Link up.
Make a connection. Our business is all about exceptional people. So we want the best and the brightest to find and fulfil their true potential at Linklaters. Join us and you will become part of a global firm of exceptionally talented lawyers working with the highest profile clients on the most significant transactions and assignments. Being part of our team will give you experience unrivalled in the world of business law. While many law firms are strong in some areas, Linklaters is the only firm with marketleading global teams across the full range of corporate, finance and commercial practice areas; with 19 market-leading practices across our global network of 26 offices. One of the most prestigious teams in the legal world, our success is testimony to the strong relationships we forge – both internally and externally. Together we are working to fulfil our ambition of becoming the leading premium global law firm. That single-minded aim shapes everything we do – from the work we undertake for our clients to the commitments we make to invest in community projects, both local and international. It also has a profound influence on the way we will train and develop you, because we want you to be a Linklaters lawyer, equipped for the most challenging legal work and delivering the most innovative solutions and clear-sighted advice to clients all over the globe. We look for people who combine intellectual rigour, determination and a global outlook, with the creativity and people skills to have a real influence on the quality of the work we do. In return, we will offer you excellent rewards, unlimited support, unrivalled training and the chance to add value from day one. The next few pages provide some insights into these opportunities and what you can expect if you join us. For the most talented people who share our vision and values, there really is no better place to start.
Contents. The Firm. Your link to our world Six reasons to join Practice areas Sectors
5 6 8 13
The Future. Life as an Associate Training and development Corporate responsibility How to contact us
14 15 16 18
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Your link to our world – and beyond. We are a truly global law firm – in business to meet the complex needs of the world’s top clients. Our global capabilities give us access to the most interesting markets, the most prominent clients and the most exciting deals. As emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China present new business opportunities for our clients, we make it our business to be there to help. It gives our people the opportunity to connect with a diverse range of international colleagues and clients on a daily basis. Global capability is not simply about having offices in all the right places; it is the ability to deploy exactly the right mix of people to meet the specific needs of a particular client, irrespective of location. This gives our people a richness of experience and opportunity that is genuinely unique. Linklaters is the proving ground for a new breed of commercial lawyers who work seamlessly across jurisdictions. Wherever we are based, they make things happen, set new standards and push boundaries. Working on challenging transactions and assignments for many of the world’s leading companies, financial institutions and government organisations, we produce innovative and often groundbreaking cross-border solutions. Doing so takes cultural sensitivity, empathy and a good deal of flexibility. The personal and professional rewards are immense – real influence, fascinating challenges and an incredible sense of achievement. International experience is good for the individual and it is good for the firm. It helps people build relationships and forge contacts. It increases cultural flexibility and client focus. And it broadens the mind – helping our people to develop their creative and entrepreneurial spirit. Of course, having a global outlook means embracing a global culture. If you want to create a business that works smoothly across jurisdictions, markets and sectors, you need highly-skilled and knowledgeable individuals to connect with each other. So a friendly and supportive working environment is a key component of our business strategy, allowing us to create teams that can take on the world’s biggest legal challenges.
What’s the link between thoroughbred racehorses and second-hand Mustangs? 5
Our attraction as an employer is closely bound up with our strategy as a global law firm and the culture we foster. When we asked our people, these were just six of their most important reasons for joining Linklaters.
Six reasons to join.
ambition
opportunity
challenge
Linklaters is an ambitious firm with a clear sense of direction.
Linklaters guarantees global exposure and incredible personal and professional development.
Linklaters offers intellectually challenging and rewarding work.
We aim to become the leading premium global law firm. This vision for the future is not just rhetoric. We know where we are going and how we are going to get there. And we have a stellar track record of achieving our business goals, because the firm’s aspirations flow directly from the ambitions of our people.
“There is a real culture of drive, ambition and shared goals. From my team to my colleagues in Milan and Dubai, everyone I meet is highly motivated.”
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Linklaters is uniquely placed to advise on complex cross-border deals for multi-national clients. We offer global opportunities because we are a truly global law firm. We are also innovators, giving our people scope and support to develop their own ideas and use their entrepreneurial spirit. “The important thing is to take every opportunity to do what interests you, from working on a particular deal or learning a language, to spending six months in Amsterdam.”
