Students, Trainees
& Judicial Clerks

Our kickoffs have happened everywhere from the beach in Santa Monica, where we went barefoot and had a beach olympics, to major urban centers, where we planted trees for the community. Wherever we gather, the goal remains the same: to introduce our summer associates to the firm, to our summer program, to our unique firm culture, and to our enthusiasm for working together.

A cornerstone of each program is our Pro Bono Clinic. Our summer associates’ first assignment is meeting with and counseling real clients. Most recently, we partnered with The Lawyers Clearinghouse in Boston.  Teams of Summer Associates alongside Partners and Associates from various offices advised 20 Massachusetts non-profit organizations on Written Information Security Programs.  

Summer Associate Testimonials

Sarah Iyere University of Michigan Law School

“Morgan Lewis’s partners and associates really cared about mentoring and developing me. Attorneys initiated learning opportunities by inviting me to negotiations, including me in client meetings, and checking in on me while I was working on complex assignments.”

David Yates Duke University School of Law

“Participating in Morgan Lewis’s 1L Diversity Fellowship strengthened my professional skills by providing excellent legal training and genuine mentorship opportunities.”

Kyle Fraser University of Michigan Law School

“I enjoyed working in the open-minded and respectful culture at Morgan Lewis.  It is encouraging to see that the firm really does care about diversity and ensures that people of varying backgrounds are in positions of power.”

The Community Experience allows summer associates the opportunity to spend part of the summer in our traditional program, followed by an assignment at a public interest or community service organization. Summer associates spend up to four weeks with the organization and, together with our firm’s pro bono partner, choose where they will work.

We established the Morgan Lewis Community Experience in 2001. Summer associates who select the ML Community Experience will receive a stipend equal to the salary that they would have received at the firm as a summer associate.

In prior years, summer associates have worked for organizations including:

• Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation
• Manhattan Legal Services
• Education Law Center
• Legal Aid Society - Brooklyn Neighborhood Office
• Goddard Riverside Community Center
• LSNY Manhattan Legal Services
• National Center for Law and Economic Justice
• East Bay Community Law Center
• Center for Reproductive Rights
• The National Veterans Legal Services Program
• National Geographic Society
• National Public Radio
• Cabrini Green Legal Aid

Our Firm Experience offers summer associates a traditional law firm experience. Law students spend all 10 weeks working on real assignments and engaging with lawyers and clients in one of our US offices. At the end of the 10-week period, law students leave with a very clear picture of the day-to-day life of a Morgan Lewis attorney.

As a Referendare, you will spend your first three weeks in the Morgan Lewis Frankfurt office, where you will receive an overall orientation. You will then spend approximately two months working with a partner in one of our US offices, who will serve as your mentor. You will be given many opportunities to experience the similarities and differences between German statutory and American common law. While in the US, you will work on active cases and be immersed in the day-to-day business of the firm.

For further information, please contact Dr. Ulrich Korth, partner and sponsor of the program, at our Frankfurt office.

All of our trainees spend two years across four different practice areas, including seats in banking and finance, corporate transactions, litigation, and investment management. While classic “seat” allocations bring a practice area focus to each six-month phase of your training, the versatility and integration of our lawyers ensure that you will have a varied workload and regular exposure to diverse learning experiences. Trainees also may have secondment opportunities to Morgan Lewis’s other global offices during their contracts.

INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME

Our vacation schemes are a great way for you to gain genuine insight into life as a trainee in the Hong Kong office. Our programme runs in June and December of each year, with up to 12 places offered in each scheme.

During the scheme, you will be given as much hands-on experience as possible and will be supervised by a mentoring partner who will provide advice and guidance throughout the placement. You could be conducting legal research for live deals/cases, attending client meetings, sitting in on conference calls, or drafting engagement letters during your time at the firm. You will have the opportunity to attend a number of seminars and workshops, including presentations from each of the Hong Kong office’s practices and a Q&A session with some of our trainees. We also organise a number of social events during the scheme, providing you with the opportunity to meet many of our partners, associates, trainees, and business support staff in a more informal setting.

Vacation scheme students are assessed for a training contract during the course of the placement. Assessments vary each year, but typically will include a comprehension or written exercise, a research activity, and a group presentation, as well as a partner interview at the end of the scheme.

HOW TO APPLY

Internships & Training Contracts

Our internship and training programmes are open to penultimate-year law students and graduates. Each internship will run for four weeks during the summer (June to August) and during the winter (December to February). Training programmes are two-year contracts. The application period for training contracts and/ or winter internships is February through May. The application period for training contracts and/ or summer internships is November through January.

Hiring Criteria

• Consistently strong academic
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and legal research skills
• Ability to think analytically and demonstrate commercial awareness
• High level of fluency in written and spoken English and Putonghua

If you meet the above criteria, please send a cover letter describing your career goals, your academic transcripts, and a CV indicating your language skills to our recruiting department at HKRecruiting@morganlewis.com.

If your application is successful, you will be invited for an interview held with one to two partners at the Hong Kong office.

