Our Recruitment Criteria
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Dechert London on Campus
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FAQs
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What do you want to know?
Work placement programmes
Training contract applications and interviews
Life as a future joiner
Life as a trainee solicitor
Work placement programmes
Do you offer vacation schemes?
We offer vacation schemes, or work placement programmes, of between one and two weeks in length. Between six and eight students attend each programme. In 2008, programmes will take place on the following dates:
• 31 March - 04 April
• 14 - 18 April
• 23 June - 04 July
• 14 - 25 July
• 04 - 15 August
Am I eligible for a work placement programme?
Most of our work placement participants are penultimate year law students but we welcome applications from people at a later stage in their academic career and from those who are looking to change careers.
How do I obtain a place on one of your work placement programmes?
The first step to securing a placement is to complete our online application form.
When should I apply?
For a place on one of our 2008 programmes you should apply between 1 November and 29 February 2008 in the penultimate year of your undergraduate degree, or between the same dates if you are at a later stage in your studies or career.
What does the interview process involve?
In most cases, you would spend about an hour and a half at our offices in London. You would be interviewed for half an hour by our Graduate Recruitment Manager or our Director of Training, and undertake a written exercise. You would also spend some time with one of our trainees who can answer your questions about what life is really like here, and tell you about the kind of work they have been doing.
We also conduct interviews on-campus at some universities in the autumn, in recognition of the fact that coming to London for interviews during term-time can have a disruptive effect on candidates' studies. We often conduct the interviews the day before or after a given university law fair, meaning that some on-campus interviews will take place quite early in the process. If you are successful in an on-campus interview you would be invited to visit us at our offices at a later date, to take a look around our offices and meet some more of our people before deciding whether to accept our offer.
If you are not living in the UK during the interview period, or if you live a long way from London making travelling to London difficult, then we would offer to interview you over the telephone.
The interview would follow the same format whether it was conducted in person or over the telephone. It would be based around your application form. The interviewer would talk to you about your degree; the skills you have developed during your outside activities and your work experience; and your career aspirations. You would also be asked questions to test your commercial awareness and your interest in the business world.
However you are interviewed, the interview is very much a two-way process and there will be plenty of time for you to ask questions.
How soon after the interview can I expect to hear whether I have got a place?
We like to get back to candidates quickly as we know that you have usually made other applications and need to weigh up offers against each other. Unless we are waiting for a reference from a referee, we can usually let you know the outcome of your application within five working days of the interview.
What would I do on a work placement programme?
Our work placement programmes are designed to give you an idea of what it would be like to work here. Each week is spent in a different practice area, where you would be given ‘real work’ by lawyers. We would ask you before you start your programme whether you have an interest in particular practice areas and then try to place you in those areas during your programme. You could spend time in Corporate & Secutiries, Employment, Finance and Real Estate, Financial Services, IP or Litigation.
Exactly what you would do would depend on which practice group(s) you sit in but it would probably include research, drafting and attending meetings. You would also attend training and briefing sessions.
Sports and social events are an important part of the work placement programme as they enable you get to know each other and our people better. You will be invited to take part in the firm’s sports events such as the annual Partners v Staff cricket match, softball matches and the annual 5-a-side football match. We organise social events for you including drinks events, dinners and bowling evenings.
If I do a work placement with you, would I be interviewed for a training contract?
Yes. We could interview you towards the end of the placement, or after it. However, we are bound by Law Society regulations governing training contract offers which state that we cannot offer a training contract to law students until 1 September in their final year. If you fall into this category you would not find out the outcome of your interview until that date.
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Training contract applications and interviews
How many training contracts do you offer each year?
We recruit between 10 and 15 training contracts each year. All of our trainees start work together, in September.
What are your selection criteria?
We recruit bright, ambitious individuals who have a genuine interest in the business world and who share our team-focussed approach. We aim high and want to recruit people who share our ambition. We apply the same criteria when recruiting for our work placement programmes.
Does possession of an LLM or admission to the New York Bar make any difference to an application?
Qualifications such as an LLM or the New York Bar are a bonus if an applicant meets the rest of our selection criteria.
Do you recruit candidates who have not studied law at undergraduate level?
We have recruited and continue to recruit excellent trainees from all academic backgrounds. About 30% of our current trainees are non-law graduates.
Do you offer financial assistance for the GDL course?
We pay course fees for the LPC in addition to a maintenance grant, which will be £10,000 per annum from September 2008, and we pay market leading salaries. We do not sponsor the GDL.
What if I need a work permit?
If you would qualify under the International Graduate Scheme and / or the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP), please make this clear on your application form. You can find out more about both schemes on the Home Office website 'Working in the UK':
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/workpermits/
If you do not qualify for the above programmes, and want to apply for a training contract with us, then you should set out as clearly as possible what benefits you can bring to the firm beyond those benefits brought by people who do not need a work permit.
