Law graduates and students

Why Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance offers you the opportunity to join a global law firm with one of the most pre-eminent legal practices in the world. Our Open Days and Vacation Schemes give you those first insights into a dynamic career in law. Our Training Contract will transform you from a talented beginner to a professional lawyer. Join us and you will experience, first hand, the 'one firm, one team' approach that makes working at Clifford Chance so different.

Are you ready to become part of a world-class team?

Middle East Graduate Programme

When you start your career in law at Clifford Chance you become part of one of the world's largest law firms. Undertake your training contract in the Middle East and you'll be sharing an ambition that has fuelled our growth and established our credentials as legal pioneers across the region.

We've designed the training contract to give you the breadth of experience you need to emerge as a confident business adviser.

Your four rotations will include two based in our London office, the firm's global headquarters, and the other two based in Dubai, the Middle East's key regional office and the region's financial hub. This will enable you to have a truly international legal experience working alongside leading sector professionals from across two continents and allow you to launch your career as an England & Wales qualified lawyer in the Middle East.

What's on offer?

As a trainee in the Middle East, you become a valued team member from day one. You will be close to the action with an active role in client relationships and business development early on. You will enjoy the challenge of working on a wide variety of international, market leading and landmark transactions, often collaborating with colleagues from other offices and practice areas.

Your experience in London will provide you with a sense of the phenomenal scale of our business and give you the opportunity to connect and collaborate with over a hundred of your peers alongside whom you will navigate your career. In all of your seats, you'll enjoy activities that develop and enhance your legal and business skills, as well as your commercial awareness. The role will be varied day-to-day including tasks such as drafting and proofing documents, attending client meets and you may even run some smaller transactions for our clients.

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What are we looking for?

We're looking for graduates who are genuinely interested in a career in law and committed to a career in the Middle East. Whilst regional focus is important to us and Arabic language skills can be useful, our business is global and we welcome diversity in your experience and background.

It is your potential to become a world class lawyer that is key rather than your knowledge and understanding of the law itself or your field of study.

In order to apply for our Middle East Graduate Programme, you should have a strong academic record. To us, that means having 340 UCAS points at A Level (or equivalent) and obtaining or being on target for a 2:1 (or equivalent) degree result or higher. The subject of your degree however is not important.

We welcome applications from students currently undertaking law or non-law subjects at university (at any stage in their studies) and those who have recently graduated. Please note you cannot apply for both a Middle East and a London training contract in the same academic year.

The recruitment process

The first stage of our assessment process is to complete the online application form attached. Shortly after submitting your application, you will receive an email from us asking you to complete an online Watson Glaser critical reasoning assessment. This takes approximately 30 minutes and should be completed within 7 days of receiving our email with instructions. Should you be successful at this stage, you will be invited to attend one of our Assessment Days, which are held in Dubai and in London according to your location at the time. These assessment days are designed to identify motivated, creative and focused individuals who are passionate about law and delivering top-class legal advice to our clients.

Watson Glaser practice test

Before you take the Watson Glaser test, it's a good idea to practise as much as you can so you are familiar with the format and the type of thinking involved.

You can click below to practise as many times as you need. Your practice attempts do not form part of the assessment and Clifford Chance will not see the results. As well as the practice test, there are lots of other online resources that you may wish to use. Some of them are free, but some require payment. Click here for additional resources.

Try a test

Dubai Open Day in London

This is a unique opportunity to get to know Clifford Chance and find out about our Dubai Training Contract.

This will be held on 19 November 2018 at our London offices. You'll meet some of our exceptional people including trainees, lawyers and partners who have worked in our Dubai office, as well as the Graduate Recruitment Team who will go through hints and tips around how to make the very best application. There are 45 places available, and if you get a place, we'll contribute towards your travel expenses.

Please note that we are running a number of other Open Days which are for candidates interested in London-based Schemes. You are only able to make an application to ONE open day this year. Due to exceptionally high application numbers, if you apply for an Open Day and are unsuccessful – you will not be able to make an application for another Open Day in the same academic year. You can of course apply for another position, scheme or programme in addition to your Open Day application. Visit our Apply Now page to secure your place.