Engagement and teamwork are the foundation of the training you will experience at Morgan Lewis. You can expect to be an active member of a busy team, and play a real part in doing challenging legal work. While classic “seat” allocations bring a practice area focus to each six-month phase of your training, the versatility and integration of our lawyers ensures that you will have a varied workload and regular exposure to diverse learning experiences. We currently offer seats in Antitrust, Corporate & Business Transactions, Finance, Investment Management, Labour & Employment, Litigation and Structured Transactions, IP as well as the occasional client secondment in London. The majority of our trainees will also undertake a secondment in one of our international offices, including Dubai and Singapore.

Pay and Benefits

Candidates who have accepted a training contract offer with Morgan Lewis will receive a maintenance grant of £10,000 (paid in instalments), as well as the full payment of fees for both the PGDL and SQE/LPC. The firm does not provide retrospective funding for law school fees or maintenance grants.

1st year salary: £50,000 per annum.
2nd year salary: £55,000 per annum.
Qualification salary: £135,000 per annum.

Benefits include life assurance, private medical and dental insurance, pension and income protection.

Applications for our 2024 Training Contracts are now open and close at midnight on 08 July 2022, we do not recruit on a rolling basis. Applicants will first need to complete the online application form, the second stage of the process is a phone interview with HR and if successful candidates will be invited to an assessment centre, which includes a partner interview, group activity, written exercise and discussion panel with partners.

Apply for a training contract starting in August 2024 >>

Summer Vacation Scheme

Our two-week summer vacation scheme provides students with the opportunity to learn more about the firm, meet some of our people, and gain insight into life at Morgan Lewis. During the scheme, students will be given as much hands-on experience as possible, as well as be given the opportunity to attend seminars, workshops and various social activities. Summer scheme students will be assessed for a training contract during the course of the two-week placement.

Applications for our 2022 summer vacation scheme in the London office are now open and will close at midnight on 26 January 2022, we do not recruit on a rolling basis. Obtaining a spot requires an online application followed by a telephone interview with HR and then a partner interview

Apply for a summer scheme >>

What we look for

Candidates applying for either our summer scheme or training contract will need a strong academic record, including a minimum of AAB at A Level (or equivalent) and a 2:1 (predicted or gained) in their undergraduate degree.

Our online application form is the first opportunity for you to provide us with information that will help us to get to know you. We look for a range of prior work experience (a mixture of law and non-law), volunteering and extra-curricular activities to demonstrate the development of your skills and experience. In particular, we are looking for candidates to show us their commercial awareness, team spirit, resilience and passion for a career in law.

Applications for both our summer scheme and training contract programmes are open to penultimate year law students, final year non-law students and graduates. If you have not completed a law degree in England and Wales, we will require you to complete the Post Graduate Diploma in Law (PGDL), before commencing the SQE. If you have any queries on either our summer scheme or training contract recruitment process, please contact the graduate recruitment team at: LondonTrainingProgramme@morganlewis.com.

Open Days 2022

Our Open Day runs in the spring of each year. The one-day programme is a great way to learn more about Morgan Lewis as a firm and about commercial law in general. We will introduce you to our key practice areas in the London office and give you the opportunity to meet with some of our trainees during a Q&A session. You will also sit down with some of our partners and trainees over an informal lunch, before attending a number of skills sessions.

Our Open Days are open to anyone in their first year of a law degree, or penultimate year of a non-law degree. Please send a copy of your CV and a cover letter outlining why you wish to attend to londontrainingprogramme@morganlewis.com. If your application is successful, you will be invited for a telephone interview, before being offered a place on the day.

Applications will open on 1 December 2021 and close on 25 February 2022. Telephone interviews take place in early March.

Download the London Training Programme brochure >>

Our summer associate program is designated for current law students in their fourth year or those studying for a master’s degree in Law.

Summer associate qualifications:

• Excellent academic credentials and deep knowledge of Russian law
• Solid spoken and written English language skills
• Strong analytical skills and a good team player
• Strive for excellence and be self-motivated

If you are interested in applying for our summer associate program, please send your CV together with a cover letter in English, including your answer to the question, “Why I want to work for an international law firm” at cvmoscow@morganlewis.com before April 30, 2021. In your CV, please also include your cumulative grade point average to date.

Questions?

Please contact Yulia Lytaeva at +7.495.212.2566.

The Morgan Lewis Stamford Practice Training Contracts programme offers trainees maximum exposure through a rotation of all our practice groups. You will receive support from senior lawyers, practical scheduled training modules covering major aspects of corporate, commercial, finance and dispute resolution practice, and a dedicated mentor for career guidance.

• Attractive honorarium through the Practice Training Period, currently set at S$2,000/month
• Reimbursement of compulsory course fees upon retention
• A market-leader for annual packages of newly qualified lawyers

Our internship programmes run from May to August. Send applications by mail or electronically to:

The Recruitment Director Morgan Lewis Stamford LLC 10 Collyer Quay Level 27-00 Ocean Financial Centre Singapore 049315 Email: singaporerecruitment@morganlewis.com

Applicants should include: Cover letter stating your preferred area of practice, a recent photo, your Curriculum Vitae, transcripts of results achieved in your LLB examinations to date, and copies of “O” and “A” level certificates.