by providing an engine for technological advances in existing working practices’.
Who is it for?
As far as who the ideal candidate for IGNITE is, there really is no set list of characteristics that Clifford Chance is looking for. The firm is open to applications from individuals from a variety of degree disciplines and experiences. All that is a definite (and reasonable!) requirement is an interest in law and technology. You could be a computer science student or a graduate of biochemical engineering, be studying for a PhD in physics or be a non-law student or graduate that’s developed an app or learnt how to code on weekends. As long as you’ve got a genuine interest in law tech and believe you have skills that could be of benefit to the firm, the IGNITE training contract is open to you.
Daniel encourages anyone who is interested to apply: ‘I don’t have a STEM background. You don’t have to have reached the same level as, say, someone with a computer science degree to be considered. Having a passion for technology is more important.’
Adam, who started his own tech start-up whilst in the final year of his undergraduate law degree agrees: ‘there isn’t one type of applicant for IGNITE. You don’t have to have done coding, for example. Ultimately you’re still going to be a lawyer providing legal advice. Maybe what connects us all is that we all have an engagement in technology and we all want to share that in one way or another with the firm’.
How do I apply?
Applications for the IGNITE training contract close at midnight (GMT) on 12 December 2019. To apply click here.
Join The Chartered Governance Institute for a Graduate Open Evening to explore the breadth of opportunity that a career in governance and company secretarial can offer.
Burges Salmonis holding a presentation evening on the evening of 28 November at the Edinburgh office for university level students interested in finding out about a career in law.
The evening will consist of presentations about the firm, the recruitment process and life as a trainee. There will be the opportunity to network with the firm’s lawyers, trainee solicitors and graduate recruitment team.
Travel expenses can be reimbursed for attendees travelling from outside Edinburgh.
The first few months back at university are often a flurry of career fairs, skills sessions, law dinners and society balls, and we imagine your university is no different!
We would like to invite you to apply to the annual Baker McKenzie Networking Dinner. The dates and details of the event are shown below. All begin with a drinks reception followed by a three-course meal. You will have the opportunity to network with Partners, Associates, Trainee Solicitors and Graduate Recruitment, learn about the firm, and experience our culture.
Top-performing newly qualified (NQ) solicitors at Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) will be in line to take home up to £114,000 as the firm becomes the latest to increase its starting rates amid an escalating war for associate talent in the City.
NRF confirmed on 9 October a 9% rise to its NQ basic salary to £87,500 effective in January 2020, with bonuses of up to 30% on top of that.
A spokesperson said it was essential for the firm to ‘attract and retain high quality people’ and ‘ensuring our salaries are competitive is key to achieving this’.
A few weeks after Freshfields raised its starting rate from £85,000 to £100,000 plus bonuses, all four of its Magic Circle rivals followed suit. Clifford Chance (CC) announced a £100,000 package including bonus at the beginning of June, matched by Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy and Linklaters shortly afterwards.
The competition widened well beyond the Magic Circle over the summer, with Ashurst announcing a 9% pay increase to £105,000 after firms including Macfarlanes, Travers Smith and Herbert Smith Freehills made similar moves.
With news this weekend that Thomas Cook is on the brink of collapse and has ceased trading with immediate effect, a number of global elite firms have been lined up to advise on the latest high-profile collapse of a household name.
Ashurst is advising the Official Receiver as well as AlixPartners and KPMG, which were appointed as special managers in respect of certain Thomas Cook entities, while Slaughter and May and Latham & Watkins are advising Thomas Cook. Insolvency practitioners from AlixPartners have been appointed as special managers over the airline and tour operator companies, while practitioners from KPMG have been appointed as special managers to the group’s retail division and to its aircraft maintenance companies.
Giles Boothman, Olga Galazoula and Lynn Dunne are leading the Ashurst team, with Crowley Woodford and Ruth Buchanan advising on the employment law aspects and Derwin Jenkinson, Tom Mercer and James Fletcher focusing on the corporate side. Meanwhile, the Slaughters team is being led by Tom Vickers and the Latham team is headed by partners Nick Cline, John Houghton and James Inness.
A Reed Smith team from the UK, Germany and the US are advising the Civil Aviation Authority in relation to the insolvency. The Civil Aviation Authority and AlixPartners will work together to deal with the repatriation of all stranded customers. The team is led by partners Richard Spafford who is advising on licensing and regulatory issues, Charlotte Møller leads on the insolvency law and contingency planning for the repatriation, while Nick Williams is advising on the financial aspects.
Chief executive of Thomas Cook Peter Fankhauser commented: ‘We have worked exhaustively in the past few days to resolve the outstanding issues on an agreement to secure Thomas Cook’s future for its employees, customers and suppliers. Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable.’
In July, a team led by restructuring partner Ian Johnson, financing partner Ed Fife and corporate partner Richard Smith from Slaughters and a team from Latham & Watkins advised Thomas Cook Group in relation to the proposed recapitalisation plan.
Thomas Cook was looking for a £750m investment and was in talks with its largest shareholder, Fosun Tourism Group, as well as the company’s core lenders on a substantial new capital investment as part of a proposed recapitalisation and separation of the group.
