It’s time – time to take a look at Allen & Overy and all it has to offer. Flick through to learn more about this international, precedent-setting firm.
IT’S TIME.
A career in Law Visit aograduate.com
Contents
Our firm Your
Apply
opportunity
02 SETTING PRECEDENTS 04 WORKING AS ONE TEAM 06 FORWARD THINKING
08 YOUR ROUTE TO QUALIFICATION 09 WHAT WE LOOK FOR 10 A&O FIRST 11 VACATION SCHEMES 12 LAW SCHOOL
18 THE APPLICATION PROCESS 19 WHAT WE OFFER 20 THE A&O INDEX 21 GET IN TOUCH
14 A&O TRAINING CONTRACT 16 BEYOND QUALIFICATION
WELCOME 01
We’ll give you an outstanding legal and business grounding within a culture that supports your development, values your individuality and enables you to excel.
Claire Wright Graduate Recruitment Partner
Our industry is changing more quickly now than it has done at any time since I qualified – and this means that the skills lawyers need are changing too. Technical excellence, curiosity, creativity and raw intellect are as important as they’ve ever been, but a willingness to embrace change and to understand the opportunities that it brings are vital too. At Allen & Overy, we’re looking for people who can adapt positively to new environments, making use of emerging technologies to shape the way in which we deliver services to clients across the world over the next decade and beyond. So my advice to anyone considering a career in commercial law is simple: think about your own skills and personal attributes. What is it that makes you suited to being a commercial lawyer and how will you adapt to the challenges that the future will bring? We are interested in more than qualifications and achievements; we want to know about the skills they’ve helped you develop, and the extent to which they can promote the success of our business and that of our clients in the face of change. This is a firm in which intelligent, forward-thinking people who relish challenges will flourish. If you think you could be one of them, then we want to hear from you. Welcome
02 SETTING PRECEDENTS
SETTING PRECEDENTS 03
Get ready to work at the cutting edge.
Our role as international commercial lawyers involves more than offering legal advice. It’s about delivering insight and using the law as a way to address commercial challenges and drive results for our clients. That’s why our training, while providing an outstanding foundation for a career in law, also encourages and gives our people licence to be pioneers, to set precedents rather than follow them. Ours is a culture that recognises and rewards people who innovate, who bring fresh approaches to familiar problems and who embrace every challenge as an opportunity.
1st
87%
First large international firm to open offices in Africa.
In the last year, we worked for 87% of Forbes’ top 100 public companies.
Learn more about how we operate: aograduate.com
04 WORK ING AS ONE TEAM
Prepare to be part of something bigger. The calibre of people we recruit, and the scope for development we offer them, are fundamental to our success. We foster a culture in which diversity is valued and our people are free to be themselves. In every sense we’re one global team: 73% of our work involves two or more of our offices, and 55% of our transactions involve three or more jurisdictions. We’re supportive and collaborative, but also ambitious and driven. Our capacity to combine these qualities and provide a setting in which all of our people can thrive is what makes Allen & Overy different.
Learn more about our culture: aograduate.com
WORK ING AS ONE TEAM 05
46% of our trainees have non-law degrees. 46% 20
We work across an average of 20 countries for our top 50 clients.
06 FORWARD TH INK ING
4x
Only firm to have featured in the top five of the Financial Times Innovative Law Firm Awards every year since its creation, and the only firm to have won it four times.
201
Our lawyers were ranked in Bands 1 and 2 in 201 categories across all Legal 500 Directories, the highest of the global elite group of international law firms.
FORWARD TH INK ING 07
The practice of law is constantly evolving, and we are determined not just to be at the forefront of developments but to set the pace and lead the way. We’ve focussed on a range of innovative delivery methods that includes our Peerpoint consultancy and Belfast legal services centre. Our track record of innovation is second to none. From our expansion into new jurisdictions to our MarginMatrix™ financial compliance solution and our alternative resourcing options such as aosphere, we are setting the standard for what a global law firm should look like and how lawyers can work. We have also recently launched Fuse, a collaborative tech innovation space where legal tech companies, clients and our legal technologists will work together to create solutions to some of the most intractable challenges faced by companies, financial institutions and law firms today. We’re proud to have the resources, the vision and the mind-set to build solutions for the future, whatever it may hold. This is where you get ahead.
