Skadden is on the hunt for lawyers who “get it”, as its bold brochure proclaims. Read on to find out what "it" is and get an idea if this firm is right for you.
Our Platform 50+ practices | 22 offices | 4 continents
Headline-making Matters Represent 50%of Fortune 250
Diversity Champions 7 years of perfect scores in the Corporate Equality Index
Making an Impact 165,387 pro bono hours in 2016
Career Options Limitless opportunities
The experience gained and impact made at Skaddenwill create ripple effects that will last your entire career. Let’s begin to carve your path .
What makes Skadden different? It can be hard to decide where to train. There are numerous strong law firms in London, from small boutiques to global, full-service firms, many of which promote themselves in similar ways. But I believe we’re genuinely different at Skadden.
cross-border platform of a truly international firm with unrivaled expertise in our specialist areas. We have no “type” here. We’re an eclectic mix of people from all corners of the globe with something very specific in common — a shared culture of high performance driven by ambition and our extraordinary commitment to our clients. During your training contract our attorneys and structured training programme will be there to help you every step of the way. Take a closer look at our recruiting and training for our solicitors. See for yourself what makes us different.
We’re one of the largest law firms in the world — with over 1,700 lawyers in 22 offices — and one of only a handful of international firms routinely engaged to work on the most complex, high-value cases and transactions. On the other hand, our London office recruits only a small number of trainees — in 2016, we had nine. This combination gives our trainees and associates the opportunity to work on important, innovative matters while also having greater access to senior colleagues and a more personalised training experience than other large firms may provide. A training contract at Skadden provides the opportunity to carve your own career path and benefit from the support and
“ We’re an eclecticmix of people fromall corners of the globe with something very specific in common— a shared culture of high performance .”
Name Pete Coulton
position Graduate Recruitment Partner
Practice Banking
Name Jo Jimenez
position Associate
Practice Banking
Like any student considering my choices for training, I was aware of the innovative commercial deals and quality of clients that Skadden could offer me as a junior, and I knew that being part of a smaller trainee class at a global firmwould afford me better exposure in every aspect of my career.
My work has also given me plenty of opportunities to travel. I’ve seen the White House and the Washington Monument from the roof of our D.C. office, gotten lost with colleagues from Frankfurt and Chicago during Skadden’s Global Banking Retreat in New York, and — using elaborate hand gestures and Google Translate — convinced a security guard to let me into our Seoul office. What I didn’t appreciate before joining Skadden is the myriad opportunities beyond commercial work the firm would provide me. The stellar pro bono programme has allowed me to develop my skills and engage with the global community in ways I never anticipated. Since January 2017, I’ve helped staff the New York Legal Aid Society’s Immigration Hotline, which was created in response to the rise in raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
My years at Skadden have reinforced these impressions, and I feel very lucky to have carved my path with — and to continue to learn from— some of the best lawyers in the city on complex, engaging transactions. As a banking associate, I’ve worked on several high-profile financings, all of which have involved multiple jurisdictions — from China to across Europe to the United States and the Dominican Republic and everywhere in between. Working across so many time zones and within so many legal systems has presented unique challenges, such as trying to get notarised documents from Madrid to Helsinki overnight, even though the notary had gone for siesta without handing over the originals. At times, the challenges can be frustrating, but they’ve undoubtedly made me a better lawyer, as they’re constantly pushing the boundaries of my thinking and approaches to my practice.
“The stellar pro bono programme has allowedme to developmy skills and engage with the global community inways I never anticipated.”
2018 Graduate REcruitment
Application Process October – January ›› Online application ›› Applications screened post-deadline
Vacation Placements Easter (1 scheme) and summer (3 Schemes) ›› Undertake substantive work assignments ›› Participate in firm culture ›› Gain experience in up to 2 practice groups ›› Recieve training contract interview
Assessment Days January and February ›› Interview with partners and associates ›› Group exercise — hypothetical business case study ›› Panel Q&A discussion
Vacation Placements The majority of Skadden’s training contracts are offered to students who participate in our vacation placement programme, which provides participants with firsthand experience working on actual global transactions. The programme also provides insight into the firm’s culture and atmosphere. Each student is paired with an associate supervisor and trainee liaison who identify substantive and suitable assignments. Our vacation placement students are offered the option to practise either in a single area or to divide their time between two practice areas, thereby gaining greater exposure to our work. Students participate in
training workshops focused on current matters, which aid their professional development and provide invaluable perspective from Skadden lawyers. Social events, such as a recent stadium tour and private dinner at Chelsea Football Club, allow vacation students to interact with each other and Skadden lawyers on a more informal level. Our two-week placements are offered over Easter break and during the summer. We remunerate vacation placement students £500 per week to assist with expenses, and we are happy to help source accommodations. Undergraduate candidates need to have reached the penultimate year of their law degree studies or the final year for a non-law degree.
