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Opportunities in London

BOLD MINDS. BIG AMBITIONS. BUILD THE FUTURE OF LAW.

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At BCLP, we offer many ways to experience our firm. Whether you come to one of our open days, work with us as a brand ambassador or join one of our insight schemes, vacation schemes or training contracts, all our opportunities will offer help you understand what it is that makes BCLP a different kind of law firm.​

 

TESTIMONIALS

  • Anna Wong, Associate

    "By my second seat, I was making key decisions on challenging cases. One client  had been in a litigation dispute for years. We decided to lodge winding-up proceedings against the other side.  Deadlines were tight and procedures had to be followed.  Crucially, I had to obtain a certificate of compliance. That meant preparing vital documents and advertising the petition. The final deadline before the hearing was fast approaching, however we got the certificate and achieved our goal. It was especially challenging as I’d been working on other non-contentious cases and business development matters at the same time – but I had the support of the Partners and Associates throughout. Along with my six-month secondment to London, the experience really stood out. It helped me to develop the all-round skills you need as a lawyer."

  • Kate Pooler, Junior Associate

    “It was my first seat and I was swimming in the deep end. Although only four months into my time in our Corporate Finance practice, I found myself part of a team negotiating an £150m deal for an International food manufacturing group. I was there, in the room with Partners and Associates, with clients from both sides and lawyers from other firms. The negotiations were fraught, and went on for an unremitting 30 hours.

    The level of exposure I had was astonishing – myself and my counterpart, a lawyer from another firm who was two years’ qualified, were both making amends, turning documents, drafting minutes and arranging signing formalities;  I was seeing the decisions that were driving those tasks play out live in the negotiation room. The whole experience was incredibly rewarding and I was extremely grateful for it.”

  • Caroline Stocks, Associate

    " It was the night before Christmas Eve, a point at which many people had already set off for the holidays. Whilst on secondment in our Hong Kong office, I had been lucky enough to be left in charge of completing a deal worth over US$100m, for a client who was looking to purchase a fleet of aircraft. The deadline was less than 24 hours away when an issue emerged. If the deal wasn’t closed as planned, our client would start incurring interest on an aircraft he did not yet own.The pressure was immense. I worked overnight, across time zones, liaising with various parties in Singapore, Beijing, London, Ireland and Spain to come up with a solution. We managed to get the deal across the line on schedule and the client was full of thanks."

YOUR INSIGHT INTO THE FIRM

Before embarking down the path of legal training, you might want more of an insight into what a legal career and an international law firm would look like. We have work experience programs to do just that:

BRAND AMBASSADORS

We work with Aspiring Solicitors to create an insightful and fun Brand Ambassador Programme at the following Universities

King’s College London, Durham, Exeter, Bristol, Oxford, Cambridge, Queen Mary University of London, Warwick, Nottingham, Essex, Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Keele, SOAS, Leicester, Reading.

Activities will include, but are not limited to:

  • Unleashing your creativity to make exciting social media content & videos
  • Promoting BCLP’s incredible roles
  • Capturing data (lead generation) of students to add to BCLP’s mailing list
  • Building relationships with societies & faculty members
  • and much much more!

What do you get in return?

  • You will be paid £10.65 per hour for your work
  • You’ll get to network and build relationships with a number of people from BCLP
  • You will build brilliant skills for your future & CV
  • Building your confidence and networks on campus
  • Opportunity to earn bonuses along the way and a campaign completion prize!

Apply via the Aspiring Solicitors website.

The deadline for applications is 31/07/2023

CAREER KICK START

The BCLP Career Kick Start Work Experience Programme is designed to provide Year 12 students from non-advantaged backgrounds with a detailed insight into what it’s like to work in a City law firm.

The programme comprises two weeks as follows:

  • Week One: Monday 22 July – Friday 26 July 2024 – A week at BCLP’s offices gaining a real insight into what lawyers do on a daily basis as well as information on the different routes in to the profession, a number of skills sessions to help prepare students for the world of work. 
  • Week Two: Monday 29 July – Friday 2 August 2024 – A week visiting different organisation each day in a variety of sectors. During the week students will learn how law firms interact with their clients and the different roles for lawyers in these organisations. There will be plenty of opportunities to build their personal network and speak to people from all of the different organisations involved. 

Student Eligiblity:

  • You’re in Year 12
  • You’re attending a state- funded, non- fee- paying school/ college*
  •  You live within a commutable distance of BCLP’s London office**

You must also meet one or more of the following additional criteria:

  • You have been, or are currently, in local authority care
  • You are currently in receipt of, or have previously received, free school meals, Pupil Premium and/ or 16 to 19 Bursary
  • You are, or have been, a full- time or part- time carer
  • You came to the UK as a refugee or asylum seeker
  • You are attending a state school or college with:
    • below average A- Level or Higher point score and/ or
    • low rate of progression to higher education
  • You grew up in a household where no parent or guardian attended university

* Students attending fee paying or private schools with exceptional circumstances or on bursaries will also be considered

** A commutable distance to London is defined by the time it takes to travel from home into the London office (door to door). This should be no more than 1.5 hours door to door. Accommodation must be with a responsible adult. Exceptional circumstances may be considered.

You will need to complete an online application form, providing a contact for a reference at your school.

For more information, please do contact siobhan.larocheseeley@bclplaw.com

APPLY HERE

Applications will open on Thursday 1 February 2024 and will close Friday 15 March 2024. 