Learn more about how we are shaping the future of the legal profession: aograduate.com
08 YOUR ROUTE TO QUALIFICATION
It’s time to find the path for you.
When hiring trainees, we are more interested in where you are going than where you have been. What kind of lawyer you can become is more important than your current knowledge of the law. Around half of our trainees studied a non-law subject for their undergraduate degree, including science, languages, arts and humanities. As the role of the lawyer evolves and our clients’ needs become ever more sophisticated, this diversity of perspectives becomes increasingly valuable. Regardless of your degree subject, there are a variety of work experience opportunities that we recommend you explore as part of your route towards joining us as a trainee.
Two-year A&O Training Contract
Qualify as a Solicitor
Trainee
A&O’s accelerated LPC with LLM course
Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)
Undergraduate Student
A&O Training Contract application
Vacation Scheme
Law School
A&O First
WHAT WE LOOK FOR 09
Hit the ground running. We welcome people who are brave, entrepreneurial and agile. People who aren’t afraid to go beyond their comfort zone, and want to work at the forefront of their profession. You should be ready to embrace dramatic change, have a talent for problem-solving,
We are looking for individuals who can demonstrate strong academic performance – we expect you to be heading for at least a 2:1 degree (or equivalent), and to have at least 340 UCAS points (AAB) at A-level (or equivalent). However, we mean it when we say that your university and degree subject are not relevant to our selection process – we do not have a shortlist of preferred universities and around half of our trainees did not study law.
and be keen to develop broad commercial awareness outside your chosen specialism.
There’s no such thing as a typical Allen & Overy candidate. We’re open-minded and are interested in people who share that quality.
You’re fascinated by the business and commercial world in which our clients operate, anticipating the impact that decisions and outcomes will have on them.
You love reading around a subject and finding innovative solutions to problems. You’re quick to identify patterns and trends, and you know how to put your knowledge to practical use.
S
You value the relationships you’ve built with your colleagues and you want to support them. You’re always ready to collaborate where it’s needed, as well as share knowledge to help the team. You articulate your ideas clearly, and you’re receptive to new ones.
You aim for great results, and you don’t give up until you achieve them. You adapt quickly to sudden changes of direction and unexpected challenges.
A
E R
You’re good at dealing with competing demands on your time. You know the difference between urgent and important, and you keep track of deadlines and expectations.
E
R
Explore the options available to you: aograduate.com/apply
10 A&O FIRST
Starting out.
A&O First is our work experience programme for first-year undergraduates and second-year undergraduates on a four-year degree course. It offers real insight into the firm and provides you with the tools and resources to develop the skills required for a career in law. The programme has been designed to help you grow both personally and professionally. As well as real work experience in one of our offices, it will include soft skills sessions and networking opportunities to help you build on your commercial awareness, legal expertise and employability. During and beyond this year, we will establish a relationship that will continue to build as you progress through university. We also offer further training and support in your second year to guide you through the recruitment process and develop your skills. Our goal is to help you decide if A&O is the right place for you. International A&O First As one of the world’s largest international law firms, we have a large global network, so it’s important our people foster a global mind-set from day one. That’s why we offer students attending A&O First the opportunity to apply for an additional day of work experience in one of our international offices. This global experience will give you an international outlook and the opportunity to see how our teams collaborate across the globe.
Learn more about A&O First: aograduate.com/aofirst
VACATION SCHEMES 11
Explore the future you’ve always wanted.
