Searching for legal clerkship opportunities in Australia can feel overwhelming, especially with the large number of law firms to choose from all while juggling work, social and other life commitments. As a result, understanding the different types of law firms and their strengths when applying for clerkships is not only a key way to help you prioritise the law firms or practice area that you are interested in, but also understand how your current interests or experiences could help you stand out at a particular law firm. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down the four main categories of law firms in Australia, offering tips on how to prioritize your applications, and detailing what you can expect from each.
1. Top Tier Law Firms in Australia: The Best Clerkship Opportunities
Top-tier law firms are the largest and most well-established law firms in Australia. These firms often offer the largest number of clerkship positions, making them an excellent starting point for law students. These firms generally handle the most complex and high-profile matters, including major corporate transactions, litigation, and government work. Due to their large scale, they also tend to have a significant global presence.
- Allens: One of the oldest and most prestigious firms in Australia, Allens offers a broad range of legal services with a focus on commercial law, M&A, and competition law. It also has a significant presence in Asia.
- Ashurst: A global law firm with strong expertise in finance, M&A, and energy and resources. Ashurst is particularly well-known for its work in the energy and infrastructure sectors.
- Clayton Utz: Specializing in commercial law, litigation, and government work, Clayton Utz is a prominent player in the Australian legal market. Its expertise spans across a wide range of industries, including construction, insurance, and banking.
- Corrs Chambers Westgarth: Known for its corporate and dispute resolution practices, Corrs offers clients legal expertise in sectors such as energy, resources, and technology.
- Gilbert & Tobin: This firm has a strong focus on competition, intellectual property (IP), and media law, alongside its corporate and M&A practices.
- Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF): Known for its expertise in corporate law, dispute resolution, and banking and finance. HSF has offices in major international cities, offering opportunities to work on cross-border transactions and global disputes.
- King & Wood Mallesons (KWM): A highly regarded firm with a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region, KWM is known for its mergers and acquisitions (M&A), banking and finance, and capital markets practices.
- MinterEllison: A leading Australian firm, MinterEllison is recognized for its work in corporate law, real estate, and government. It has offices across Australia and New Zealand and is known for providing high-quality legal services to major corporations and government entities.
Top tier law firms offer clerkships across various legal disciplines, making them an excellent starting point for those seeking broad, challenging legal experiences. Given the ability to rotate in different practice areas as a seasonal clerk and a graduate at these firms, these offer students a great opportunity to work in different practice areas before selecting the practice area that suits them most.
While the above is merely a guide for you to start your research, each law firm does have their own strengths in specific practice areas which allow them to stand out from its competitors, so look into these when drafting your written application. To learn about each firm’s practice area strengths, we recommend that you look into their recent awards and/or Chamber Rankings by practice area.
The teams at top tier law firms are usually larger than their counterparts, given their reputation and ability to win work across Australia. This translates to a larger number of available clerkship positions. Since these law firms offer more clerkship positions, they have more spaces in each stage of the clerkship process, meaning that you are more likely to convert these opportunities into a successful clerkship position compared to smaller sized law firms. For example, if a top tier law firm offers 30 clerkship positions, there will be upwards of 80 applicants who will progress to the first interview and be given an opportunity to interview for the position.
2. International Law Firms: Global Experience with Clerkship Opportunities
International law firms typically have a significant global presence, with offices in major legal hubs such as London, New York, and Hong Kong. While their Australian offices are often smaller, these firms offer clerkships that provide exposure to global legal work.
- A&O Shearman: With a strong international presence, A&O Shearman is particularly known for its work in banking, capital markets, and corporate law. The firm’s Australian branch offers clerkships for those interested in these global legal practices.
- Baker McKenzie: Known for its vast international network, Baker McKenzie provides expertise across multiple sectors, including corporate law, tax, intellectual property, and dispute resolution. The firm offers opportunities to work on complex, cross-jurisdictional legal matters.
- Bird & Bird: Specializing in intellectual property, technology, and media law, Bird & Bird is an excellent choice for those interested in these cutting-edge legal fields. The firm’s global network provides opportunities to work on IP-related issues across jurisdictions.
- Clifford Chance: One of the Magic Circle firms, Clifford Chance is a major player in corporate law, banking and finance, and capital markets. Its Australian offices offer clerkships for those interested in large-scale, international legal work.
- Clyde & Co: This global firm specializes in sectors such as insurance, shipping, energy, and infrastructure. Its Australian offices offer clerkships in these niche areas, providing opportunities to gain expertise in industries with complex, international legal issues
- Gadens: While more established in Australia than some other international firms, Gadens offers a broad range of legal services, including corporate law, litigation, and property law, with an emphasis on serving domestic and international clients.
- Jones Day: A global powerhouse in litigation, antitrust, and corporate law, Jones Day offers clerkships in both corporate and contentious areas of law, often working on international disputes and complex transactions.
- Norton Rose Fulbright: With offices in over 50 cities worldwide, Norton Rose Fulbright has a strong reputation in banking, finance, and corporate law. Its Australian offices offer a wide range of opportunities, particularly in M&A and banking, with the possibility to work on cross-border transactions.
- White & Case: White & Case is known for its work in cross-border M&A, banking and finance, international arbitration, and dispute resolution. The firm has a strong presence in Australia but is largely based in offices out of Sydney and Melbourne.
