INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM

Trainee Opportunities in London

trainee.edwardswildman.com

HELEN CLARK

TRAINEE PRINCIPAL AND DIRECTOROF HUMAN RESOURCES, UK

I am the Trainee Principal for our firm in London. It is my responsibility to select people who will become our partners of the future. This is no mean feat. There are lots of intelligent and hugely interesting people out there. It is also a tough and time consuming process to narrow down your search to firms which will be the right fit and allow you to flourish.

It is important to me and to our partners to ensure that in addition to the firm realising its expectations of trainees, each trainee enjoys their training contract and is equipped to start their qualified legal career with confidence. We offer trainees the excitement and challenge of high value and complex international work, with opportunities for secondments, in the supportive environment of a strong established City practice.

The London office may be smaller in size, as compared to some firms in the City, but we are increasingly being recognised by industry leaders for our work. Recent accolades include: London Office of the Year 2012 – Legal Week – British Legal Awards; we are delighted to have been nominated again for the 2013 award; The Lawyer - International Law Firm of the Year (in which we came third) and US Law Firm of the Year - Legal Business Global London Survey 2012. We also won 2012 Most Innovative Law Firm by the Financial Times in recognition of the firm’s litigation practice. We were named Dow Jones, Private Equity Analyst’s “2012 Most Active Law Firm” and have also been listed among the Top 25 firms in the world by World Trademark Review 1000.

We are delighted to have been a winner in the Lex 100’s annual surveys of trainees. The Lex 100 surveys acknowledge the importance we place on the quality of our trainees’ training and well being. We have also been recipients of the LawCareers.Net Award for “Best Vacation Scheme”.

I look forward to meeting you.

A SELECT FEW…

ANNIE CLARKE

DEGREEPOLITICS

UNIVERSITYEDINBURGH

LAW SCHOOLUNIVERSITY OF LAW (FORMERLY COLLEGE OF LAW)

We like being able to offer you a very personalised training contract and so keep our trainee intake deliberately small. We will talk to you frequently about the work you are doing and what else you would like to do.

With a smaller group, we really get to see you and your potential from day one and our multi-level support network ensures you get lots of individual attention to build on your strengths and capabilities. You will also form close ties with your fellow trainees very quickly. Knowing what each trainee is working on and with whom gives you fantastic insight into the firm’s lawyers and their work from an early stage.

Selecting small groups of trainees, developing them through their training contract and on through qualification and beyond is fundamental to the growth of the firm. We take their selection and training very seriously.

“I chose to apply to Edwards Wildman because of the calibre of work at the firm coupled with high levels of responsibility. I didn’t want to feel like another face in a crowd of trainees. As the trainee intake is small, trainees have the opportunity to participate in a meaningful way from the outset. Just a few weeks into my training, I’m already working on a significant public international law dispute and asset recovery work in the Caribbean.” ANNIE CLARKE

MAKE YOUR MARK…

JANE ELPHICK

DEGREESPANISH & POLITICS

UNIVERSITYBRISTOL

LAW SCHOOLUNIVERSITY OF LAW (FORMERLY COLLEGE OF LAW)

“From day one I‘ve been given the opportunity to contribute to high-level, global work. The team I’m currently in consists of a partner, senior associate and myself and we’re advising on an international arbitration. I am part of the case on all levels, from strategy planning and data analysis to writing up advice to clients. I am excited by the opportunities to learn, develop and stand out. Even as a vacation scheme student I was exposed to high-quality, international work and it’s great to be back at the firm getting the opportunity to show what I can do.” JANE ELPHICK

Our trainees cannot take a back seat. You will be a highly visible and integral part of the teams in which you work. Our trainees are expected to take on as much responsibility as they can handle and are really encouraged to add something to the matters they work on. With appropriate support, this is a great way for you to build confidence in your abilities. We select trainees who enjoy working in a team but who can show the initiative to go it alone, if required.

You will also start to learn the vital skills of business development. We are keen for lawyers at all levels to build relationships with contacts/clients and their peers.

