Clayton Utz How many partners and lawyers does your firm have? 165 partners and over 1,400 employees across six offices How many clerks are you intending to take on this summer? 30 - 40 in Sydney How many graduate lawyers did you take on this year? 37 in Sydney How does your firm embody the notions of social and corporate responsibility? The law is what we do, but our community is part of who we are. As part of the wider Australian community and legal profession, we have serious ambitions to improve our local communities. We want to address disadvantage and support access to justice in the communities in which we live and work. Partners and employees have direct involvement with charities across Australia by volunteering and fundraising through our Community program, Community Connect. Through this program the firm and our people participate in numerous activities, with our Community Partners, including climbing mountains with children with Cerebral Palsy, readying students for job interviews in schools and setting up mobile libraries for people living on the streets. We have financially supported our charity partners through the Clayton Utz Foundation, distributing over $10million since 2003. Our work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is reflected in our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Through the RAP we continue our development of working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, charities and businesses. Since then we have worked to progress these relationships by strengthening and formalising our approaches through our Pro Bono work, community partnerships, procurement practices, and the Clayton Utz Foundation. We promote Environmental Sustainability through initiatives that assist us to understand our impacts and incorporate sustainability into our decision-making.
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How does your firm strive to protect its junior lawyers’ work-life balance? Clayton Utz offers a vibrant and supportive work environment. We recognise the need for our people to stay true to themselves by maintaining balance in their lives. That’s why we have a range of flexible work options and health and wellbeing initiatives, as well as social and sporting activities and community volunteering opportunities. What opportunities does your firm uniquely offer that may be of interest to prospective clerks? Clayton Utz was named among the ten leading pro bono firms in the world in the inaugural Who’s Who Legal Global Pro Bono Survey. The survey recognises firms that are leading the way in its pro bono contributions, levels of participation and efforts to institutionalise pro bono work. Pro bono is a fundamental part of Clayton Utz. Clayton Utz is serious about pro bono best practice. We were the first large Australian law firm to establish an inhouse pro bono practice; the first to appoint a full-time pro bono partner; and the first to sign the National Pro Bono Target. Since 1997, our commitment to pro bono has helped to shape what it means to be a leading Australian law firm. In 2015, we became the first law firm in Australia to provide 500,000 hours of pro bono assistance (and counting). We have achieved this by focusing on our clients’ needs; collaborating with the legal assistance sector and other pro bono colleagues; and making pro bono work part of each of our lawyers’ everyday practice. Does your firm offer any opportunities to work overseas? CU Abroad provides our people with the opportunity to live and work overseas for up to two years. This allows our people to gain exposure to new ways of working, different markets and legal systems. It offers unparalleled insights and a greater appreciation not only of clients’ needs, but also of the priorities of lawyers working in other jurisdictions. What makes your firm’s culture unique? At Clayton Utz, our culture is based of trust, respect and co-operation. These are the fundamental relationship values which we all rely on in our day-to-day lives and relationships with family, friends and, importantly, with colleagues. And we stay true to them.