Download brochure (Please note: we will add the 2024 brochure soon).

LONDON LEGAL PLACEMENT SCHEME

Our industrial legal placement for second year LLB students offers the opportunity to spend an academic year in our London office, gaining practical experience in one of five market-leading areas – Real Estate, Real Estate Finance, Commercial Disputes, Commercial Construction, and Finance Transactions.

Students will benefit from departmental legal training and will expect to receive a diverse range of legal tasks with a high level of responsibility in one department.

The programme will allow students to take part in an assessment centre for a Training Contract at the end of the placement.

The Placement

Students will spend their third year on placement at BCLP commencing in August each year, as part of a four-year qualifying law degree. The internship will be non-rotational, affording students the opportunity to embed in one area of the business and develop high quality legal skills and knowledge.

Each student will also benefit from the firm’s Trainee Solicitor induction programme and department specific training sessions, the supervision of a UK qualified Solicitor, and a trainee ‘buddy’ scheme.

Students will be required to complete a reflective learning log each week whilst on the placement, which will outline work they have undertaken and skills gained.

Application and Eligibility

The programme is open to LLB and ‘Senior Status’ LLB students upon completion of their second year of the UK LLB programme. Students must achieve an average of 2.1 across both their first and second year results to be considered and will be required, if selected, to transfer to the LLB Law in Practice. Mitigating circumstances regarding academic results will be taken into account during application and assessment

The deadline for applications is 30/03/2024

 

YOUR LEGAL CAREER AT BCLP

Your legal career at BCLP

VACATION SCHEMES

Our two-week Vacation Schemes give you the chance to gain some first-hand experience of life at BCLP and the work we do. We run two each year at our London office – one in April and one in June ­– each for around 15 students. Here, you'll be very much part of the team, doing live work, and getting involved in everything from research and client meetings to court runs and presentations. (Recent topics have included advising a charity on how they could help prevent the use of the death penalty in Sri Lanka, and delivering a mock M&A pitch to a client). You'll also get to attend a series of partner-led talks and workshops, have a sit down lunch with partners and meet regularly with your supervisor. It will all help to develop your skill sets and your knowledge of the firm.

Our Vacation Scheme dates are: 

  • 2 - 12 April 2024
  • 10 - 21 June 2024

Apply via our website, applications close on 14 January 2024

To check our eligibility requirements, please visit our FAQ page

TRAINING CONTRACT

A core part of our firm's vision is to provide a better place to work than our competitors; this is not limited to the firm's culture, but also includes the best work, client, career opportunities and development. Central to that is the quality of our training and commitment to continuous learning.

The Emerging Talent team, alongside your supervisors will provide guidance and input into your seat allocations. Before each seat change, they will meet with their partner mentor and a member of the Emerging Talent team, to discuss your future ambitions and which seat options best meet those goals. We work hard to match seat preferences with the needs of the business.

Our Trainees benefit from receiving in-depth department training at the beginning and during each seat, which will give them the legal know-how to succeed in their department. Support from a dedicated training team and can expect to receive 232 hours of training by the time you are a qualified lawyer.

When approaching qualification, we will meet with trainees several times during the qualification process to talk through the direction that they want to go in, the options open to you and to understand what you are looking for from their career. We work hard at ensuring that trainees stay within the firm, placing them in areas of work in which the trainee wishes to pursue a career. Our intention is to be open with you, and to try to ensure, ultimately, that you stay with us beyond the training contract.

Innovation seat opportunities during the training contract

BCLP is introducing a unique opportunity for trainee solicitors to complete an innovation seat during their training contract. The first innovation seat will be in core real estate in London starting this September and will be expanded across other departments in due course.

The innovation trainee will be integrated into the practice group in question, but a significant percentage of their time will be allocated to a tailored innovation programme comprising three phases:

Phase One: focused on innovation upskilling encompassing deep dives on various technology platforms, as well as training on creative and process-oriented skills such as design thinking.

Phase Two: reviewing problem statements relevant to their practice group, with facilitated ideation sessions to explore, refine and pitch various potential engineered solutions.

Phase Three: a practical project to build a minimum viable product (MVP) with a view to implementing the solution for use by the practice group beyond the end of the trainee’s seat.

Apply on our website. We are recruiting for September 2025, March 2026 and September 2026

Applications close on 31 May 2024

For a full job description please click here.

To check our eligibility requirements, please visit our FAQ page

SECTOR FOCUSED TRAINING CONTRACTS

We have recently launched two new industry-specific training contracts in the UK in real estate and financial services, with candidates able to apply for either from September 2022.

The new training contracts offer flexible seat options based on the sector, one of the four seats being compulsory.

The firm’s core real estate seat will be compulsory during the Real Estate Sector route, with an opportunity to experience a range of complementary seats such as planning and zoning, commercial construction, tax, investment management, real estate disputes and real estate finance.

Similarly, the financial services training contract will have the firm’s Finance Transactions Practice as a compulsory seat, with a choice between the following complementary seats: corporate transactions; energy, environment and infrastructure; financial services disputes & investigations; tax; technology, commercial and government affairs; and real estate finance.

Apply on our website. Applications close on 31 May 2024

For a full job description please click here.

To check our eligibility requirements, please visit our FAQ page

CONTACT US

If you have a question, we'd love to talk with you in person at one of the many University events we run or attend.