We often hear that students find it difficult to differentiate firms. For this reason, we recommend a vacation scheme as a great way to experience first-hand our culture and the work we do. We offer two schemes that take place in the winter and summer, where students join us in their penultimate or final year of undergraduate study. On our vacation scheme, you’ll immerse yourself in a specific practice area, developing in-depth expertise and lifelong contacts. Before you join, we will ask you to choose the area that most interests you to ensure that you get the experience you’re looking for. However, during your time with us you will be exposed to a multitude of other areas as well, giving you a better depth of knowledge to know exactly what practice area you ultimately want to pursue. Alongside your legal work, you will attend sessions about key elements of our practice, whilst developing the skills you need to be a successful international commercial lawyer.
We also encourage you to network as much as possible when you are here, so we organise socials and informal opportunities for you to meet people from across the firm. Each student will then be considered for a training contract following the completion of the vacation scheme. International vacation scheme Cultural awareness, teamwork and a global mind-set are skills that are vital to your success as a lawyer here. That’s why our lawyers work in multi- jurisdictional teams on a daily basis, and, why we expect and encourage them to work overseas at least once during their career. This is why we offer our international vacation scheme to London students, giving them the chance to apply for the opportunity to spend an additional week of work experience in one of our international offices. This is just another way that we support our students along their paths to success.
Learn more about our vacation schemes: aograduate.com/vacationschemes
12 LAW SCHOOL
Take a breath. Step forward.
LAW SCHOOL 13
Before you practise law in England and Wales, you must pass the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at an accredited law school. If you have not completed a degree in law, you will also need to complete the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) before taking the LPC.
We have selected BPP as our law school partner for both qualifications* to ensure that you arrive here with the best possible foundation in legal knowledge and skills, and are ready to start working with our clients. Graduate Diploma in Law The Graduate Diploma in Law is a one-year compulsory qualification for all UK graduates who have studied degrees other than law. It provides a comprehensive grounding in all the relevant technical aspects of commercial and criminal law. We prefer that GDL students study at BPP in Waterloo, London but do allow students to study at other BPP locations if there are extenuating circumstances. A&O’s accelerated LPC with LLM qualification All future trainees, regardless of their degree, are required to take the A&O’s accelerated LPC with LLM qualification course at BPP in London. This bespoke, seven-month accelerated course has been designed to give you both the technical skills and the commercial awareness to be able to start working for our clients from your very first day at the firm. Alongside the standard technical modules, you’ll undertake projects on business finance, business management and strategy that will give you real
insight into the kinds of issues our clients are facing. We work closely with BPP to develop course content that accurately reflects the work of a City law firm and features materials and examples drawn
from our client work. Financial support
If you accept our training offer of an A&O Training Contract, we will provide financial support during your law school studies and pay your tuition fees. For candidates studying for the GDL, we will provide an annual maintenance grant of GBP8,000 in London. We will also provide a maintenance grant of GBP7,000 while you take A&O’s accelerated LPC with LLM course. In addition, we award a GBP500 prize to future trainees who achieve a first-class degree and/or a distinction in every module of the LPC. You can also apply for an interest-free loan of up to GBP2,000, to be repaid by the end of your period of training. This can be used as additional financial support while you are undertaking your studies or for something that will contribute to your development, such as a language study course or to undertake a pro bono or community initiative. * In the event that you have already completed the GDL or LPC with another provider, we will recognise these qualifications.
Find out about the support available during law school: aograduate.com
14 A&O TRA IN ING CONTRACT
A&O Training Contract
Induction
Year 1
Year 2
Qualification
Seat 1
Seat 2
Seat 3
Seat 4
Allen & Overy internal legal training
Professional Skills Course*
* mandatory requirement of the Solicitors Regulation Authority
A&O TRA IN ING CONTRACT 15
Find out what’s next.
When you join us, you may have some idea of where you want to specialise, but we believe it’s important to give you as broad an exposure to our business as possible. From day one, you’ll be performing important tasks and taking on meaningful responsibility, with as much client time as possible. The standards and expectations are high but you’ll be well supported by professionals who recognise that it’s people like you who represent the future success of our firm. You will sit with a supervisor – usually a partner or senior associate – and actively contribute to the day-to-day operation of that department, working on transactions and cases, taking real responsibility and gaining plenty of client exposure. Your A&O Training Contract will consist of four six-month rotations – known in the legal profession as ‘seats’.