We actively seek to work with leading global clients on their most difficult and challenging assignments. Finding innovative solutions to the toughest business problems and excelling on the most complex transactions are at the heart of our culture.
“I am involved in a complex cross-border deal with the team in Moscow and learning very quickly to work across time zones, jurisdictions and departments.”
learning
teamwork
meritocracy
Linklaters provides top-quality training and career development.
Linklaters surrounds you with talented colleagues and a friendly, collaborative culture.
Linklaters rewards and promotes our people on merit.
Our people and their expertise are the lifeblood of the firm. The type of work we do requires our people to be at the absolute pinnacle of the profession; and the type of people we employ crave constant self-improvement. So we provide world-class training and development programmes, supported by the most sophisticated knowledge management systems and our very own Law & Business School. “Our professional development is outstanding. It prepares you for a career with the firm that could take you to any major financial centre in the world, from New York to Singapore.”
At Linklaters, every colleague, whether they are in another office, practice area or country, is easily accessible. Call them and you will find someone whose expertise and commitment you can trust and who is willing to help in any way they can. It is these people who create our linked-up, friendly, professional culture. It is these people who make our relationships work – be they with each other, our clients or the communities in which we operate. “In the last week, I have been working closely with colleagues in Paris, New York and Tokyo while being shadowed by a Trainee from the São Paulo office.”
Our success has always been based on a strong relationship between our global strategy and the ambitions of the people who make it happen. We reward and promote people entirely on merit. Recognising and celebrating high performance at every level, we create a culture of entrepreneurial freedom and cultural diversity.
“In the short time I have been here, I have already worked with some of the most senior people in London, Beijing and Frankfurt.”
The law in practice. Linklaters has a commanding presence across the full range of corporate, finance and commercial law. This, partnered with our culture of innovation, teamwork and entrepreneurship, means that we have built strong relationships with the world’s leading companies, financial institutions and governments, advising them on their most important and challenging transactions and assignments. We base our client relationships on the same sense of teamwork and friendship that unites us as a firm. Strong bonds of mutual trust, personal rapport and global co-operation are crucial in helping us support our clients in delivering their strategy. To do this we organise our work into three broad divisions: Corporate; Finance & Projects; and Commercial. The practice areas typically included in these divisions are listed below, although they can vary from office to office. In reality, however, the sheer size and complexity of the deals we tackle requires teams drawn from many different countries, sectors and practice areas. We can pull together the right mix of people and knowhow for any situation. It is this depth, flexibility and rich diversity of expertise that makes us such a critical resource for our clients.
Corporate
Finance & Projects
Commercial
Competition
Banking
Intellectual Property
Corporate / M&A
Capital Markets
Litigation & Arbitration
Employment & Incentives
Financial Regulation
Real Estate & Construction
Environment & Climate Change
Projects
Tax
Restructuring & Insolvency
Investment Management
Technology, Media & Telecommunications
Pensions
Trusts
As your career develops, you will focus on one or more of these practice areas. You will also gain specialist knowledge of our sector groups – many of our lawyers develop specific industry expertise through the deals they work on and client secondments. So, whatever your career path, you will be part of a vibrant and perpetual learning environment, developing world-class legal and commercial acumen and gaining a true understanding of the business needs of our clients.
Who’s the link between Madagascan airtime and European airspace?
Linklaters advised Kuwait’s largest telecommunications provider on the sale of its African telecommunications wing. We also helped a global leader in air transport on a convertible bond issue worth €661 million. If you want to connect yourself to the highest-profile clients, the best training and the sharpest minds, link up with us. To read more about the work we do please visit www.linklaters.com
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Corporate. Our Corporate Global division involves a diverse range of transactional and advisory work for domestic and international corporate clients and investment banks. We have one of the world’s pre-eminent Corporate / M&A practices covering the full range of M&A work, including public takeovers, complex multi-jurisdictional deals, joint ventures, disposals and corporate restructurings. Our Competition law expertise covers merger control, cartels and dawn raids, competition litigation, market and sector investigations, abuse of dominance, state aid, public procurement and economic or utilities regulation. Our Employment & Incentives practice advises corporates and financial institutions on their share plans and tax requirements. The team also advises on day-to-day issues, including contracts and terminations, recruitment and retention, employee transfers, discrimination and dismissal, works councils, health and safety, and immigration. Our Environment & Climate Change practice advises on environment issues that will affect global trade for years to come. These include climate change, carbon capture and storage, and the scope and application of the Equator Principles, as well as lender’s liability, ethical investment, product stewardship and corporate governance. Our Investment Management Group advises on the structuring, formation, taxation and regulation of all types of investment funds for investment in all types of asset classes including real estate, securities, debt, derivatives and other alternative financial instruments, large pension funds, private equity, infrastructure and green energy type investments. Our Pensions practice advises on the pensions aspects of M&A transactions, including corporate and pension scheme mergers and buyouts. We also offer day-to-day technical and administrative advice on running pensions schemes.