INTERNATIONAL WORK…

MARTIN WHITTLE

DEGREEEUROPEAN, INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW

UNIVERSITYSHEFFIELD

LAW SCHOOLNOTTINGHAM LAW SCHOOL

In our practice areas, the work we do rivals that of the largest City firms, but your training experience will be a very different one. Whether our clients are forming, merging, acquiring, selling, suing, defending, arbitrating, innovating or complying, much of the work will emanate from the US, Bermuda, Africa, Hong Kong and Europe. It will often involve cross-border elements, requiring the examination of conflicts of law, international enforceability and jurisdictional disputes. You will have all the excitement and challenge of high value and complex transactions and disputes but in a more supportive and collegiate working environment.

If you have language skills that you are keen to use, you will be in good company. Our lawyers have skills in a wide range of foreign languages and in London these include Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish and Turkish.

We are keen for our trainees and associates to experience the work and atmosphere of our offices outside London, when those opportunities arise. Some of our trainees and associates have been seconded to our New York, Boston, Chicago and Hong Kong offices.

“I was drawn to Edwards Wildman as it is a truly international firm. It has an ever expanding international office network, diverse international clients and lots of cross-border work. The marketing literature talks about how internationally focussed the work is and I’m happy to report it’s true! In my first few weeks every single matter I’ve worked on has had that focus. Talking to other trainees, they’re also discovering just how true it really is. It’s so interesting hearing about what my fellow trainees are working on and the added complexity that international focus can bring.” MARTIN WHITTLE

GREAT TRAINING…

LEO SPICER-PHELPS

DEGREEPOLITICS

UNIVERSITYNOTTINGHAM

LAW SCHOOLCOLLEGE OF LAW, LONDON

We really believe you learn best by doing, getting involved in real work from the start, but with the right level of support and feedback.

Your training contract is divided into four seats in our key practice areas, each lasting six months. This will likely include a litigation seat in Commercial Litigation and/or Insurance and Reinsurance.

Your supervisor may be an associate or a partner. We aim to ensure you get a chance to sit with both as the experiences will often be quite different. We will spend significant time with you discussing the progress of your on-going seat. We will also talk to you about your next seat choice to ensure you are moving to an area which interests you.

A number of our more experienced trainees spend time on secondment, usually six months. Trainees find it helps them develop a real understanding of our clients’ needs. Some of the secondments we have offered include Citibank, Richemont and Amazon. From time-to-time there are also opportunities for trainee secondments to the firm’s offices outside London.

We attach great importance to offering you the best skills training to supplement your working experiences. In addition to the Professional Skills Courses, we have a comprehensive tailored training programme in our key practice areas, as well as business development and finance.

“From the moment I joined, the amount of time and effort the firminvests in its trainees’ development was immediately evident. There has been an ongoing programme of “know-how” sessions given by lawyers throughout the firm…the lessons learnt over the years are relayed to new trainees by those who were in our positions previously. A significant investment is made in the development of the individual throughout their career at the firm. It is this focus on high quality training, which really attracted me to Edwards Wildman and I am glad to say the firm is living up to its reputation of having one of the best training programmes in the City.” LEO SPICER-PHELPS

A BALANCED APPROACH…

LIANNA CHAN

DEGREELAW

UNIVERSITYQUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY LONDON

LAW SCHOOLBPP, LONDON

There is no denying that becoming a good commercial lawyer is hard work and once you have qualified that hard work will continue.

There will be times when you will need to work late, particularly as your work will be across a number of different time zones. But this is easier in a good-humoured and supportive working environment. And if you are in the office late, it is because there is valuable and interesting work to be done. When the work is done, people are encouraged to go home. No-one stays late for appearances.

We understand the importance of people’s lives outside work and respect the need to strive for a good balance. We want you to enjoy your work and the environment you work in and we are fiercely proud of our reputation for being a truly collegiate firm.

