Training Contracts at Baker & McKenzie

To make the cut as one of 30 or so trainees Baker & McKenzie welcomes each year, you will have to succeed during an interactive assessment day. If you impress and receive a training contract offer, you will be invited to attend a drinks reception with a broad range of partners and associates, providing you with a chance to get a genuine feel for the culture of the firm.

>> Practice Numerical and Verbal Tests used by employers

>> Practice In-tray / e-tray simulation tests

>> Improve your performance at Assessment Centres and Group Exercises

However, getting to the interview stage at Baker & McKenzie is easier said than done. Although not a cauldron for the Oxbridge elite, Baker & McKenzie often recruits from the leading universities; a 2:1 and 340 UCAS points are generally considered the minimum requirement to get a foot in the door. In addition to a top education, Baker & McKenzie seeks bright, creative individuals, who will enjoy being part of the firm's ambitious yet collegiate workforce.

Baker & McKenzie Graduate Recruitment Info

Contact:
Graduate Recruitment Team
Email: multiplyingyourpotential@bakermckenzie.com

Application Deadlines:

Training Contracts: Law students/graduates 31st July 2012, non-law students/ graduates 31 March 2012
Vacation schemes: 31 January 2012

How to apply: www.multiplyingyourpotential.co.uk

Baker & McKenzie Profile & Stats

Baker & McKenzie is one of the world's largest law firms, boasting the most lawyers, a wide variety of practices and an extensive international network spanning 39 countries. But despite popular belief, Baker & McKenzie isn’t a US firm; its administrative headquarters are in Chicago, yet the London office is its largest and most profitable, and strategic decisions are made by a global committee of partners from offices spanning the network. Baker & McKenzie's capacity to practice law in more than 250 jurisdictions and in 75 languages makes it one of the most international firms around.

Growing up in the American Southwest, a young Russell Baker dreamt of becoming a lawyer. So determined to make this dream a reality, he travelled all the way to a Chicago College by cattle car. He soon graduated with a law degree and, in 1925, founded the firm Baker & Simpson, which specialised in immigration, bankruptcy and criminal law. After a chance meeting with an experienced litigator, John McKenzie, in 1949, the duo founded what would go on to become the world’s first international law firm: Baker & McKenzie.

Six years later, Baker & McKenzie opened its first foreign office in Caracas to service a Venezuelan client, and over the next three years international outposts were set up in Brussels, Sao Paulo and Zurich – in addition to its domestic expansion in Washington DC and New York. By 1978, Baker & McKenzie's wings spread across 26 offices in 20 countries. And at the turn of the century, it became the first law firm to break the $1 billion revenue barrier.

Baker & McKenzie boasts formidable practices across the board, but what really buoys the firm’s position in global law is its ability to advise multinational corporations on a whole host of legal matters. The firm has advised clients worldwide as diverse as Nasdaq, Starbucks, Abbott Laboratories, Arab National Bank, Saudi Arabia National Mining Company, L’Oreal, McLaren and the BBC Trust. Amongst the firm’s standout practices are IP, IT/Commercial, Corporate, Banking and Environmental. It occasionally steals the big M&A deals, but for the main part leaves this share of the market to its rivals.

For any hopeful trainee with a passion for travel, Baker & McKenzie may be the perfect firm with the opportunity for work abroad. Baker & McKenzie adopted a Swiss Verein structure in 2004, allowing each office to operate as a largely-autonomous component of a loose international organisation. No single nationality dominates the firm which employs over 3,750 lawyers across 67 offices. All trainees are able to apply for a secondment to one of the firm's international offices.

Furthermore, for those with a philanthropic penchant, Baker & McKenzie stands out as a desirable firm to work for. Baker’s history for pro bono dates back to its founder who ardently believed lawyers had a professional duty to provide legal services to the less fortunate. The firm splits its pro bono into six categories: legal services, partnering with clients, civic presence, employee volunteering, fellowships and charitable giving. In 1996, Baker set up a pro bono committee called Make A Difference, allowing its employees to get involved with local community projects and provide free legal advice in areas as diverse as children’s rights, immigration, poverty, housing and health.