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Finance & Projects. Our Finance & Projects division comprises teams focusing on all aspects of the structuring of financial arrangements and advising upon and drafting financial documents. The division is organised into a number of practice areas. Our Banking team advises clients on all elements of private debt finance through eight product areas. These include: acquisition and leverage finance; real estate finance; financial structuring and regulatory finance; asset finance; trade and emerging markets finance; mainstream banking; and high yield securities work. In addition, our Restructuring & Insolvency team handles the world’s most challenging and significant cross-border insolvency assignments. Their work includes advising clients on debt restructurings and distressed M&A activity, through to some of the biggest insolvencies in the world, making this one of the firm’s most diverse practice areas. Our world-leading Capital Markets team assists international investment banks, governments and corporates to raise funds through the international capital markets, as well as helping clients to restructure existing financial commitments. The team offers expertise in a broad range of capital markets products, including equity and debt offerings, derivatives, complex structured financial products and securitisations. Our award-winning Projects team advises governments, corporates and banks on developing and financing large-scale, high-profile international projects. Typically these fall into three key areas: Energy, Infrastructure and the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) / Public Private Partnership (PPP). Our Financial Regulation group advises on a broad scope of regulatory and compliance issues that our clients face. The work is diverse, ranging from assisting clients to become authorised to conduct regulated activities in the financial markets, to helping clients structure their businesses and transactions in a way that most efficiently complies with regulation, to advising clients who face disciplinary action from regulators.
Commercial. Lawyers in our Commercial division tackle an exceptionally diverse range of work. The division is organised into six key practice areas. The Intellectual Property (IP) team advises on a range of issues, from the protection of IP rights through to active involvement in patent, copyright and trade mark infringement litigation. Our Litigation & Arbitration lawyers offer a first-class dispute resolution service throughout our global network, including litigation, arbitration and regulatory investigations. We have a reputation for handling our clients’ most sensitive, complex and reputation-threatening disputes. Our Real Estate practice is an intrinsic part of our global business strategy. Linklaters acts for major international real estate companies, investors and occupiers on premium real estate deals, whether asset or corporate in nature. Our Tax group provides key advice and support to the Corporate and Finance divisions as most deals will have tax implications, or a need to improve tax efficiency, as well as providing advice directly to clients on tax structuring and tax-based transactions. Our Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) practice deals with all aspects of major commercial contracts, outsourcing and offshoring, information management compliance and data protection, e-business and IT security. The practice also handles major TMT disputes. Our Trusts lawyers provide specialist advice for high-net-worth individuals, charities and trustees. They often work as part of a firm-wide team, providing support on trust law and trust taxation issues.