It is important to feel that the skills you learn and use as a commercial lawyer can also be used to help others; or you may be looking for opportunities to gain or build on other non-legal strengths and experiences. We actively encourage our staff to take part in pro-bono work, including at the Citizens Advice Bureau and through the Lloyd’s Community programme, LawWorks and Fair Trials International. You can read more about these schemes on our website.

“One of the main strengths of the firm is its collegiate environment. Even before my training contract started, I attended a number of the social events at Edwards Wildman, where I met more people from the firm, as well as the trainees in my intake. By the time I started the training contract, I felt like I had been part of Edwards Wildman for a long time. The work/life balance in the firm is also good. We are discouraged from staying longer in the office than necessary. But when long hours are needed, your efforts are really appreciated.” LIANNA CHAN

9:00am I arrive in the office and deal with emails that have come in overnight. There is an email from one of the associates in the department asking for help putting a bundle together for a hearing.

9:30am I receive instructions from the associate and a pile of documents to organise, file and index. While not glamorous tasks, these are part and parcel of being a trainee, and oddly satisfying. It’s important to keep in mind the bigger picture on these things. It’s important to be very organised and accurate – thereby allowing your team to rely on the work you’ve done.

10:30am Bundling done, an email comes in from the business intelligence department with a news update on the adverse party in a case I am assisting on. I add the story to our press file and produce an updated memo on the current status of the company. This is important as it helps the team working on the case to keep on top of developments which may affect how we proceed.

11:00am My pro bono client calls asking for help in enforcing a costs order they were awarded in a judgment. The debtor has been ignoring letters from our client requesting the money they are owed. After conducting a conflicts check to ensure we are able to act against the debtor, I draft a letter to them explaining the situation, the amount owed to our client and the consequences if they continue to ignore the debt. I show it to the partner supervising the matter. Pro bono cases are great opportunities to get client contact and experience of running a matter, and the firm encourages and supports trainees who want to get involved in them.

WILL HAIG

DEGREEEXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

UNIVERSITYOXFORD (NEW COLLEGE)

LAW SCHOOLBPP, LONDON

SEATCOMMERCIAL LITIGATION

A DAY IN THE LIFE

12:30pm I go for lunch with the other trainees in ‘The Hub’ (the office café). It’s a good time to swap ‘war stories’ and share our experiences. We make plans for some social time after work.

1:00pm The trainees have a training session on business writing from one of the partners which I attend. Trainees have regular training sessions, led by both internal and external providers. These cover recent developments in the law, legal skills such as research, and more widely-applicable skills such as how to give effective presentations.

2:30pm My supervisor has a client meeting in advance of a hearing which is the culmination of months of hard work. I am asked to attend the meeting. I take detailed notes so we can follow up on points raised.

3:30pm Straight after the client meeting we have a conference call with counsel to discuss issues raised in the client meeting. It’s great to have this level of exposure to litigation tactics and the analysis and thought processes of the senior lawyers and barrister involved.

3:45pm I dictate notes of both meetings then update and circulate the action list on the case for the partner and associate involved in the matter. I am expected to be on top of what’s happening and what’s needed. This is a crucial part of my responsibilities on this matter.

4:15pm An email comes in from a partner I am working with on another case. He has been copied in on a letter from the other side making a last-minute application to the arbitral tribunal. He is overseas, so has asked me to research the grounds on which they are making the application and to update him as soon as possible. After hitting a couple of dead ends on my initial research, I find a procedural rule which will help us to oppose the application, and send it to the partner.

5:45pm I am copied in on an email from counsel to the arbitral tribunal, using my research to oppose the application. It’s a gratifying and very satisfying moment when you are given the opportunity to be instrumental on the way a case develops. The level of responsibility I’ve enjoyed during this seat has been fantastic for developing my confidence.

5:50pm An associate asks me to proofread and copy check a document so it is ready to go out first thing tomorrow morning.

