Allen & Overy Vacation Placements

Vacation Placements

Allen & Overy offer 60 Vacation placements each year. Allen & Overy placements offer current students and graduates the chance to experience life working as solicitors at the firm's London office. This period of experience is paid and offers excellent training, teaching and social benefits.

Vacation placements look fantastic on the CV of anyone aspiring to become a solicitor. They also enable canny students to build contacts within law firms and establish links that they may be able to use later, when applying for a Training Contract.

• Winter: This Vacation programme last for seven days and takes place in December each year. It is open to final year students, graduates and career changers from all disciplines.

• Summer: This Vacation programme lasts for three weeks. It is for penultimate year undergraduates (and second years on a four-year course) from any degree discipline. There are three placements to choose from, each of which start in June or July.

• International: Allen & Overy's international internships allow a total of 12 students to work in one of 4 international offices, following a three-week placement in London. The application is open to students who have been successful in gaining a London-based summer placement, and they will be contacted about how they can apply for these.

Early applications are encouraged.

Academic Requirements for Vacation Placements

Candidates will need to demonstrate skills in communication, teamwork, interpersonal skills and commercial awareness, to be offered a vacation placement at Allen & Overy.

• Academic - Candidates must have obtained, or be heading for, at least a 2.1 in any degree discipline and have 340 UCAS points (AAB) at A-level (or equivalent). Candidates with fluency in a language other than English are often popular with law firms.

• Experience - The more legal or commercial experience you can complete the better. More generally, experience working for any company, working in teams and earning cash is useful for your CV.

• Personality - Throughout the application and interview process you will need to demonstrate strong academic skills, the ability to work in a team, that you can communicate effectively with other people, that you are someone who is well organised and able to plan, the ability to solve difficult problems and that you are commercial awareness.

• Extra-Curricular - Candidates should be interested or involved in activities outside of their academic studies. Students should be able to show that they have taken part in clubs or societies at school and university. Candidates who have volunteered for charitable organisations are often looked on favourably.

• Law Degree vs GDL - Almost half of Allen and Overy's graduate hires have studied subjects other than Law at university, and then studied the GDL conversion course. Allen & Overy also accept applications from candidates of any University, although a 2.1 (or equivalent) grade is expected.

Vacation Placements - What to Expect

In each of Allen & Overy's placements you will assist a specially assigned trainer (usually a partner or associate) on real deals. You will work in two departments (one during the shorter winter programmes) which you will be able to choose, depending on your key areas of interest.

You will join other vacation programme students to work on a case study project designed to test your research skills and expose you to the range of Allen & Overy practice areas.

Placement students will attend workshops, practice area presentations and other talks designed to inform you about the company's work and help you to develop the skills you need to be a successful commercial lawyer.

Allen & Overy pair you up with a "buddy" for your Vacation placement. This is usually a current trainee who will be able to answer your questions, offer you advice and generally help you feel at home during your time with the company, or may not, depending on how busy the individual may be and how interested they are in helping out the new boys!

As well as a lot of hard, testing work, Vacation placements offer students the chance to socialise with other like-minded future solicitors. Expect to enjoy informal drinks with your department, lunches with other placement students and special social events organised by the Graduate Recruitment team.

Remember that the term "informal" really means "not as formal as usual, but still quite formal". For example, at an informal drinks event that involves placement students and Partners, you will not be expected to raid the Allen & Overy free bar and coerce your trainer, Associate or Partner to take a trip with you to Stringfellows.

You will be judged on your personality, performance and attitude by Allen & Overy's staff at all times and should exercise an element of restraint and maturity throughout your placement.

Salary

Vacation placement students are paid £250 per week.