1 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OUR THANKS GOES to ALL THOSE WHO have CONtributed to THE creatioN OF THIS publicatioN. YOUR INvolvemeNT IS A great service to THE MANY STUDENTS READING THE GUIDE. SULS EXECUTIVE PLATINUM SPONSORS Jackson Wherrett (Vice President (Careers)) Allen and Overy Blythe Dingwall (Publications Director) Ashurst Alistair Stephenson (Design Officer) Baker & McKenzie Clayton Utz CAREERS SUBCOMMITTEE Corrs Chambers Westgarth Rebecca Tan (Editor-in-Chief) DLA Piper Anita Connors Freehills Jing Fu Gilbert + Tobin Jack Orford Henry Davis York Erin Stewart King and Wood Mallesons Minter Ellison PHOTOGRAPHY John Fennel GOLD SPONSORS Allens PRINTING Gadens Inhouse Express Johnson Winter & Slattery ISSN 1839-1044 2 3 3 FOREWORD It is with great pleasure that we introduce the Sydney University Law Society’s 2012 Careers Guide. Having won the Australian Law Student’s Association Prize for Best Careers Publication last year, it was our aim to build on the strengths of past Guides and deliver to you the best possible repository of careers information we could create. We trust you will not be disappointed. The SULS Careers Guide is an annual publication produced to assist our law students to discover and fulfil their career objectives and aspirations, domestically or internationally. With the law degree seemingly becoming a generalist degree, we understand that the opportunities for law students and graduates alike are many. The Guide presents profiles of firms in the domestic, international, corporate advisory and public sectors. We also hope that this Guide will provide the tools and tips you will need to succeed in any interview or recruitment process and for any career pathway you choose to follow. For those with a particular interest in the legal opportunities in the areas outside of those contained in this Guide, do not despair. The 2012 edition of the complementary Careers Guide ‘Publicly Interested’ will be launched in Semester Two. The production of this Guide would not have been possible without the attention and dedication of the 2012 Careers Subcommittee. Thus an enormous thank you goes to Anita, Erin, Jack and Jing for their efforts in collating and editing the profiles. We are also enormously indebted to Blythe and Alistair, the Publications Director and Design Officer on the SULS Executive respectively. They have both worked exceptionally hard to produce the Guide (and its brilliant aesthetic quality) that we present to you today. On behalf of the team, we invite you to explore and discover the career opportunities that lie awaiting. We hope that the Guide will be a useful resource in your future career endeavours. REBECCA YIN TAN JACKSON WHERRETT 4 Editor-in-Chief Vice President (Careers) CONTENTS ACKNowledgmeNTS 3 Foreword 4 HUMAN RESOURCES DOMESTIC OPPORTUNITIES (Cont’d) ApplicatioNS 7 Commercial Law 49 Overview of Organisations 8 Allen and Overy 50 Submitting an Application 9 Allens 56 How to Use Cvmail 11 Ashurst 62 Public Service Jobs 12 Baker and McKenzie 68 How to Address Selection Criteria 14 Clayton Utz 74 Writing a Cover Letter 17 Corrs Chambers Westgarth 80 Writing a CV/Resume 20 DibbsBarker 86 Freehills 94 INterviews 23 Gadens Lawyers 100 Attending the Interview 24 Gilbert + Tobin 104 Individual and Group Interviews 26 Henry Davis York 110 Interview Questions 28 Herbert Geer 115 Hicksons Lawyers 117 qualifyiNG to Practice 30 Holding Redlich 118 Practicing Locally 31 Hunt and Hunt 119 Going to the Bar 32 HWL Ebsworth 120 Johnson Winter and Slattery 121 PracticiNG abroad 34 Jones Day 125 Practicing in the UK 35 King and Wood Mallesons 126 Practicing in the US 36 Maddocks 132 Practicing in Hong Kong 39 Marque Lawyers 133 Practicing in Singapore 40 Middletons 134 Practicing in Korea 41 Minter Ellison Lawyers 136 Norton Rose Australia 142 DOMESTIC OPPORTUNITIES Piper Alderman 145 Practical LEGAL TRAINING 42 Thomsons Lawyers 146 ANU Practical Legal Training 43 Tresscox Lawyers 147 College of Law Practical Legal Training 46 Webb Henderson 148 5 5 CONTENTS INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES Port Jackson Partners 193 Commercial Law 151 Pottinger 194 Davis Polk and Wardwell 152 UBS AG 195 Herbert Smith 153 Freshfields Bruckhaus Derringer 154 PublicatioNS Director POSTSCRIPT 196 Linklaters 156 White and Case 157 PUBLIC SECTOR Department of Attorney General and Justice 159 Public Defender’s Office 162 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 163 NSW Crown Sollicitor’s Office 166 NSW Law Reform Commission 168 THE COURT High Court of Australia 171 Federal Court of Australia 173 NSW Court of Appeal 175 NSW Supreme Court 177 CORPORATE ADVISORY NON-Law 180 Booz and Company 182 Boston Consulting Group 183 Deloitte 184 Ernst and Young 185 Ferrier Hodgson 186 Goldman Sachs 187 Greenhill Caliburn 188 Kordamentha 189 KPMG 190 Macquarie Group 191 6 