You will spend a minimum of 12 months of your A&O Training Contract in at least two of our three main transactional practice areas (Corporate, Banking and International Capital Markets) and you can express your preference for your first seat prior to joining. As you go through the A&O Training Contract and gain experience, your level of responsibility will increase. Your professional development is a continuing priority for us and we will deliver training and support in a variety of ways, including mentoring from your supervisors and department-specific courses. People in every part of the firm will help you; there is a good balance between support and supervision, and being encouraged to work independently. Whatever your future holds, your A&O Training Contract will give you a platform of skills and experiences on which to build a long-term career.
Find out about the opportunities available: aograduate.com/training-contract
16 BEYOND QUALIFICATION
A future that’s right for you.
Qualifying as a lawyer is an important milestone and is just the beginning of your professional development with us. Joining one of our practice areas as an associate, you’ll have access to a suite of associate development programmes that have been designed to build the core non-technical skills that you will need to progress your career and meet the demands of your new role. These include client skills, people management, and managing deals with maximum effectiveness. As an associate, you’ll continue to be given challenging experience on deals, and will become responsible for increasingly complex elements of the transactions on which you work. We’ll also give you the opportunity to spend time working in other offices; last year we placed hundreds of people on both long and short-term international secondments. These placements provide opportunities to increase your technical knowledge while learning more about other cultures and global markets. After around five years as an associate, you will be considered for promotion to senior associate. At this stage you will take on significant new responsibilities, including the supervision of trainees. Knowledge- sharing and developing others are fundamental to our firm’s culture, and you will be well supported in refining the skills and behaviours necessary to help your trainees and junior associates to progress.
Beyond that, there are many career paths you can take, including partnership at our firm. We have a strong tradition of promoting our people and last year we promoted 24 new partners across our firm. Life beyond A&O We want all of our trainees to develop long-term, rewarding careers, and we recognise that for some of our people, their futures may lie either partially outside the firm with A&O affiliated businesses or with another employer altogether. Many of our alumni are now pursuing successful careers as general counsel at multi-national corporates and banks, senior executives on the business side of our clients, and key influencers at regulatory bodies. Others will use their experience as a springboard to launch different careers in law, business, charity or politics. This is a natural part of the life of a major law firm and we will support you in making the choices that are right for you at every stage of your career – even if that means moving away from our firm. We currently have a community of over 8,000 alumni in 70 countries. Through this network, you can share experiences and make new connections that lead to business and career development opportunities – including the possibility of returning to the firm one day.
BEYOND QUALIFICATION 17
new partners were promoted last year around the network. 24
18 THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Show us what you’re made of.
Apply
Your interview Offer
Top tips for your application Understand our requirements – prepare some examples to show that you have the skills we are looking for Make the most of your experience – highlight what you’ve gained from your experiences Be commercial – show an interest in the legal industry, and what’s going on in the world and how it might affect us and our clients Focus on this firm – of course we expect you to apply to other firms, but make sure you tailor your answers to demonstrate why Allen & Overy is right for you Be accurate – attention to detail is a fundamental skill of a lawyer
If your application is successful, the next stage will be an assessment day comprising two one-to-one interviews. The first interview is based on a commercial case study and you’ll be given time to prepare a short presentation to deliver to your interviewer. The second interview is based on your application form and will assess your skills and knowledge, and your motivation for a legal career at Allen & Overy. Top tips for your interview Revise and prepare – re-read your application form; we’re going to ask you about it Stay up-to-date – track business and world events, form opinions and be prepared to discuss them Make the right impression – be confident, self-assured and enthusiastic Ask us pertinent questions – it’s a two-way process, so ask insightful questions that will help you to decide if we are the right firm for you
After your interview, we will share our decision with you as quickly as possible. Regardless of the outcome, we are committed to providing constructive feedback on your performance at interview. This will help you to understand our decision and also help you to refine your interview technique and preparation for any future applications. Of course, if it’s good news, the Graduate Recruitment team will be on hand to support you in your decision-making and with the next steps
WHAT WE OFFER 19
Yours for the taking.
