Clifford Chance SPARK is our award-winning opportunity for exceptional first year law students, second year students of a four-year law degree or penultimate year non-law students of a three-year degree. It's your chance to gain an insider's view into what a career in law can look like.
SPARK has been developed from a one-week internship into a two-year programme to give you deep insights into our work and to develop your legal knowledge, commercial awareness, and core business skills.
With both in-person and virtual content, the programme follows key pillars designed to be fast-paced, dynamic and full of opportunities to meet representatives from the firm and to learn about our business.
You'll benefit from an unparalleled introduction to the high-performance world of commercial law experiencing a blend of classroom-based learning, dedicated skill development, time spent shadowing our lawyers and more. It can also lead you straight to a Training Contract. Elements of the programme are paid at £450 per week.
If you're successful in securing your Training Contract, our investment in you doesn't end there. We have partnered with a select number of organisations and core Clifford Chance business teams to offer paid summer internships to our future trainees, with the sole aim of supporting your professional development. Explore our award-winning LIFT internships and see how you can develop useful non-legal skills such as marketing, product management and business operations, which will help you excel as a trainee.
Your journey with Clifford Chance will start with an offer reception event at our London office to celebrate your place on the programme. At this event, we will explain what you can expect from the programme over the next two years and our trainees will talk you through their journey to becoming a trainee solicitor at Clifford Chance. It will be an exciting opportunity to build a network with your peers, meet your trainee buddy, and meet our lawyers at all levels in the firm.
You'll have access to a dedicated trainee buddy as well as support and training on how to make the most out of this relationship. Your buddy will be on hand to provide invaluable advice throughout the programme to ensure you have a smooth and enjoyable experience. We appreciate that your questions will be varied and may change over time, and we believe this relationship will provide you with a unique insight into what a career at Clifford Chance could look like for you.
Over the course of a week at the end of year one, you'll experience an intensive schedule of classroom-based learning at the firm, taking a deep diver into our business. This will include presentations on our practice areas, case study workshops and seminars to develop your legal knowledge, commercial awareness, client focus and personal brand. It'll be fast-paced, dynamic, and packed full of networking opportunities where you will meet representatives from all levels within the firm. You'll receive a £450 per week salary, too.
We're excited for you to be involved in the community and culture at Clifford Chance across the two years. Throughout the programme you'll receive invites to in-person and virtual events taking place at the firm so you can gain authentic insights into your opportunities. This is a brilliant chance for you to build quality connections with your peers and employees across the firm. The events are exclusive to SPARK students and Clifford Chance employees.
Here, you'll have the chance to make an impact and gain insights into our global community outreach and pro bono work at the firm through a dedicated project for your SPARK cohort. You'll learn from the skills and expertise of our community and pro bono team who deliver positive and sustainable contributions to communities around the world where we do business.
The bonds you make with your SPARK cohort will be particularly important so in each year of the programme we'll invite you to an in-person reunion event. Regardless of where SPARK takes you, the relationships you develop throughout the programme will be invaluable as you embark on your career. The benefits of this can include developing long-lasting personal relationships, building your confidence, getting career advice and support, as well as gaining access to information about life as a trainee solicitor.
We are committed to providing you with dedicated skills training throughout the programme to ensure you're career ready. Internal and external providers will lead seminars, workshops, and innovative courses that will be in fun, competitive and team-based simulations designed to develop your commercial awareness and business acumen.
This is the stage the programme has been building up to where, at the end of year two, you'll spend a week with us in one of our practice areas, getting a behind the scenes feel for what a training contract at the firm could look like for you. You'll have a range of people to turn to for support, including a dedicated supervisor and trainee buddy who will allocate you work and provide you with hands-on insights into life as a trainee solicitor. You'll receive a £450 per week salary, too. Following this, you may be invited to interview for a Training Contract at the firm.
Hear more from Zoe and Megan about the range of opportunities on offer as part of SPARK and how you can prepare for your application.
SPARK offers a unique opportunity for exceptional students in the early stages of their university careers to secure a Training Contract. Candidates that are eligible for our pioneering scheme are:
Applications open: 4 September 2023
Applications close: 8 February 2024 at 11.59pm
Application process: Online application, Watson Glaser test, video interview
Assessments held: w/c 11 March 2024
Assessment process: One combined interview inclusive of a written element, and a group exercise.
SPARK Launch: 1 May 2024
SPARK INSIGHTS: w/c 8th July 2024
Our assessment centre will take place in-person, with an option to interview virtually in some circumstances e.g. if you have a long way to travel.
The assessment centre will consist of a combined case study and competency-based interview with a Partner and a Senior Associate. This will include discussions around the case study, commercial questions, and competency-based questions. You'll also complete a written task and a group exercise.
Apply Now
We don't, it must be noted, recruit on a rolling basis, but look at all applications after the closing date. Before you apply, have you visited our Events hub and Global Virtual Internships? Here you'll find opportunities to equip you with the skills, knowledge and networks to succeed no matter where you are on your journey.
