Use your inquisitive mind to learn more about Watson Farley & Williams and its famed international expertise in energy, maritime, natural resources, real estate and transport.
INQUISITIVE MINDS MEETING GLOBAL CHALLENGES EVERY DAY
CONTENTS
01 Are you who we’re looking for? 02 Welcome
04 What do we do? 06 How do we work? 08 Our global locations 10 What is it like?
12 What should you expect? 17 What are we looking for? 18 What is the journey through the firm? 26 Vacation scheme 28 When do you apply? 29 Top 5 tips 30 What is the application process?
ARE YOU WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR?
Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) is an international law firm dedicated to client care, legal excellence, industry focus and investment in its people. The firm is highly respected for its sector expertise, in particular, energy, maritime, natural resources, real estate and transport. Experts in managing complex cross-border transactions, projects and disputes, our skilled legal teams deliver valued advice for corporations, entrepreneurs, funds, financial institutions, and governments.
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WELCOME
The success of Watson Farley & Williams rests with the total commitment, quality and expertise of our people. Unashamedly ambitious, the next generation of talent will help drive our continued growth. As a firm, we focus on high profile, complex international matters. This provides opportunities to be engaged in extraordinary variety, innovative thinking, and to be involved in our clients’ businesses on a global scale. We are committed to helping you develop the personal and professional skills needed to fulfil your potential. Our trainees are entrusted with real responsibilities from the moment they join, which means making an impact early on in their careers. As many of our people joined the firm as trainees, who better to tell you about what it’s like to train and work with us?
Lothar Wegener Managing Partner
Chris Lowe Managing Partner
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WHAT DO WE DO?
SECTORS Energy & Infrastructure Maritime Natural Resources Real Estate Transport
SERVICES Banking & Finance Capital Markets Construction Corporate Dispute Resolution Employment Mergers & Acquisitions Private Equity Competition, Regulatory & Public Law Tax
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HOW DO WE WORK?
COLLABORATION Our teams work across borders to serve our global client base, collaborating within and across our offices, harnessing the combined strength of the firm’s expertise.
GERMANY + FRANCE UK + ITALY SPAIN + UK
UK + GREECE SINGAPORE + USA
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ENERGY DEAL MARITIME DEAL NATURAL RESOURCES DEAL REAL ESTATE DEAL TRANSPORT DEAL
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OUR GLOBAL LOCATIONS
Across our international offices, we foster a supportive and down-to-earth environment designed to attract and retain the best and brightest staff. WFW people best demonstrate our commitment to quality. The camaraderie between our offices, consistent level of complex and challenging work and our varied and comprehensive training programmes all serve to motivate and develop our staff in terms of legal, client-facing and practical workplace abilities.
ATHENS BANGKOK DUBAI FRANKFURT HAMBURG HONG KONG
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LONDON MADRID MILAN MUNICH NEW YORK PARIS ROME SINGAPORE
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WHAT IS IT LIKE?
Our business relationships are long lasting and founded on our commitment to really understand our clients. Relationships inside the firm are also close. Despite our international breadth, there is a familial and supportive atmosphere, founded on a mutual respect for colleagues, hard work, intelligence and ambition. Our culture values individuality and promotes personal growth. You’ll be encouraged to find a path that complements your strengths and interests while also delivering outstanding client service. We also take our role as corporate citizens very seriously. There are many opportunities to make a difference from assisting with reading and numeracy skills in local schools to fundraising events for our charity of the year, WaterAid. The firm has been accredited by independent CSR assessors EcoVadis and achieved carbon zero status through our participation in the Kenyan Energy Efficient Stove Project and the Ugandan Community Borehole Project.
IMAGES 1. Ice Bucket Challenge 2. Hamburg Triathlon 3. Centrepoint Sleep Out 4. World Water Day baking 5. Macmillan London City Takeover
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WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT?