Our reward and benefits package is designed to provide you with everything you need to develop a truly satisfying career and enjoy a lifestyle that is as balanced as possible.
My Cash Reward and Savings Competitive annual starting salary of GBP44,000 Public transport season ticket loans Cycle-to-work bike loan Access to a wide range of discounted goods and services including: } } The Xexec concierge team } } Childcare vouchers } } Payroll Giving Time out 25 days’ annual leave Additional paid leave for special reasons such as marriage or civil partnership, or moving house Holiday trading scheme Options to apply for flexible working hours once qualified
Health and wellbeing Private medical insurance Fully integrated health and wellbeing centre with services including in-house GP and nurse, physiotherapy, health assessments, dentist and dental plan Complimentary on-site fitness centre, gym, sports hall and a wide range of exercise classes Access to Havebike, London’s premier onsite bicycle servicing outfit Beauty and wellbeing therapies in-house including reflexology, massage, manicure and pedicure (at a cost to you) Eye test vouchers Employee Assistance Programme – 24/7 helpline providing free access to specialist support, information and telephone counselling covering a wide range of issues, including consumer rights and childcare
Financial security Pension scheme – an occupational pension scheme, available on
either a contributory or a non-contributory basis Life insurance
Permanent health insurance Personal accident insurance Business travel insurance The figures GBP44,000 current salary for first-year trainees GBP8,000 GDL maintenance grant in London, plus tuition fees paid GBP7,000 LPC maintenance grant, plus tuition fees paid GBP2,000 interest-free loan GBP500 prize for future trainees who achieve a first-class degree and/or a distinction in every module of the LPC
Find out more about rewards and benefits: aograduate.com/what-we-offer
20 THE A&O INDEX
A&O Foundation supports
charities globally 14
Peerpoint placements within A&O’s top 20 clients 34
Ranked highest within top ten law firms by total number of deals 1,576
1
Voted number one by students as the most popular law firm for 12 consecutive years – TargetJobs
Heart beating faster?
16
sports clubs in London
87%
8 entrepreneurs-in- residence have been selected to move into Fuse
44 offices in 31 countries worldwide with 73% of work involving two or more jurisdictions 44 offices in 31 countries
In the last year we worked for 87% of Forbes’ top 100 public companies
GET IN TOUCH 21
Get in touch. One Bishops Square, London E1 6AD United Kingdom T +44 (0)20 3088 3399 E graduate.recruitment@allenovery.com W aograduate.com
@AllenOveryGrads Follow the conversation
/AllenOveryGrads AllenOveryGrads
Allen & Overy is an international legal practice with approximately 5,400 staff, including some 554 partners, working in 44 major centres worldwide. Allen & Overy LLP or an affiliated undertaking has offices in each of these locations:
Istanbul London Luxembourg Madrid Milan Moscow Munich Paris Prague Rome Warsaw
Singapore Sydney Tokyo Yangon
ASIA PACIFIC Bangkok Beijing Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City Hong Kong Jakarta (associated office)
THE AMERICAS New York São Paulo Washington D.C. AFRICA Casablanca Johannesburg
EUROPE Amsterdam Antwerp Barcelona Belfast Bratislava Brussels Bucharest (associated office) Budapest Düsseldorf
MIDDLE EAST Abu Dhabi Doha Dubai Riyadh (cooperation office)
Perth Seoul Shanghai
Frankfurt Hamburg
aograduate.com
Allen & Overy means Allen & Overy LLP and/or its affiliated undertakings. The term partner is used to refer to a member of Allen & Overy LLP or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualifications or an individual with equivalent status in one of Allen & Overy LLP’s affiliated undertakings.
© Allen & Overy LLP 2017
This brochure has been printed with vegetable-based inks on paper which uses wood pulp from sustainable, managed, commercial forests. Certified environmental management system ISO 14001.
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