6:20pm My desk largely clear, I finish recording my time for the day and head off to take part in a tennis tournament several people in the firm are involved in.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

LIANNA CHAN

DEGREELAW

UNIVERSITYQUEEN MARY UNIVERSITYLONDON

LAW SCHOOLBPP, LONDON

SEATINSURANCE & REINSURANCE

9:20am I arrive at the office with my morning coffee and review my emails to see whether anything urgent has come in. My current seat is in the Insurance & Reinsurance Department (“IRD”), and we have been advising on a dispute between our client (an insurer) and the insured. The dispute is in the early stages of arbitration, and we have been verifying the claim made by the insured.

9:35am As nothing urgent has come in, I review my to do list and start tackling the highest priority task. As part of verifying the claim, the partner in charge of the case has asked me to analyse an Excel spreadsheet (containing 11,000 rows of data) forwarded by the insured, to see whether some of the claims fall within a particular exclusion of the insurance policy. The volume of data involved in this case is quite typical in commercial insurance disputes.

11:55am We have received a letter from the insured’s lawyers. The partner asks me to draft a response to the insured’s lawyers that will be sent out this afternoon. The partner and I discuss the points we want to cover and I take detailed notes.

12:10pm As I start drafting the letter, I continually look back at my notes to ensure that the letter covers all the points we want to raise. Once finished, I give the draft letter a final check through for typos and grammatical errors, before giving the letter to the partner and my supervisor (the associate on the case) to review.

12:40pm At lunchtime, I usually meet with the other trainees to eat in the in-house café or grab something from one of the many eateries near the office. However, today, I am attending a lunch time lecture at Lloyd’s of London with another trainee in IRD. The lecture is on the new Jackson reforms, and is run by the British Insurance Law Association which is chaired by one of Edwards Wildman’s partners. It is useful to attend these types of lectures to keep up to date with the latest legal developments and to network outside of the firm.

1:55pm I am back in the office a little later than usual due to the talk. I give my emails a quick review and have a brief chat with my supervisor about the lunch time lecture.

2:15pm The partner and my supervisor have reviewed my draft letter in detail, and we discuss amendments that need to be made. Once the draft letter is amended, I ask my PA to send out the finished letter to the insured’s lawyers and the client.

2:35pm I am about to continue my analysis task from this morning but my supervisor asks me to carry out a research task based on the query that was raised in a meeting with Counsel on Monday. The answer to the research will determine whether our client needs to indemnify part of the insured’s claim. As this task is more urgent, I start carrying out the research straight away by heading to the library to grab a few insurance law textbooks.

3:15pm Throughout this week, my supervisor and I have been contacting a number of potential experts in preparation for the arbitration. As there is a teleconference with a potential expert at 3.30pm, I stop my research task and start preparing for the call. During the teleconference, I take a detailed note of the expert’s experience and background so that I can add this information to a summary note that I have been preparing for the partner and the client.

4:15pm After the teleconference, my supervisor and I discuss our thoughts on the expert. We do not always have the same opinion on an expert, which usually makes for an interesting discussion. Once we have agreed on our opinion of the expert, I start adding our comments to the summary note.

4:55pm I go back to my research task and start looking for relevant cases on Westlaw. I’m fortunate in that I find some really useful cases that provide a clear answer on the issue so I start drafting the research note. Due to the complexity of the work we carry out, there is usually no clear answer to a research note. In those circumstances what we provide to our supervisor may call upon our powers of analysis, argument and persuasion, based on what we do find.

6:45pm I have made good progress with drafting the research note; however it is unlikely to be finished tonight. I have a quick look at my to do list and decide that I have time to finish it off on Monday morning. As the rest of the trainees are heading out for drinks tonight, I head off to the local pub to meet them.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We want trainees who are committed to doing the very best job they can. They will be energetic and motivated, with lots of common sense. In addition:

• We want candidates with excellent academics who have or are likely to achieve a good 2.1 honours degree or above and have at least 300 UCAS points or equivalent (not including AS levels or General Studies).

• We look for adaptable individuals, who can think on their feet.

• You will need to demonstrate good analytical skills and attention to detail.

• You should be self-motivated and like to get involved in lots of activities outside your studies, showing a good level of commitment and achievement in these.