How do I apply for a training contract?
You should complete our online application form, which is the same as the form for work placement programmes.
What is the selection process?
You would spend either a morning or an afternoon at our offices in London and would undertake a variety of exercises. You would take two written tests and attend two interviews. We know that candidates are likely to be interviewing with other firms as well, and so the interview process is very much a two-way process. We provide plenty of time for you to ask questions during your interviews and during the tour of the office, given by one of our trainees.
Deciding where to train is an important decision and you need to be sure that you accept a training contract with the right firm for you, so if you receive an offer make sure you find out as much information as you can before you make your decision.
Are there any other selection methods?
We hold two assessment days each year, usually in March and October. All applicants, for work placement programmes and training contracts, will be considered for an assessment day.
The assessment day would consist of various presentations and exercises designed to help you find out more about the firm, and to help us decide whether you possess the skills that we are looking for. Successful participants would be invited back for an interview for a work placement or a training contract.
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Life as a future joiner
Do you require your future trainees to study the LPC at a particular institution?
Unlike some firms we do not require all of our future trainees to apply to any specific institutions. However the majority of our future trainees study at one of the BPP or College of Law branches.
Do you require future joiners to choose specific LPC electives?
No. We want our future trainees to study subjects in which they are really interested. However some electives would not make sense for a trainee who is coming to a firm like Dechert. You have to choose three electives. Our future trainees generally choose from the following:
• Acquisitions and group structures
• Advanced property
• Commercial litigation
• Commercial Law
• Debt finance
• Employment
• Equity finance
Would I have any contact with the firm between accepting my offer and starting my training contract?
Yes. We don’t forget about you during this period, and will be in touch regularly with newsletters and invitations to both firm-wide and future joiner specific social events. You should also feel free to get in touch with us if you want to discuss anything during this time.
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Life as a trainee solicitor
How much influence would I have over my training contract seat plan?
We operate a six seat rotational system, and we have seats available in many different legal specialisations. Trainees can sit in Corporate & Securities, Employment, Finance and Real Estate, Financial Services, IP, Litigation and Tax in London, and in Competition in Brussels. We take trouble to counsel trainees on their career goals so that they do seats that will suit them. Trainees help to choose their first seat, along with fellow first seat trainees, during the Philadelphia trip at the start of the training contract.
The training contract is flexible and for this reason no two trainees have the same seat plan. Some trainees spend the six seats in six different areas; others choose to return to a practice area that they enjoyed in an earlier seat move, usually sitting with a different supervisor to gain exposure to a different part of that practice.
You have lots of international offices. Can I spend any time abroad?
There is plenty of opportunity for working in one of our international offices, both during and after your training contract. A training contract with Dechert starts with a week in Philadelphia, to take part in our firm-wide induction. We second a trainee to our Brussels office every seat move, and have seconded German-speaking trainees to Munich. On a more individually-tailored basis, we have seconded trainees to our US offices such as New York, Newport Beach, Philadelphia and Washington. Secondments to the US usually occur at the end of the training contract, to assist the trainees’ understanding of the transatlantic practice areas into which they would be qualifying.
What kind of training will I receive during my training contract?
We take your training very seriously. When you get back from the firm-wide induction in Philadelphia, you will attend further induction training before beginning your first seat.
Throughout your training contract, you will be invited to attend substantive training sessions to help you make the most of your time in each of your seats. We also train you on the ‘softer skills’ that you need to develop to become a successful lawyer, such as giving presentations and networking.
Equally important is the training which goes on every day, with your supervisor guiding your work and giving you help and feedback. In each seat you will sit with an experienced lawyer chosen because of their interest and skill in training. You will receive appraisals every seat, including regular reviews with the senior lawyer or partner responsible for your development over the entire training contract.
Can I get involved in pro bono?
Yes; trainees and qualified lawyers alike are encouraged to do pro bono work. Indeed all trainees contribute to our advice clinics at a Law Centre in a deprived part of London.
Aside from the Law Centre, we are involved in a large number of pro bono activities which include things such as advising members of the public on varied litigation and other issues regularly at the Citizens Advice Bureau in the Royal Courts of Justice; setting up a new advisory clinic and advising charities and others on employment, property and contractual issues in Angel Islington in conjunction with Community Matters; and assisting LPC students with their application forms and interviews to help them to secure training contracts.
Dechert is committed to pro bono work for ethical reasons, but we also find that working on pro bono matters helps lawyers to develop their interpersonal and advisory skills.
Will I be kept on after I qualify?
We recruit people that we think have the potential to have a long and successful career with the firm, and we aim to keep on all our qualifiers. In 2007, nearly 80% of our qualifying trainees were offered permanent positions.
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