Ways into Clarke Willmott

Just like Clarke Willmott, you’re ambitious. And you’re determined to get your legal career off to the best possible start. You want to learn from the experts, and get involved in real legal work with real responsibility and real clients. So, how do you go about it? It’s simple. There are two options open to you: a two year training contract and a two week vacation placement.

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Hello my names Carly and I work at Clarke Willmott’s Southampton office and I’m proud to say that I’m a newly qualified solicitor. As a newly qualified and as someone with very recent experience of the Clarke Willmott training contract, I thought I'd talk to you about how you can get into the firm, and why I think that you should. When I was deciding where to do my training contract I had a pretty good idea about what I did want and what I didn’t, no change there my friends would say! I knew that I wanted to work with a firm that was modern and forward thinking, but not in a clichéd or shallow way.

Lots of law firms claim to be different, they say they’re progressive and innovative, and that they’re pioneering and at the cutting edge but they often do things the exact same way they’ve always done them, and many of them seem physically scared at the thought of change. I also knew that I wanted to work with a firm that shared my ambition, it might sound a bit hackneyed to say it, but it was really important to me to work in an environment that would challenge me and meant getting my hands dirty with proper legal work, not watching from the sidelines or spending two years making tea and coffee.

So that’s me, and that’s why I decided to go for the Clarke Willmott training contract. The scheme itself is a two year scheme and starts in early September and is structured where it counts and flexible where you need it to be. It’s made up of four seats of six months and while your first seat will be allocated to you, the three other seats are yours to choose, which means you can focus on the areas that interest you the most.

A thorough induction will help you find your feet and each seat comes with a dedicated supervisor and a mentor, it’ll also have regular appraisals and reviews. But what really struck me was how the scheme evolves and adapts to the trainees themselves. The recruitment team’s always, well they’re always talking to the trainees and asking them how the scheme could be improved and where it needs to be strengthened. It goes a long way to making you feel valued and appreciated.

The second way into Clarke Willmott is a vacation placement. As it sounds, it’s a two week placement that takes place during the summer where you’ll spend a week in each of the two different departments. It’s a great way to get a feel for the firm and to experience first hand what we do and what’s expected of you. It’s a taster, if you like, of the two year training contract itself. So that’s the two routes in, and whichever way you choose to go, once you’ve started with Clarke Willmott I can guarantee there’ll be no stopping you.

If you want to know more, click the 'Tell Me More' link, and that’s where you can also find out about salaries and benefits and what’s on offer. I guess its over to you now.

Training contracts

Our two year training contracts are structured where it counts and flexible where you need them to be. Kicking off in early September, the contracts are made up of four seats of six months, with seat changes taking place every September and March.

To help you find your feet, you’ll spend the first couple of weeks on an induction. This will give you a comprehensive introduction to the firm and let you know what you can expect from us and, indeed, what we expect from you. This induction will also form part of the core modules of your PSC.

For every seat you’ll have your own supervisor to advise, guide and support you. If you have questions or concerns, they’ll be the one to talk to. They’ll also be responsible for your appraisals which will take place half way through the seat and then again at the end of it. And throughout the two years, our graduate recruitment manager will be on hand to discuss your options and talk through any queries you may have.

Vacation placements

Because choosing where to do your training contract is a big decision, a two week vacation placement is a great way to get a feel for the firm, how we work, what we can offer you and, of course, meet a few of the faces that work here. The schemes run during the summer in all of our offices (apart from London) and you’ll spend a week apiece in two different departments. And for each week you’ll have a dedicated supervisor, someone to turn to and ask for advice or help.

Not that it’s all work, work, work. The placements have a strong social side to them. You’ll get to spend time with current trainees and talk through their experiences and how they’ve found the training contract.

Our vacation placements are running on the following dates:

Taunton	21 June - 2 July 2010
Bristol	5 July - 16 July 2010
Southampton	19 July - 30 July 2010
Birmingham	2 August - 13 August 2010

Benefits

As a trainee solicitor on a training contract, you’ll start off on a salary of £24,000, rising to £25,500 in your second year. But a competitive salary isn’t all you have to look forward to: as well as financial assistance towards the cost of the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and the Legal Practice Course (LPC), £6,000 and £10,000 respectively, our reward package includes 25 days’ holiday, bonus scheme, life assurance and a personal pension (with the firm matching up to 5% of salary).

Because your wellbeing means as much to us as your professional development, we also offer season ticket loans, eye care and childcare vouchers, plus gym membership and cycle to work schemes.