Our two year training contract differs from many other firms. With us you will gain valuable insight from six four month seats – one of these will be in either Paris, Hamburg, Athens, Singapore or Bangkok.
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We aim to give you hands on experience, with client contact from the very start. It’s the only way to learn.
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The firm has a reputation for challenging work. We will give you plenty of responsibility early on but we also offer plenty of support and feedback.
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Wherever you are in the world and whatever the practice area, you’ll quickly feel part of the whole organisation – both in the office and socially.
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We are not interested in producing clones. Each trainee’s journey through the firm looks a little different.
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WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We recruit 18 trainees each year. Although there is no typical WFW trainee there are certain qualifications, skills and traits that we look for. You will need a 2:1 or above (predicted if you have yet to graduate), or equivalent, and a commendation or higher in the GDL if you have completed it. We also look for at least ABB from A-Level results, 34 points from IB or the equivalent if you have taken other qualifications.
TEAM PLAYERS WITH INITIATIVE, DRIVE AND CURIOSITY.
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WHAT IS THE JOURNEY THROUGH THE FIRM?
Joanna Sissens Trainee Secondment Hamburg During my seat in Shipping Finance in Hamburg, I was involved in projects covering the entire lifecycle of a loan agreement – from establishing new loans to restructuring existing facilities and even assisting a bank to write off part of an outstanding loan when the borrower found itself in financial difficulties. Working in an international firm and comparing my experiences in London and Hamburg has been invaluable in terms of building a genuine commercial understanding. As part of a busy team, I was afforded a large amount of responsibility from day one. Being heavily involved in each transaction gave me an understanding both of the overall structure of a deal and how it works in practice within the industry.
As the heart of shipping in Germany, Hamburg is an ideal place to be a shipping lawyer: a short walk around the harbour lets you see the industry at work – making the transactions more than just paperwork.
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WHAT IS THE JOURNEY THROUGH THE FIRM?
Alexander Collis Associate
The first matter I was involved in after I qualified was advising a bank on the non-recourse financing of a solar project to be developed by a leading UK solar energy generator. This involved a number of teams across the firm including property, planning, construction and competition. partner and the various departmental teams was challenging and exciting. It gave me a great insight into project finance, an area I did not know much about before joining the firm. Partners and colleagues were incredibly supportive, taking time to explain the background to the work and helping me gain a better understanding of the solar market. As a newly qualified solicitor, coordinating between the lead
I really enjoyed working with all of the different parties involved in this project as there was a genuine common objective for everyone to work together to reach financial close. The early client contact I had during my training has given me the confidence to be an effective interface between the departmental teams, the partner and third parties.
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WHAT IS THE JOURNEY THROUGH THE FIRM?
Jenny Hodges Associate
I recently assisted one of the firm’s longstanding clients – an AIM-listed mining exploration and development company on a US$12m equity investment by a strategic investor. The investor provided funds in exchange for shares in the company, who will use this non-debt funding to develop a mine in Namibia. However, it is subject to the company achieving certain milestones. It has not been easy for junior mining companies to obtain funding in recent years, so it has been rewarding to see the company secure the investment required to help it move from the exploration phase to production. WFW advised on all aspects of the investment including providing advice on the employment aspects of the transaction.
The transaction was not straightforward as we had to balance a complex transaction structure with the implications of AIM Rules and the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers. However, the firm’s specialist natural resources team utilised their particular experience working on AIM-related transactions in order to complete the transaction smoothly and in a short timeframe.
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WHAT IS THE JOURNEY THROUGH THE FIRM?
Lindsey Keeble Partner
After I completed my first two seats in the shipping finance department in London and Athens, I was convinced I wanted a career in shipping at WFW. The variety and cross-border nature of the work appealed to me, as well as working on high profile transactions in a team that is recognised worldwide as a leader in the field. Being a shipping lawyer at WFW, there are always fantastic opportunities to work abroad and I spent four demanding but enjoyable years in our Paris office running the English law practice. Due to the global economic crisis at the time, I was involved in complex restructurings of shipping finance loans for our clients; one such transaction involved advising the lenders on the implementation of a restructuring plan for loan facilities made available to an Italian tanker company, which required us to work quickly with our Italian colleagues to understand the impact of the relevant Italian legislation and how it affected the lenders’ rights.