As the Australian offices are often much smaller than the top tier law firms, this translates to fewer clerkship positions available at each firm. International law firms offer clerkship positions anywhere from the single digits to around 20 positions depending on their size and presence in Australia. Being a smaller office and having a smaller presence in Australia, the type of work you get and matters that you are involved in may differ from top tier law firms (while this is not always the case). In addition, the resources in the firm may be stretched a little more compared to the top tier law firms, meaning that you may find yourself working on a number of tasks and matters that could usually be delegated or spread amongst the team in a more well resourced law firm.
The flip side that most students often think about when it comes to international law firms is the opportunity to travel and work overseas. To a large degree this is true as it makes it simpler for you to move overseas (an internal transfer from Australia to another country is much simpler than you applying externally to another law firm in your designated country of choice). However, a slight trend that has been seen is that some international law firms are more focused on retaining talent in Australia (rather than losing your talent to their international offices. Note that some international firms have special niches which may be of interest – for example, Bird & Bird are known for their excellence in Intellectual Property – which could become the reason you select this firm over others.
Ultimately, a focus on international law firms aligns with your own ambitions – whether it would be to work overseas or focus in Australia. What we often see when applicants are offered the choice between a top tier law firm and an International law firm, is that most would usually go with the top tier law firm for their stronger Australian expertise and reputation. This is because as a clerk and junior lawyer, you are focused on developing your skills by being involved in a range of different but also high value transactional matters, making the top tier law firm a more reputable choice. Of course, this choice is entirely up to you when it arises.
3. Mid-Tier Law Firms: A Strong Alternative to Top-Tier Firms for Clerkships
Mid-tier law firms are an excellent choice for students seeking clerkships with strong career growth prospects and opportunities to work on both domestic and international matters.
- Arnold Block Leibler: This firm has a boutique feel but offers high-quality legal services in corporate law, dispute resolution, and family law. Known for its personalized approach, Arnold Block Leibler is a great choice for those seeking a close-knit work environment.
- Holding Redlich: Known for its work in property law, construction, and government, Holding Redlich has offices in key Australian cities and offers clerkships in these areas, alongside expertise in banking and dispute resolution.
- HWL Ebsworth: Known for its strength in commercial law, M&A, and dispute resolution, HWL Ebsworth is one of Australia’s largest independent firms, with offices across the country. It offers clerkships in a range of sectors, including banking, insurance, and real estate.
- Johnson Winter & Slattery: Specializing in corporate law, M&A, and banking and finance, Johnson Winter & Slattery is a fast-growing mid-tier firm with a strong focus on the resources and energy sectors.
- Mills Oakley: With a reputation for its work in commercial litigation, intellectual property, and insurance law, Mills Oakley offers clerkships across various legal sectors, with a particular focus on clients in the public sector and industries like healthcare and construction.
- Maddocks: Specializing in corporate law, government, and commercial litigation, Maddocks offers clerkship opportunities in these key practice areas. The firm has a strong reputation for its work with not-for-profits and public sector clients.
- McCullough Robertson: Known for its strength in commercial law, McCullough Robertson offers clerkships in a wide range of practice areas, including employment, real estate, and intellectual property.
- Thomson Geer: A national firm with a strong reputation in commercial law, Thomson Geer provides legal services across sectors such as construction, energy, and intellectual property. The firm offers clerkships with opportunities to work on significant domestic and international matters.
Mid-Tier Law firms are becoming more prominent in the clerkship space, with many mid-tier firms beginning to offer seasonal clerkships. Many Partners or Senior lawyers from the firm also have a top tier or international law firm background, making the expertise and experience (and maybe the matters you work on depending on your partner’s reputation) quite similar to that of a larger law firm. Note that most mid-tier law firms operate solely within the country, with their other offices being situated across Australia. Some mid-tier law firms also offer niche practice areas such as Family law and Personal Injury.
As Mid-Tier firms also have many large domestic and international clients, many people see little difference between Mid-Tier and Top-Tier firms. This is reinforced by the fact that there are plenty of opportunities to move between mid-tier to top-tier law firms if you like, making mid-tier law firms a popular choice among applicants.
4. Boutique Law Firms: Specialized Clerkship Opportunities in Niche Areas
Boutique law firms are typically smaller, specializing in specific areas of law. They often operate in just one city or a few locations, and the clerkship opportunities they offer are more specialized. While these firms tend to have fewer positions available, they offer an in-depth experience in niche areas of law that may not be available at larger firms.
- Example Firms: Some well-known boutique firms in Australia include Lander & Rogers (specializing in insurance and dispute resolution), Colin Biggers & Paisley (focused on construction and insurance law).
For applicants with a particular interest in a niche area of law, boutique firms can be an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience in fields such as intellectual property, media law, family law, or immigration law. However, it’s important to note that clerkship opportunities in boutique firms can be rare, and competition for positions may be intense despite the smaller number of applicants.
Connect with us!
The law firm landscape in Australia is diverse, and each category offers unique opportunities. Top-tier firms offer the most clerkship positions and the broadest range of practice areas, while international and mid-tier firms provide exciting global exposure and domestic expertise, respectively. Boutique firms may be a better fit for those looking for specialized legal experience. Ultimately, prioritizing your applications should be based on your personal career goals, areas of interest, and the work environment that best aligns with your aspirations.
If you are interested in discussing more on this topic or others, join our social media pages below!