Sectors. Our work covers a wide range of sectors, or industries, bringing lawyers from all practice areas together to ensure we understand our clients’ needs and can support them accordingly. As a Linklaters lawyer, you will develop expertise and knowledge in different industries, as well as a sound understanding of the work of your department. This combination ensures we continue to develop market-leading innovative solutions and experts in many fields. • Automotive • Banks • Chemicals • Energy & Utilities • Food & Beverages • Healthcare • Industrials
• Infrastructure & Construction • Insurance • Investment Managers • IT & Business Services • Media & Leisure • Mining
• Private Equity • Real Estate • Retail • Sovereign Wealth Funds • Telecoms • Transport & Logistics
You can find out about our work in greater detail at www.linklaters.com
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From classroom to boardroom. It takes determination, energy and talent to make it to the top of the legal profession, but training with Linklaters opens many doors. Wherever your career takes you, you will always be ranked among the best lawyers of your generation. So, whatever you want to achieve, this is a very good place to start. Associate After joining, you will join one of our practice areas. Most people are offered their first choice of practice area and, because we have strong teams, you can confidently opt for the field that you find most interesting and rewarding. Managing Associate (MA) A few years after qualification, you become progressively more engaged in the business – solving the most difficult legal issues, nurturing client relationships, leading teams and accounting for financial performance. More senior Lawyers may become Counsels, a role taking on additional leadership and practice responsibilities, alongside Partners. Partners After a few years working as experienced lawyers, the very best Associates may be considered for election to the partnership. Combining serious experience with a track record of high performance, Partners are leaders and acknowledged world-class experts in their fields. Above and beyond Working at Linklaters will give you an enviable set of professional choices. We know that if we help brilliant people reach their goals, it will benefit us in both the short and long term. We are proud to have many ex-colleagues among our clients and Linklaters’ alumni can be found in leadership roles in many fields of industry, commerce and government. The size and success of Linklaters means we can offer an unrivalled choice and flexibility in your career development. We want you to fulfil your full potential, exploring the learning opportunities that interest you, and building your career by excelling in the areas of law that you most enjoy. Becoming a lawyer is an important milestone on your professional journey, but it’s not a destination. If anything, this is where the real journey begins.
“
Linklaters is breaking down barriers between theory and practice. Like-minded professionals from business and academia are working together to help commercial lawyers expand their influence in today’s global, knowledge-driven economy. It is exciting to work with an organisation that has such ambition and energy.
“
Professor Ashish Nanda,
Harvard Law School and Linklaters Law & Business School advisory board member
The Linklaters Law & Business School. World-class career development for lawyers It’s absolutely essential to our business that we provide the very best training and development for our lawyers. Working on the most challenging assignments and delivering consistently excellent results for the most demanding clients requires expert lawyers at the very top of their game. It also requires a constant focus on professional development throughout their career. The global economy is changing fast and each generation of lawyers needs to learn new skills and apply new types of thinking. This makes our work exhilarating, but it demands a dynamic approach to learning and development. Learning throughout your career The Linklaters Law & Business School is a global framework for continuous, career-long professional development. There are milestone programmes for every stage of development from Trainee to Senior Partner level. They give you the knowledge and confidence you need to operate as a trusted business partner rather than a mere technical adviser. They also give you the tools to manage your professional growth and achieve your own career objectives. Integrating business skills and technical knowledge in one holistic curriculum, our approach is designed to give our people the mix of expertise they need to thrive in a changing world. The curriculum is consistent in quality, content and delivery across the world, guaranteeing that our lawyers receive the same high-quality learning experience in all our offices, from São Paulo to Luxembourg. Quality and credibility It’s our aim to create an integrated learning structure that has currency and credibility on a global stage. So the Linklaters Law & Business School is led by a unique advisory board of business leaders and academics, and the syllabus is designed and delivered in partnership with leading institutions such as the College of Law and Harvard Law and Business School.
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Corporate responsibility. Our culture All the contacts and connections we create come with responsibilities – to our people, our clients, our suppliers, our environment and our local communities. So a keen sense of corporate responsibility and integrity underpins everything we do. More than that, we recognise that if you are giving something back, it’s best to give your all. It’s in our nature to find the groundbreaking solutions that help our clients succeed. Our approach to pro bono and volunteer work is no different – we want to make a genuine difference, not just a contribution. Diversity Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our values and as a firm we genuinely value difference. Our thinking is simple. We will only become the leading premium global law firm by creating a culture that allows everyone to flourish and by coming up with the best ideas and solutions for our clients. The imagination and resourcefulness needed to create these ideas and solutions are assured by drawing from the broadest possible pool of knowledge, skills, perspectives and talent. Our environmental policy Our environment programme is a natural extension of taking our responsibilities seriously. We measure and monitor our global carbon footprint and have implemented targets to help us to reduce the energy, waste, paper, consumables and water we use. For the fourth consecutive year we celebrated United Nations World Environment Day. We used the day to raise people’s awareness of our environmental impact and how we can all contribute to mitigate the effects of climate change. Almost all our offices undertook activities to mark the occasion and around 500 people signed up to the Global ‘Sustainable Lifestyles Pledge’, which encouraged participants to select one or more simple lifestyle changes.