• We value great communication skills and look for evidence that you have worked in teams, taken on responsibility and are not afraid of hard work.

• We place emphasis on you having an understanding of business issues/commercial awareness.

• We like to read applications from individuals who can be perceptive about the things they have done and what they have learned from their experiences.

“I find that a trainee who is industrious and dynamic tends to get much more out of their training during the two years.” ANTONIO SUAREZ-MARTINEZ, COMMERCIAL LITIGATION PARTNER AND SEAT SUPERVISOR

LONDON PRACTICE AREAS

Our work in London spans the following principal areas:

• Asset Tracing and Recovery• Banking and Regulatory• Business Law, Private Equity and Venture Capital• Commercial Litigation and Arbitration• Competition• Employment• Insurance and Reinsurance• Intellectual Property• Public International Law• Product Liability• Restructuring and Insolvency• Technology, Media and Telecommunications

“The firm continues to evolve. In London we have added 20 new partners in just over four years. We have worked hard to retain important aspects of the working environment - in particular our collegiate and supportive culture - which first attracted many of us to Edwards Wildman. Trainees now have fantastic opportunities across our practice groups as well as exciting secondment opportunities. The success of the London office is reflected by our recent award nominations including winning the 2012 London Office of the Year at the Legal Week British Legal Awards.” NICK BOLTER, PARTNER IN CHARGE, LONDON OFFICE

KEY FACTS/DEADLINES

TRAINING CONTRACTS

We recruit approximately six trainees per year (two years in advance).

2016 training contract application deadline: 31 July 2014

Online form only

SALARIES & KEY BENEFITS AS AT SEPTEMBER 2013

Starting salary: £38,000

• 25 days holiday per year

• Gym membership subsidy

• Season ticket loan

• Private medical insurance

• Childcare vouchers

• Sports and social events

• Ride to work scheme

SPONSORSHIP AND MAINTENANCE AS AT SEPTEMBER 2013

If you secure a training contract, prior to the start of law school, we pay fees for the GDL and/or LPC, in addition to maintenance.

Maintenance inside London: £7,000 (per annum)

Maintenance outside London: £6,500 (per annum)

ONLINE APPLICATION

To access the online application form and learn more about us, please go to trainee.edwardswildman.com

TRAINING CONTRACT AND SUMMER PLACEMENT SELECTION PROCESS

We invite candidates to an assessment where they take part in a group business case study and individual activities designed to test their team working abilities, commercial sense, communication skills and critical reasoning. Successful candidates are offered a partner/senior associate inter-view. For those who are not selected for interview, we offer one-to-one feedback on the day. Summer placement assess-ments are usually held during late February or early March. Training contract assessments are usually held during the last week of August, with offers made from the first of September.

SUMMER PLACEMENTS

Our scheme involves a mixture of work experience, shadowing trainees, skills sessions (often run by partners), talks, trips and social events. We try to involve you as much as possible in whatever client work we can. You might be attending meetings, participating in conference calls, going to hearings or taking part in project work and research tasks. We plan a programme from which we hope you’ll learn lots, gain as much insight into the firm, the people and the work it does as you can and have fun! In a previous Lex 100 survey our summer scheme scored a perfect 10! We also won the LawCareers.Net Award for “Best Vacation Scheme’’ in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013.

2014 Summer placement deadline: 31 January 2014

Online form only

OPEN DAYS

We hold a number of open days each year to give you the opportunity to visit the firm, take part in workshops, meet and ask questions of partners, associates and trainees. We aim to give you a sense of the firm as a whole and help you decide if our firm is the right one for you.

Please see our website for our 2013/14 open day dates and to apply online.

HOW TO FIND US

Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLPDashwood69 Old Broad StreetLondon EC2M 1QSUKtel: +44 (0)20 7583 4055fax : +44 (0)20 7353 7377email: swarnes@edwardswildman.comDX 744 London Citytrainee.edwardswildman.com

trainee.edwardswildman.com

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