Allen & Overy LLP

About Allen & Overy

Allen & Overy LLP is an international legal practice with approximately 4,750 staff, including some 480 partners, working in 38 major centres worldwide. Our clients include many of the world’s top businesses, financial institutions and governments.

Start at the top

Starting your career with Allen & Overy means starting at the very top of international commercial law. We are renowned for the high quality of our Banking, Corporate and International Capital Markets advice, but also have major strengths in areas such as Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Employment & Benefits, Tax and Real Estate. Our partners frequently lead the field in their particular areas of law and we can claim both an enviable reputation among clients and unrivalled success in major deals.

Training

We offer a truly flexible training contract and the most interesting work in a unique culture of support and mutual respect. You will have a tailored training contract, designed to give you the best start to your career.

The seat structure ensures that you get to see as many parts of the practice as possible and that your learning is hands-on, guided closely by an associate or partner. Most seats are for six months, with some three-month seats available.

Given the strength of our international finance practice, we require our trainees to spend a minimum of 12 months in our core areas of Banking, Corporate and International Capital Markets. The firm offers its trainees the option of completing a Litigation course. This means that trainees do not need to spend time in the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution department to gain their contentious experience if they are sure their interests lie elsewhere. The course is run by Nottingham Law School and consists of five days’ tuition and monthly visits to a legal advice centre for a year to gain practical contentious experience.

International seats and client secondments are also on offer – over half of our trainees will spend three or six months of their
second year of training in one of our international offices.

Trainees have told us that one of the things they value most about being at Allen & Overy is the excellent training they receive. In addition to the Professional Skills Course there are numerous training courses available covering a broad range of legal and personal skills.

Who we are looking for

We expect to see a strong, consistent academic performance with at least a 2.1 (or equivalent) predicted or achieved. At Allen & Overy you will be working in a team where you will use your initiative and manage your own time and workload, so we also look for evidence of teamwork, leadership, motivation and problem-solving.

Working environment

Life at Allen & Overy is about more than just the work we do – our team environment encourages professional and social relationships. The Trainees’ Social Committee is responsible for planning a variety of events, from drinks and theatre trips, to the annual trainee summer ball. There are also sports teams, a fully equipped fitness centre, music rooms and multi-faith prayer rooms.

‘Allen & Overy LLP’ refers to Allen & Overy LLP and/or its affiliated undertakings.