— Firm Insights —
MinterEllison partners with clients to provide integrated, innovative legal solutions.
Our membership of the Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN) has enabled us to participate in a wide range of literacy, leadership and mentoring initiatives in schools across Australia.
Our teams collaborate across Australia, Asia and the UK to deliver exceptional service and inspire new insights.
Clerkship Program
About MinterEllison
Tony Harrington, our Chief Executive says it best. “At MinterEllison, our goal is to be our clients’ best partner. With this absolute focus, we will continue to drive growth, strengthen capability and foster innovation.” What distinguishes Minter Ellison?
Like other top Australian law firms, we’re big, we run an international practice and we work on headline deals for iconic corporate clients.
Have you heard about our interview morning? Some say it can be daunting before you arrive on the day – on the day, the most frequent statement is ‘wow, the time just flew by’ and ‘I’ve really enjoyed it!’ as well as ‘It was fun’. Who wouldn’t want an interview that sounds like fun. Candidates participate in an interview, a group exercise and an individual written exercise followed by lunch. Each session lasts 45 minutes followed by a ‘meet and greet’ break with our graduates and junior lawyers for some quick down time before you get started again.
Yet not all law firms are the same. Clients tell us that we differ from our competitors because our lawyers are very easy to work with*. That’s because the importance of client relationships underpins everything we do.
It is very important to us that our vacation clerkship recruitment process is a two-way process. You are assessing our firm and the best way to do that is to spend lots of time with us.
* Legal Beacon Report™ (Beaton Consulting)
When you interview with us for the clerkship program, you’re essentially interviewing for a place on our graduate program. Our graduates come from our clerkship programs; we do not ‘go to market’ or advertise externally. Our clerkships programs are relatively small; with only two intakes – one in the summer and one in the winter. This means the chance of securing a graduate position are high – based on performance of course.
Pro Bono & Community Investment
Connecting with the community through pro bono legal work, volunteering activities and financial assistance is part of who we are and what we do. Since 2003, MinterEllison has had a formal commitment, endorsed by the Partnership Board, to operate in accordance with corporate social responsibility principles. Breaking the cycles of disadvantage MinterEllison is committed to the guiding principle of ‘breaking cycles of disadvantage’ in four priority areas: • disadvantaged youth • homelessness • alleviation of poverty • access to justice. Pro bono
As lawyers, we assist first and foremost by providing pro bono legal assistance to disadvantaged people. We connect with these clients through our partnerships with referral bodies such as Justice Connect, QPILCH, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, ACT Pro Bono Clearing House and the Law Society of Western Australia.
Applications
All applications must be submitted online via the careers section of our website, www.minterellison.com/ careers. Candidates are asked to complete an online application form and submit a resume, a cover letter and their latest transcripts. An interesting and well written application with good supporting documents will stand out; so it’s worth putting in the time and effort to submit a great application. You will be remembered for it and that can lead to an interview with us. Great applications lead to interviews. Successful applicants will participate in: • an interview • a group exercise • individual written exercise and • lunch.
Community Partnerships
Our commitment to breaking cycles of disadvantage, particularly for young people – has resulted in a strong focus on student mentoring programs.
Advice for applicants
Candidates should be in their penultimate year.
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