Mayer Brown International LLP

Mayer Brown is a leading global law firm with offices in key business centres across the Americas, Europe and Asia.

We have approximately 1,650 lawyers worldwide, including 900 in the Americas, 450 in Europe and 300 in Asia.. The firm's Asia presence was enhanced by its 2008 combination with Johnson Stokes & Master, the largest and oldest Asia law firm. (In Asia, we are known as Mayer Brown JSM.) This unequalled on-the-ground presence in the world’s leading markets for legal services enables Mayer Brown to offer clients access to local market expertise on a global basis.

Mayer Brown in London

With more than 100 partners, 200 associates and 60 trainee solicitors, the London office provides a full service presence working together with its US, European and Asian counterparts to provide clients with complete representation on local and multi-jurisdictional matters alike. While our lawyers primarily practise English law, many are also qualified in the United States and other jurisdictions.

Our lawyers practise in a wide range of areas including corporate, finance, litigation and dispute resolution, real estate, insurance and reinsurance, pensions and employment, competition and trade, tax, intellectual property, and information technology. Clients include many of the FTSE and Fortune 500 companies from the worlds of banking, insurance, communications, industrials, energy, construction, professional services, media, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and mining.

Locations:

Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Charlotte, Chicago, Cologne, Guangzhou, Frankfurt, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Paris, São Paulo, Shanghai, Washington DC

Why train at Mayer Brown?

Mayer Brown advises some of the world’s most sophisticated and complex businesses and institutions. You will have the opportunity to work alongside some award-winning teams and individuals.

One of the advantages of joining Mayer Brown are the choices available to you. Our trainees can tailor their training contract from a range of 24 different seats, including our main practice areas in London (as listed above) and five international secondments (Brussels, Hong Kong (2), New York and São Paulo). If you don't want to stray too far, a wealth of in-house experience is also available via 11 client secondments within the UK.

For a large international firm, our London office remains a tightly knit team harbouring an open and inclusive culture. You will nevertheless be given significant opportunities to assist on matters which may be multi-disciplinary, cross-border, complex and high-profile in nature.

Our 2009/10 trainee intake of 30-35 is relatively low for a firm of our magnitude. Trainees are given high levels of responsibility, case management and client contact from an early stage. The firm also has an extensive support network in place throughout the training contract in the form of senior-level support and continuous appraisals.

Embracing diversity

As an international firm specialising in a wide range of practice areas, our trainee intake is representative of the firm itself. Mayer Brown values and encourages diversity – this is critical to our success as an international law firm serving a very diverse client base worldwide.

Our trainee pool is wide and represents individuals of varying experiences and backgrounds. Last year we recruited from 28 different universities, 40% of our trainee intake have studied non-law degrees and some trainees have even had previous careers prior to joining our firm. It is safe to say there is no conventional Mayer Brown trainee.

Open Days

In December and January each year, we hold four Open Days for students who are interested in finding out more about Mayer Brown. Each day has a full programme of events, including talks on life at Mayer Brown and opportunities available to you, seminars on two of our major practice areas, a group exercise and lunch with some of our current trainee solicitors.

Please see our website for further details.

Work Experience Programmes

We run three work experience programmes each year; two three-week schemes in the summer holidays and one two-week programme at Easter. All are based in the London office and applications are welcome from law and non-law undergraduates and graduates.

During our work experience programmes you will assist a partner or senior associate on real deals to give you first-hand experience of life in a City law firm. You will sit in two departments and you will be asked in advance which areas interest you most. You will also work with fellow work experience programme students on a project designed to test your research skills and to expose you to our broad range of practice areas and international offices.

You will also be invited to attend presentations on our different practice areas to give you more insight into the breadth of the firm. There will also be plenty of social activities organised, including a day at our Brussels office.

How to apply

Work Experience Programmes: applications are welcomed from both law and non-law undergraduates and can be made from 1 November 2009. The deadline is 31 January 2010.

For training contracts, penultimate year law students should apply after the release of their penultimate year exam results. Non-law students, final year law students and graduates should apply after 1 November in their final year of undergraduate study. The deadline for training contract applications is 31 July 2010. However, assessment centres will be held throughout the year.

Whilst our training contracts are based in the London office, trainees will have the opportunity to experience both client and international secondments during their training contract.

All applications should be made via our online system, which can be accessed at www.mayerbrown.com/london.

What we are looking for

As an international firm specialising in a wide range of practice areas, our trainee intake is representative of the firm itself. Mayer Brown values and encourages diversity – this is critical to our success as an international law firm serving a very diverse client base worldwide. Our aim is to make our opportunities accessible to everyone and to encourage people to join us from a wide range of backgrounds. We are working with several organisations, including the Employers’ Forum on Disability and Stonewall, to make our recruitment process more accessible to minority groups. We are also the first law firm to work with EmployAbility, a not-for-profit organisation which links graduates with disabilities with leading global employers.

Our trainee pool is wide and represents individuals of varying experiences and backgrounds. Last year we recruited from 28 different universities, 40% of our trainee intake have studied non-law degrees and some trainees have even had previous careers prior to joining our firm. It is safe to say there is no conventional Mayer Brown trainee. While studying law is not a prerequisite, applications from those who have a strong commitment to pursuing a career in law and proven academic ability are particularly welcome.

We are looking for candidates who not only have a consistently strong academic record including a minimum of a 2.1 degree (predicted or obtained) in any discipline, but also who have a wide range of interests and achievements outside their academic career. Additionally, we would like to see innovative candidates who can demonstrate a drive for results, good verbal and written communication skills, and an ability to analyse, with good judgement and excellent interpersonal skills.