GDL/LPC at BPP Law School Full Skadden sponsorship and maintenance grant
Qualification 2022 ›› New Associates Retreat in New York ›› Formal mentor and associate training programme
Training Contract Offers End of July 2018
Training Contract Starts 2020
›› Rotate between 4 seats, 6 months per seat ›› Work with small teams on top-tier work ›› Share office with associates for on-the-job training and mentoring ›› Receive feedback and performance review at end of each seat ›› May apply for seats in Skadden’s New York, Hong Kong or Brussels office
Remuneration and benefits package
How to Apply Please complete our online form at: skadden.com/UKgraduaterecruitment 2018 Easter & Summer Vacation Placements Application Deadline: 12 January 2018 2020 Training Contracts Application Deadline: 31 July 2018 We strongly encourage you to apply for a vacation placement as a means to securing a training contract in 2020. For more information, contact: Aidan Connor, Graduate Recruitment Manager aidan.connor@skadden.com / 020 75197 000
Skadden provides its trainee solicitors with a highly competitive salary and benefits package. The package includes: ›› First-year salary: £45,000 ›› Second-year salary: £50,000 ›› GDL/LPC course fees paid at BPP, London ›› GDL/LPC maintenance grant: £8,000 ›› Discretionary year-end bonus ›› Private medical insurance ›› Travel insurance ›› Life assurance ›› Disability insurance ›› Technology allowance ›› Subsidised staff restaurant ›› Interest-free season ticket loan for rail/tube travel ›› Gym membership ›› Vacation placement : £500 per week Newly qualified associates currently receive a salary of £118,000 plus discretionary year-end bonus.
My career path developed quite naturally.
I started off as a criminal defence lawyer, specialising in financial crime. As criminal cases involving business became global and more complex, I began focusing on investigations.
be a challenge for clients. Recently, the rise of whistleblower cases and the pros and cons of self- reporting an issue to a regulator or prosecutor has also become a widespread concern. For someone starting their career here, I would say Skadden is a place that takes pride in its supportive culture. On that front, as a parent, my advice is that, if you want to have children, don’t delay your personal and family goals. Your career will take care of itself, and you have to take a leap of faith that the business you work for will support you. I truly believe we give our attorneys the platform to do this at Skadden.
One of the qualities I most enjoy about my practice is the international nature of my work and the opportunities that provides to collaborate with clients and lawyers from different countries. I also enjoy the diverse subject matter — one minute I can be dealing with oil and gas, the next engineering and finance. The most difficult aspect of my work is that I’m often advising a client in crisis who has no experience with large investigations, let alone ones involving criminal allegations. The priority for me is to instill trust and calm as quickly as possible. The need to manage the potentially extraordinary costs, particularly in a global investigation, can
Name Elizabeth Robertson
position Partner
Practice Government Enforcement &White Collar Crime
“For someone starting their career here, I would say Skadden is a place that takes pride in its supportive culture .”
the road to qualification doesn’t always have to be a traditional one. I applied to join Skadden because of its reputation for doing innovative work for a prestigious global client base. I thought being here would enable me to develop my skills as a lawyer and give me options as I considered the ultimate path I wanted to take. The firm has lived up to my lofty expectations.
A typical day here — if there ever is one — includes conference calls with the client and its other advisers, especially in relation to tax and financial due diligence matters, and producing draft documentation for review and comment by lawyers on the other side. On any given day, I might start the morning drafting and negotiating a lease or share purchase agreement, and then help a client with a more urgent matter, like, as I did recently, negotiating with customs officers to allow a client to execute lease documentation on his private jet rather than in their office space in the terminal. My work often involves managing completions in jurisdictions across Europe, which presents the challenge of working within the constraints of each local jurisdiction. It can be difficult, but it’s also a great learning experience.
I started off as a business studies and economics teacher at a college in West London and later worked as a multi-sports programme leader and an assistant in corporate fundraising for a children’s charity. As a real estate associate, I‘ve been fortunate to work on transactions involving transformative projects, such as the corporate real estate aspects of the acquisition and development of six hotel assets in Spain, a residential development joint venture involving real estate assets across Ireland, and the acquisition and development of the Alphabeta Building in Finsbury Square London.
“I applied to join Skadden because of its reputation for doing innovative work for a prestigious global client base .”
Name ShaneMitchell
position Associate
Practice Real Estate
International Arbitration Team of theYear LEGAL BUSINESS UK AWARDS 2017
Litigation Powerhouse LAW360 2016
Most trans-Atlantic legal awards of any law firm LEGAL WEEK (UK) & THE AMERICAN LAWYER 2017
Nine accolades for innovation FINANCIAL TIMES “INNOVATIVE LAWYERS” REPORTS 2016
Capital Markets Firmof theYear WHO’S WHO LEGAL AWARDS 2016
Ranked among the world’s top three firms for corporate investigations GLOBAL INVESTIGATIONS REVIEW’ S “GIR 30”
Ranked in the top tier for M&A THE LEGAL 500 UK 2016, IFLR1000 2016
LawFirm of theYear LAW360 2016
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (uk) llp
40 Bank Street Canary Wharf
London E14 5DS
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