Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Number of lawyers and partners

Corrs have 120 partners and 500 lawyers.

Sydney 2020 Clerkship Intake

20 Summer Clerks

In July 2020 we will advise if Corrs Spring Clerkship program will be able to go ahead this year. At this time we are unsure if our Corrs’ team will be back working in the office for the commencement of the program.

Number of Graduates in Corrs 2020 Intake

24 Sydney graduates

How does your firm strive to protect its junior lawyers’ work-life balance?

We provide opportunities for professional and personal growth for both legal and business services staff. We take our work seriously but we also recognise the importance of looking after ourselves and having fun. We encourage staff to be socially active and participate in social and sporting events as well as learning and development activities.

Some of our activities include mixed netball, pilates and yoga, touch football, cricket day, Friday night drinks, family days, trivia nights, End of Financial Year party and Christmas Party. Corrs also provides flexible work arrangements, paid study leave, salary sacrificing and opportunities to give back to the community.

Corrs recognises the importance of health and wellbeing and is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace through a range of programs and policies. Our wellbeing program provides a range of initiatives to assist people in maintaining good overall health. Importantly, we also recognise the role a person’s manager plays in their wellbeing and we place emphasis on effective ‘everyday leadership’ and have processes in place to monitor a person’s welfare and workload.

What opportunities does your firm uniquely offer that may be of interest to prospective clerks?

A unique offering in Corrs’ summer clerkship program is the opportunity to complete a pro-bono project over the summer which the cohort will present to the client at the end of the program. Corrs’ Summer Clerks will

also undertake a rotation in three different practice groups during the clerkship.

If post-graduate study at Oxford, Cambridge (or a US equivalent) is in a clerk’s future plan then our International Study Scholarship may be of interest. Financial support for the completion of full-time study at one of these prestigious universities is a unique offering by Corrs.

Does Corrs offer any opportunities to work overseas?

We have offices across Australia and in Papua New Guinea, as well as a leading network of strategic alliances across the globe.

We send and have sent lawyers on international secondments to the following firms: Amsterdam – De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek; Chile – Carey; Dusseldorf – Gleiss Lutz; Frankfurt – Hengeler Mueller; Hong Kong – Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Jakarta – Soemadipradja & Taher; London – Slaughter & May, Macfarlanes, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and CMS; Madrid – Uría Menéndez; Milan – BonelliErede; Mumbai – AZB & Partners; New York – Cravath Swaine & Moore and Skadden; Paris – Bredin Prat; Singapore – Allen & Gledhill; Tokyo – Nishimura & Asahi.

What is unique about Corrs’ culture?

At Corrs, our culture is defined by excellence, collaboration, commitment and respect.

Corrs lawyers are known for their strategic approach with clients. We don’t just focus on legal advice, we provide our clients with strategic guidance to help them mitigate risks and achieve their business goals. Our lawyers work together across practice groups to deliver exceptional results and support you in building your future, wherever you want to take it. Our success is based on the success of our people. We encourage individuals to play to their strengths. And we bring our diverse and talented lawyers together to create top-performing teams.

The combination of these factors creates a firm that celebrates its independence, is open to new ideas, has the courage to think and act differently from the rest of the market, and thrives on new challenges and opportunities.

Be exceptional.

Your journey from outstanding graduate to exceptional lawyer begins at Corrs.

Who are we and what do we do? Corrs Chambers Westgarth is Australia’s leading independent Australian law firm. We’re known and respected for delivering legal excellence, exceptional client service and outstanding results.

Through our long-term relationships with leading law firms across the world, we advise on the most significant global matters and connect with the best lawyers internationally to provide our clients with the right team for every engagement. At Corrs, you’ll enjoy the benefits of working alongside a high-performing team with a shared commitment to our culture of excellence, collaboration, commitment and respect.

For almost two centuries, we’ve been advising our clients on their most complex challenges. We’re the firm of choice for many of the world’s most significant organisations – from large corporations to governments, banks and financial sponsors.

Areas of practice Nationally, we have 17 practice groups. In the Sydney office, we specialise in the following areas of law: Arbitration; Banking & Finance; Class Actions; Commercial Litigation; Competition; Corporate; Employment & Labour; Environment & Planning; Financial Sponsors; Intellectual Property; Projects; Property & Real Estate; Restructuring, Insolvency & Special Situations (RISS); Tax; Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT).

Ranked as the leading law firm in the Asia-Pacific by The Legal 500.

Your time as a Clerk at Corrs The majority of our graduates join us after experiencing a seasonal clerkship program. Our summer clerkship gives you the opportunity to rotate through three practice groups where you will connect with partners and lawyers across the firm, learn what a ‘day-in-the-life’ at Corrs is like, and experience the type of work we do and the clients we partner with. The Corrs clerkship program gives you the opportunity to work alongside some of Australia’s leading lawyers on high-profile work for major Australian and international clients. You’ll be exposed to a broad range of interesting matters. You’ll also have the chance to complete a broad range of tasks, such as conducting research, reviewing and presenting documents, attending client meetings, court hearings, mediations and settlements, as well as shadowing partners and lawyers in client meetings and business development activities. As a clerk you will also undertake a pro bono project for the duration of the summer which you will present to one of our pro-bono clients as a cohort.

