About Simmons & Simmons

We have a reputation for offering a superior legal service, wherever and whenever it is required. Our lawyers’ high quality advice and the positive working atmosphere with fully integrated teams working through offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia have won admiration and praise from both the legal community and our business clients.

Our Service Areas

The core practice areas, from which we draw our sector teams are: Corporate, Dispute Resolution, EU, Regulatory & Competition, Employment, Finance, IP, Projects, Real Estate, Environment and Tax.

Vacation Schemes and Open Days

We offer a number of vacation schemes that provide a unique insight into working life at a law firm.  Law undergraduates usually apply for summer internships in their penultimate year.  We are also happy to offer summer internships to final year non-law students, graduates, mature and international students.  The summer scheme will give you the opportunity to gain a comprehensive picture of life in a busy, dynamic international law firm.  During your time with us, you will gain first-hand experience of a legal working environment, our service areas and the kind of deals and transactions we work on.

The spring vacation scheme is a great opportunity for first year law students and penultimate year non-law students to get an in-depth view of the firm at an early stage of your studies.

We also run a series of open days throughout the year that are open to anyone wishing to find out more about the firm.

The Training Contract

We offer all our trainees the opportunity to become leading business lawyers in some of the most important financial centres of the world. From London and Rome to Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi, we encourage our people to attain the highest standards of excellence, so they can meet the challenges we set and make the very best of their talents.

The firm offers around 40 trainees contracts each year and are currently recruiting for the September 2014 and March 2015 intakes or their MBA option in September.  Their six month seat system enables you to gain hands on experience in four different areas of the business, working with other lawyers, gaining knowledge in different service areas and dealing with important clients.

What we are looking for

We are looking for ambitious, focused individuals with law or non-law degrees.  Academic achievement is key but we also want rounded individuals who can fit into our teams as you will need to work with people in the firm’s international offices and with clients throughout the world.

Show us evidence of a rich ‘life experience’ as well as examples of your intellectual capabilities and we will provide you with everything you need to become a successful member of our firm.

Apply

Apply for our vacation schemes between 01 November 2011 and 31 January 2012.

For the Training Contract, non-law finalists and all graduates should apply from 01 November 2011 - 31 March 2012. Law undergraduates should apply from 01 June - 31 July 2011.

All applications should be made online at www.simmons-simmons.com/graduates.

Trainee Profile

Laura McGovern - KCL graduate - Trainee Solicitor, Simmons & Simmons LLP

I studied Law at KCL and graduated in the summer of 2007. The degree provided me with strong analytical and communication skills, as well as the ability to see things differently, all key competencies for a City lawyer. Attending a University at the heart of London also enabled me to quickly become accustomed to the legal world. Sitting in on cases at the Royal Courts of Justice and participating in mooting events provided me with valuable legal experience. It was the ability to act as a business person as well as a legal adviser which attracted me to life as a City lawyer.

I carried out various vacation schemes in the summer of my final year of my degree. The opportunity to get involved in headline grabbing deals and get to know partners and fee earners on a personal level is a fantastic one. It was the supportive environment and the desire to see trainees develop, coupled with very high levels of responsibility and a truly collegial atmosphere which attracted me to Simmons & Simmons.

From 2007-2008, I took a gap year and was fortunate enough to spend it travelling the world. The following year I completed the LPC at BPP in Holborn. From 2009-2010, I was part of the first cohort of future trainees at Simmons & Simmons to begin the firm specific MBA. The MBA provided me with valuable business acumen and the ability to truly understand what clients expect from their legal advisers. Importantly, it also enabled our intake to become very close. Being able to rely on the trainees you work with, and having trainees available as your first port of call when you have a question, has proven to be invaluable.

I am now in my third seat of my training contract, and I am sitting within the Litigation department. Exciting, interesting and challenging is how I would describe my experience to date. I would highly recommend a career in Law!