Clerkship Testimonial Jarrad Harvey Year: 2011/2012 Summer Clerks Areas of rotation: Mergers & Acquisitions and Environment Reflection From the outset, I comfortably felt that King & Wood Mallesons was the right firm for me. This 'hunch' was confirmed through my interaction with the firm and its people throughout the application stage, the interview process, and the clerkship itself. The pre-clerkship events were a first-hand look at the type of people who worked at King & Wood Mallesons, the sorts of work they did, and a general impression of the culture of the workplace - probably one of the most important factors I considered when deciding on where I would do my clerkship. The lawyers at the evenings were passionate about the law, but were also very humble. The conversations were easy and I could instantly tell that King & Wood Mallesons was a place where people didn't take themselves too seriously. There was also the 'Inside a Deal' evening which gave me an insight into the legal work the firm did, ranging from interesting crossborder transactions, to high-profiled nationwide energy and resource deals. Witnessing the range of work and the people that I would work with, left no doubt in my mind that King & Wood Mallesons was the right place to launch my legal career! My first rotation was in Competition and Regulatory, within the wider Mergers & Acquisitions practice group. It was here that I was exposed to a number of interesting energy and resources deals involving some of Australia's oldest and well-known companies. I really felt like I contributed to the team and was often invited to lunches and conference calls where important issues were discussed and work allocated to me. I did my second rotation in the Environment practice group. A particular highlight of working in this group was attending site-visits in various suburbs of Sydney, and inspecting developments that were subject to current litigation in the Land and Environment Court. I was also given interesting research tasks as well as opportunities to lead discussion groups and present on different areas I had researched. Just as everyone tells you, there's a lot more to clerking than just writing memos and doing research! The clerks also enjoyed a very active social life whilst at King & Wood Mallesons. This was started with an 'Amazing Race-like' bonding session on day one, and ended with a relaxing farewell on our final day, with all sorts of crazy activities jammed in between such as the interfirm trivia night, the firmwide Christmas Party, and sporting competitions. On a whole, I can sincerely say that I made the right decision in choosing to clerk at King & Wood Mallesons this summer. I was exposed to a wide variety of matters and clients, liaised with some of the top legal minds in Sydney and ultimately had a great time in doing so! Clerkship Guide 2013 39