US summer program

The goal of the program is to afford participants a realistic view of the firm, the work that we do and the commitment it requires. To that end, summer associates are treated as full members of the team and are assigned work from active transactions. Our summer associates act as integral members of legal teams representing some of the biggest companies in the world; they work with and are coached by some of the world’s best attorneys.

Further, as our former summer associates will attest, there are plenty of social events designed to enable summer associates to meet their colleagues and enjoy the city. At the end of the summer, our summer associates have a clear idea of whether a career at Herbert Smith is right for them.

The summer program runs each year from May to August. We seek second-year law students from the top US law schools who are interested in a career as US corporate lawyers and who wish to build a career abroad.

• For summer associates, we pay for travel and visa expenses and assist in finding housing for the summer.
• For summer associates seeking a position in London, fluency in a foreign language is desirable.
• For summer associates seeking a position in Hong Kong, fluency in Mandarin is generally required.
• For summer associates seeking a position in Moscow, fluency in Russian is generally required.
• For those students with appropriate language skills the opportunity may exist to split the summer between London and Hong Kong or London and Moscow.

Representatives from our US team will be interviewing at select law schools this August.

New members of the US team
Due to the size and complexity of our work, we need the very best people. It is a given that our new associates will have a strong academic background, but we also look for leadership skills, a strong awareness of, and interest in, international affairs, foreign language skills, and social well-roundedness. In addition, by virtue of the type of work we undertake, our associates work as part of a cross-border team. As such, we seek people who enjoy being part of a collaborative process.

The callback process
Initial interviews are held in the United States. Those candidates who receive a callback offer for the London office will be extended an invitation to travel to London. Due to visa issues, those candidates who receive a callback offer for the Hong Kong or Moscow offices will be interviewed by members of the respective office by video-conference before being extended an invitation to travel.

The day of the callback interview, we will schedule a full day of interviews. Applicants will have the opportunity to meet with numerous members of the firm’s corporate department (including both UK and US-qualified partners and associates for those interested in joining the London office; UK, US and Hong Kong-qualified attorneys for those interested in joining the Hong Kong office; and UK, US and Russian-qualified attorneys for those interested in joining the Moscow office).

We endeavor to review applications in a timely manner and to extend offers within one week of an applicant’s visit to the office.