I’m now back in London as the Sector Head of Maritime, which is an exciting and challenging role. Globally, the team continues to work on complex restructurings and always needs to keep abreast of the constant changes in the market such as private equity investors and new entrants providing debt finance, meaning there is plenty of variety and deals to keep you busy.
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VACATION SCHEME
Our vacation scheme is the best way to familiarise yourself with WFW. The two-week placements are at our London office, either at Easter or during the summer. They give us a chance to get to know you, and you a chance to experience the firm in more depth. To appreciate first-hand the kind of work trainees undertake day to day, you will work with associates and partners in one of our core practice groups for the whole period. To complement this focus on one area, you will also participate in a variety of training and social events designed to give you a good feel for the firm. These include informal lunchtime presentations to give you a broad understanding of all our different practice groups.
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The dates for our 2017 vacation scheme placements are: 27 March – 7 April 12 – 23 June 10 – 21 July To apply please complete an application form on www.apply4law.com/WFW by 27 January 2017.
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WHEN DO YOU APPLY?
For law students, the earliest point you can apply is in your penultimate year. For non-law students, the earliest point you can apply is in your final year. Non-law students spend a further year studying for a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) before starting the Legal Practice Course (LPC). Graduates may apply at any time.
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TOP 5 TIPS
1 Go beyond repeating back facts and figures about the firm.
2 Consider and explain your motivations for applying to WFW.
3 Be inquisitive. We don’t expect you to be experts just yet, but we admire those who are curious about finding out more about our work. 4 Tell us about the things you’ve done to further your interest in the profession.
5 Be yourself – on paper, at the assessment centre and during the interview.
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FOR LAW AND NON-LAW GRADUATES WHAT IS THE APPLICATION PROCESS?
2017
JANUARY/ FEBRUARY Successful candidates attend a selection event at our London office.
27 JANUARY Deadline for vacation scheme applications.
EASTER-JUNE/ JULY Students attend a vacation scheme. All candidates are interviewed for a training contract during the scheme.
2018
SUMMER Non-law students complete GDL. Law students graduate.
SEPTEMBER All students start LPC at BPP.
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28 JULY Deadline for training contract applications (for those who did not apply for a vacation scheme earlier in the year).
SEPTEMBER Non-law students start GDL at BPP.
AUGUST Selection events and interviews for applicants who have not attended a vacation scheme.
2019
JUNE Students finish LPC and attend welcome event with fellow starters.
AUGUST Trainee class of 2019-21 start their induction course.
SEPTEMBER Trainee class of 2019-21 start their first seat.
Please note this timeline is for illustrative purposes only and is designed to show the earliest point undergraduates may make an application. If you have already completed your undergraduate studies or are currently in employment you may apply at any time.
For more details about how to apply visit our website wfw.com/UKTrainees.
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NOTES
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LONDON
Watson Farley & Williams LLP 15 Appold Street London EC2A 2HB Tel: +44 20 7814 8000 Email: UKTrainees@wfw.com Twitter: @wfw_UKTrainees wfw.com/UKTrainees
All references to ‘Watson Farley &Williams’ and ‘the firm’ in this brochure mean Watson Farley &Williams LLP and/or its affiliated undertakings. Any reference to a ‘partner’ means a member of Watson Farley &Williams LLP, or a member or partner in an affiliated undertaking, or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualification. This brochure is produced by Watson Farley &Williams. The situation described may not apply to your circumstances. If you require advice or have questions or comments on its subject, please speak with your usual contact at Watson Farley &Williams.
© Watson Farley & Williams 2016
wfw.com/UKTrainees @wfw_UKTrainees
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