Trainees

In addition, during your first 12 months at Linklaters you have the opportunity to attend a global trainees training programme in the London office, where you establish contacts with lawyers from elsewhere in the firm and take on a deeper appreciation of Linklaters’ culture and values.

The traineeship is fully structured, providing you seat rotations across practice areas with an excellent level of exposure. You’ll be given extra time to attend classes (with paid leave) throughout the programme, helping you to prepare for your bar exams. You’ll even be given time out to revise before final exams. Added to that, you’ll be assigned a mentor who can give you support throughout the traineeship period.

Yes, we look for strong academic records but you’ll also need the skills that go above and beyond your qualifications. You’ll have a determination to achieve, a willingness to learn continuously, and a desire to work on the most complex transactions. You’ll also need to be fluent in English, since a large amount of business law focuses on international transactions.

It is also standard that trainees become associates at the end of their internship, irrespective of when they get their Bar’s qualification.

Application

Applications open every year in December. Linklaters offers a well structured recruitment process, during which you’ll meet with some partners, counsels, managing associates and representatives from our HR team of the Lisbon office. There’ll be competency-based questions relating to your behaviour and motivations, an English test, together with a half-day assessment centre from which you’ll receive full feedback during your integration period in the office. It’s a fair, meritocratic approach which goes beyond just interviews. The process is challenging, but it really is a chance for you to demonstrate your skills and qualities and to give yourself the best chance of gaining a training offer with us.

To apply, please send us your CV and a motivation letter to: recruitmentlisbon@linklaters.com.