McKinsey and Company 192 APPLICATIONS Human Resources 7 7 OVERVIEW OF ORGANISATIONS DOMESTIC LAW FIRMS testing. Interviews are usually formal and in a question- answer style. SUMMER CLERKSHIPS SOCIAL JUSTICE ORGANISATIONS Summer clerkships provide the perfect opportunity to understand how the commercial law world operates, and Most social justice organisations do not have formal may be the opening for a graduate position. Clerkship internship or vacation programs, but are happy to take on programs are primarily offered over the university summer volunteer workers during their penultimate and final years vacation period from the beginning of December to the end of at university. Most social justice organisations also offer February. Depending on the performance of summer clerks, graduate opportunities. Their application procedures vary many firms offer summer clerks graduate positions at the end significantly. For more information, see our other publication of the period. Publicly Interested, your guide to social justice careers. The clerkship interview process begins with many of the INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRMS domestic law firms attending the Law School to present information regarding their summer clerkship programs. Applications for vacation programs overseas generally close The application process for summer clerkship programs earlier in the year than summer clerkships and the process commences via ‘cvMail’ or on the firm’s website. is more compact. Be prepared for commercially-orientated questions. Likewise for graduate recruitment, be aware that The process may include first and second round interviews, applications do not occur at the same time as Australian events such as information nights, cocktail evenings and firms. Some firms recruit up to two years in advance. group discussions. Subsequently, offers will be made to successful applicants with a short period of time to accept. OTHER CORPORATE APPLICATIONS Most firms make offers to students on the same date. The Most other corporate firms request online applications process itself is competitive with firms often receiving up to a through their respective websites. Application procedures thousand applications. include interviews, psychometric testing, problem questions Graduate Programs and group activities. Accounting firms and investment banks usually take summer clerks in addition to graduate recruits. Many domestic law firms may not participate in a graduate Management consultancy firms tend to offer graduate program, as they prefer to recruit graduates through their positions only. summer vacation intake. See individual firm profiles to find out which ones have separate graduate recruitment programs. GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS Graduate Programs All government departments recruit candidates solely via a graduate intake selection process and do not offer summer clerkships. Application procedures involve stages such as interviews, group discussions, and psychometric and aptitude 8 SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION The majority of online graduate applications require written • What interests and activities do you participate in outside responses to a range of questions. This process enables the university? firm to learn more about the candidate, to assess their written • Describe how you have applied something significant that communication skills, and to consider various individual you have learnt to make a practical difference? responses and how the candidate may be suited to the culture • What motivates you? of the firm. The key to answering these questions is to be precise and ensure you have provided the relevant details. • Please outline your level of involvement in community, sporting and charity organisations? It is important that your application is free from any • What are your personal interests? elementary mistakes. Some of the most common ones are the incorrect name of the firm, incorrect name of the person QUESTIONS AIMED AT DISCOVERING YOUR addressed, and grammatical and spelling errors. To avoid MOTIVATION FOR JOINING THE LEGAL these pitfalls be sure to proofread your applications carefully, PROFESSION AND/OR THE FIRM YOU ARE and ask a second person such as a friend or family member APPLYING FOR IN PARTICULAR to read over your application before submitting. One of the primary attributes employers look for in prospective Questions that are asked as part of the online application employees is enthusiasm for the job or in a specific area of process generally fall into four categories: law. The key point of your response is to convince the firm of your genuine desire to be a lawyer in their organisation, and QUESTIONS AIMED AT FINDING OUT that you are both aware and prepared to commit the time MORE ABOUT YOU, YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS,