HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS CLERKSHIP OPPORTUNITY BE PART OF A GLOBAL TEAM INTRODUCING HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS Herbert Smith Freehills formed in 2012 when Freehills’ Australian based practice merged with Herbert Smith’s international practice. Our clients include many of the world’s largest and most ambitious organisations. We support them with their dispute resolution, finance, corporate, projects, real estate and employment law issues; providing them with perceptive advice and comprehensive support, delivered from our 23 offices around the world. Ours is a merger of equals: we have no ‘head’ or ‘branch’ office; global management is shared by both legacy firms with representation from all our regions. From the moment we merged it was clear how strongly our cultures aligned. We believe technical ability is not enough: we understand that the business of law is fundamentally about human relationships. This means a culture built on creating exceptional working relationships with both clients and colleagues. We’re delighted our vacation clerks and graduates often talk about Herbert Smith Freehills' friendly yet professional culture, challenging work, regular client contact and partner support as features that distinguish us from other firms. Whichever office in the world you work in, we’re confident you’ll find colleagues who care about the same things you do. To learn more about our people, please visit our website where you can read and watch films about many of our people from offices across the globe: herbertsmithfreehills.com/careers/meet-our-people. CLERKSHIP PROGRAMME Finding the right fit for you is key to deciding where to start your legal career. Since working together is a good way to get to know each other, we offer a range of summer and winter clerkships in each of our Australian offices. We encourage students to participate in our vacation clerkship programme and we fill the majority of our graduate positions through this programme. Spend part of your vacation with us and you’ll get a great understanding of how we go about meeting the needs of our clients. The programme includes a detailed introduction to the firm and to each practice group, as well as the opportunity to work with our legal teams on real matters. INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES One of the benefits of being a global firm is a greater international offering to our employees. Each year we provide opportunities for up to four clerks to undertake a clerkship in an office outside Australia. This year opportunities are available in London, Hong Kong and Singapore. For Sydney clerks, this placement will be during the 10-week clerkship. Students applying for clerkships in Australia will be asked to answer a question in their application form to register their interest. You may also be able to start your career in one of our other offices. Please contact one of our graduate recruitment team if you're interested in more information on vacation clerkships outside Australia. OUR COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES Herbert Smith Freehills’ work in the community demonstrates the values that bind our business together. We share a long tradition of providing pro bono legal services and advocacy, which has developed into a broader programme of volunteering and charitable giving. Last year our lawyers in Australia provided more than 35,000 hours of pro bono legal work. All our lawyers are encouraged to do pro bono work and all pro bono work is billable. In addition, all staff are encouraged to volunteer and able to take one working day a year as volunteer leave. Many of our vacation clerks are able to participate in community and pro bono work and describe it as one of the highlights of their clerkship. For more information visit herbertsmithfreehills.com/about-us. WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? We are interested in who you are and the strengths you can bring. We recruit employees from a wide range of backgrounds who possess the qualities we look for in our lawyers, such as intellectual curiosity, confidence, empathy, clarity of thought, ability to see the bigger picture, and the ambition to grow personally and professionally. We look for students who want to pursue a career in commercial law and who demonstrate a commercial awareness. We are interested in your academic record as well as strong communication and interpersonal skills; evidence of a balanced university life and evidence of ability to work effectively in a team. We’ve prepared some more detailed guidance on our website: herbertsmithfreehills.com/careers/australia/graduates/apply-now/ preparing-your-application. DIVERSITY Across the world our offices share a long history of supporting diversity and inclusion. We see the ability to embrace a wide variety of personalities and viewpoints as a real strength and a competitive advantage. Our diversity programme includes a range of networks supporting diversity and equality in the areas of gender, ethnicity, culture, sexuality and gender orientation, and family. We were very proud recently to welcome the Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG to give the keynote presentation at the launch of our LGBT Network in Australia. For more information visit herbertsmithfreehills.com/about-us/ diversity-and-inclusion. HOW TO APPLY You will need to submit your application online via cvMail at www.cvmail.com.au. If you have queries about graduate and vacation clerk positions, please visit our website: herbertsmithfreehills.com/careers/australia/ graduates or contact one of our graduate recruitment team. Sydney recruitment contact HERBERTSMITHFREEHILLS.COM Leigh Dunlop Graduate Recruitment Consultant T +61 2 9322 4792 leigh.dunlop@hsf.com Clerkship Guide 2013Freehills 2013 35 © Herbert Smith SAV125750_Master_Firm_Profile