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Giving something back Education plays a key part in our Community Investment (CI) programme. We commit 1% of our global pre-tax profits to the community in volunteering time, money and in-kind donations. So from mentoring in an East London school to far-reaching education programmes promoting lasting social change in sub-Saharan Africa, we support a wide range of initiatives aimed at helping people reach their full potential. As one of our CI global projects, we partnered with Camfed (the Campaign for Female Education), an innovative organisation devoted to girls’ education and the empowerment of young women in rural Africa. As well as donating £200,000 to provide secondary school education for hundreds of girls from Tanzania, Malawi, Ghana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Linklaters delivered a major report on Camfed’s operating model pro bono. That meant visiting remote areas in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi to interview girls, parents, teachers, government officials and village leaders, identifying the key advantages of Camfed’s approach and sharing our findings with other Non-Governmental Organisations. Our programme touches on everything from pro bono work to social enterprise and microfinance. One such project was helping the GAVI Fund to create the International Finance Facility for Immunisation – a groundbreaking scheme designed to provide life-saving vaccines to more than 500 million children in the world’s poorest countries.
How to contact us. To find out more about Linklaters please visit our website www.linklaters.com To get more information about the application process and recruitment events in your jurisdiction, please contact a member of our resourcing team from the list below:
Country
Name
Number
Belgium
HR team
hrbelgium@linklaters.com
(32 2) 501 94 11
Brazil
Adriana Machado
recrutamento@linklaters.com
(55 11) 3024 6100
Dubai
Rachel Parcell
rachel.parcell@linklaters.com
France
Fabienne Bouvet
fabienne.bouvet@linklaters.com
Germany
Berit Sedlaczek
recruitment.germany@linklaters.com (49 69) 710 03 0
Crystal He Nishilla McKeogh
crystal.he@linklaters.com asiarecruitment@linklaters.com
(8621) 28911886 (852) 2842 4888
Italy
Michela Mantegazza
recruitmentitaly@linklaters.com
(39 02) 88 3935 1
Japan
Yoshiko Miyamura
japan.career@linklaters.com
(81 3) 6212 1200
Luxembourg
Berglind Fridriks
berglind.fridriks@linklaters.com
(352) 2608-1
Netherlands
HR department
NLRecruitment@Linklaters.com
(31 20) 799 6200
Poland
Agnieszka Reinstein
agnieszka.reinstein@linklaters.com
(48 22) 526 50 00
Portugal
Isabel Carvalho
RecruitmentLisbon@linklaters.com
(351 21) 864 00 00
Russia
Svetlana Gurevich
moscowhr@linklaters.com
(7 495) 797 9797
Singapore
Pearl Bik
pbik@linklaters.com
(65) 6890 7300
Spain
Laura Artal
juniors.madrid@linklaters.com
(34 91) 399 60 00
Sweden
Sara Lindblom
sara.lindblom@linklaters.com
(46-8) 665 66 00
Thailand
Sirima Visuthidej
sirima.visuthidej@linklaters.com
(66) 2305 8000
UK
Faye Wimpenny
faye.wimpenny@linklaters.com
(44 20) 7456 2000
USA
Jennifer Katz-Hickman
nyrecruit@linklaters.com
(1) 212 903 9000
Greater China
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Beijing/Shanghai Hong Kong
(33 1)Â 56 43 56 43
Apply yourself. Making job applications can be daunting and time-consuming. We do everything we can to make applying to Linklaters feel quite the opposite. There are no tricks, short cuts or pitfalls. We read every application form with great care and we work hard to make the right decisions at each stage. You’ll get more out of the process if you come to it with a good understanding of Linklaters and a clear idea of what you want from the first steps of your professional career. If you have met our people, all the better. After all, selection is a mutual process – you will be deciding whether we’re right for you at the same time as we’re finding out more about you. You want to make sure you’ll be happy and successful at Linklaters. So do we.
Link up. Apply now. If this brochure has whetted your appetite for Linklaters or confirmed your interest in us, you can link up to us now on Facebook or find out more on our website at www.linklaters.com We look forward to linking up with you soon.
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