Vacation Placements, Allen & Overy

Choosing the right career is a big decision. There are lots of questions you need to ask yourself. What type of law do I want to practise? What type of firm would suit me best? What will the work really be like? The best way to answer these questions is to get first-hand experience of life in a law firm and this is exactly what our vacation placements and open days offer.

During your placement you will assist an associate on real deals. You will sit in two departments and we will ask you in advance what area most interests you. You will also work with fellow vacation placement students on a case study project designed to sharpen your research skills and expose you to our broad range of practice areas.

Alongside your legal work you will take part in workshops and attend presentations and talks aimed at informing you about our work and helping you to develop the skills you need to be a successful commercial lawyer such as negotiation, presentation and interview skills. There will also be plenty of time to socialise with other Allen & Overy people during your placement.

Placements are held in our London office during the winter and summer vacations. Summer placements are for students at the end of their penultimate year of study of their undergraduate degree, or at the end of the second year of a four-year course (if the third year is spent abroad). Applications are welcomed from both law and non-law students.

Spring and Summer placement students also have the opportunity to apply for an international element to their placement, spending a further week in one of our overseas offices after their time in London. Winter placements are for final year students or graduates and applications are welcomed from both law and non-law students.

When to apply.We recruit approximately 65 vacation students each year. Vacation students are paid £250 per week. We will be accepting applications for our Winter placement (for finalists and graduates of all degree disciplines) from 1st October - 31st October 2009, and for our Summer 2010 placements from 1st October 2009 - 17th January 2010.

Selection Criteria, Vacancies and How to Apply We expect to see a strong and consistent academic performance both at school and in your degree studies – typically AAB at A level (or equivalent) and you should have achieved or be predicted at least a 2:1 (or equivalent). 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, communication skills, and problem-solving.

Apply now