Your time as a Graduate with Corrs The reason we continue to attract exceptional graduates and lawyers is simple: we provide you with the opportunity to work with great people; to work on career-defining matters from the start of your career; and to work and/or study internationally.

From your first day at Corrs, you will have the opportunity to accelerate your career in a high-performing and supportive environment.

Our graduate development program is your first step towards a successful career. As part of our 18-month program, you will have access to: • on-the-job training as you work directly with partners and senior lawyers; • structured learning; • mentoring; and • regular feedback.

During this time, you’ll complete three six-month rotations through a variety of our practice areas and you’ll also be involved in pro bono opportunities. The program begins with our Graduate Academy – a highlight for our graduates every year. We bring all our graduates together for a multi-day learning experience, giving you the chance to meet with your peers, learn and have fun. Then it’s on to your Practical Legal Training (PLT) studies and your local orientation before you dive into the program.

What does Corrs look for in a Clerk/Graduate? We look for graduates who can make a positive contribution to the firm and help us in delivering legal excellence and outstanding client service. In exchange for your energy and commitment we’ll provide extraordinary learning and work opportunities here and internationally. Our success is based on the success of our people. We encourage individuals to play to their strengths. And we bring our diverse and talented lawyers together to create top-performing teams. We want people who bring out the best in those around them, work well in a team, and take pride in their work and achievements. At Corrs, you’ll enjoy the benefits of working alongside a high-performing team with a shared commitment to our culture of excellence, collaboration, commitment and respect. We let our work speak for itself. We’re proud to work with some of the biggest organisations in the world on their most important matters. Our clients include more than half of the top fifty ASX-listed companies, some of the largest privately owned companies in Australia and a number of global Fortune five hundred companies. We work with well-known organisations like AGL, Amazon, BP, Blackstone, CBA, Coles, EBay, Google, Johnson & Johnson, McDonalds, NAB, PayPal, Vodafone and Wesfarmers. We also work with governments, Federal and State, as well as on major transactions that make the news.

International opportunities (work and study) We invest in international experiences that help our lawyers grow their skills, cultural understanding and relationships worldwide. Our International Study Scholarship supports the continuing professional development of exceptional legal staff. The Scholarship provides financial support for the completion of further study at Oxford, Cambridge or a US equivalent (full-time on campus). We have sent our lawyers on secondment to some of the world’s leading firms in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, China, Spain, France, India, Germany, Brazil, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Pro bono and community

From local schools to global organisations, we have a long and proud history of helping those in need. As a graduate lawyer, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to pro bono matters. We perform around 20,000 hours of pro bono and volunteer work each year, helping those who need it most. Corrs specifically provides pro bono legal services for disadvantaged individuals who might not otherwise have access to legal representation.

We are the principal legal partner for the United Nations Refugee Agency in Australia. Other organisations we work with and support as part of our pro bono and community program include Hagar Australia, Justice Connect, The Salvation Army, The Big Issue, Very Special Kids, Oxfam and more. In Sydney, our work with Justice Connect and the Homeless Persons Legal Clinics we run in Newtown and Bondi Beach sees graduates helping people facing disadvantage who are ineligible for legal aid and cannot afford a lawyer.

Our success relies upon attracting, retaining and providing development opportunities to talented people with diverse ideas, backgrounds and experiences. We want everyone to feel connected, valued and supported, so that every individual can succeed and can contribute to our firm and client success. We strongly believe that diversity in all its forms should be embraced and celebrated. This benefits our people, our clients, our firm and the industry at large. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is woven through all aspects of our firm – from our recruitment and people development strategies through to our wellbeing initiatives. For almost 15 years, we’ve been recognised as an Employer of Choice by the WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality citation. We have a strong and ongoing commitment to LGBTIQ+ inclusion amongst our people, our clients and the broader community.

Our CEO Gavin MacLaren is a member of the Leadership Council for Cultural Diversity, an initiative of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), and we have signed a cultural diversity commitment with members of the Managing Partners Diversity Initiative to improve cultural diversity in leadership. Corrs is also a member of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association (AALA), which promotes cultural diversity in the law, and supports the AHRC’s ‘Racism. It Stops With Me’ campaign.

Ranked #1 – AU & NZ M&A deals by deal count (Bloomberg Global M&A League Tables 2019)

Ranked #1 amongst major Australian law firms – PE deals by value (Mergermarket Global M&A League Tables 2019)

Sydney

Applications open – 9 June 2020

Applications close – 12 July 2020

Offers made – 30 September 2020

Contact:

Kimberly Howe People & Performance Consultant

+61 2 9210 6044 kimberly.howe@corrs.com.au