London summer program

Freshfields’ summer associate program in London gives second-year law school students a taste of what it is like to work at a large “City” law firm. The program provides you with an opportunity to get involved in many different aspects of transactions, from assisting a deal team as it constructs an offering document to helping to draft an underwriting agreement.

In the past, summer associates in London have assisted on a range of capital markets transactions, getting involved in each step along the way in large and high-profile cross-border IPOs high yield and other debt offerings that often end up on the front page of the Financial Times.

It may be possible for summer associates to spend all or part of the summer in our Hong Kong or Frankfurt offices.

Training

We believe the very best way to learn about the law is to practice the law. So, instead of sending our summer associates back to class, we offer you something much more valuable: frequent one-to-one contact with partners, counsel and associates while you are actually working with us.

We also recognize the importance of formal training. We know it can be enormously beneficial and we make sure we offer summer associates weekly training on the core aspects of our practice:

• an overview of our corporate practice;
• the anatomy of a deal;
• drafting prospectus disclosure;
• Section 5 of the US Securities Act;
• Regulation S under the US Securities Act;
• US style due diligence; and
• an introduction to securities litigation.

Social Events

We put our summer associates to work and rely on their support to complete substantive projects while they’re with us. But we'll also work hard to get to know you better outside the office.

We organize a range of social events every year designed to help you explore London and get to know us all – partners, associates and support staff – a lot better. After all, in a year’s time you could be a full-time member of our team.

Past summer events include Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre, cricket at The Oval, horse racing at Windsor, concerts in Hyde Park, plays in the West End, chocolate tasting, and a barbecue at a partner’s home.

Work assignments and evaluations

Our summer program stands out in a number of ways. You design your own personal summer experience with the guidance of the work allocation partner.

While we aim to provide you with exposure to many different types of work, we’ll also encourage you to tell us about any interests or specialist skills and experiences you have. Then, if we can, we’ll help you build on these too.

Summer associates receive assignments from partners and associates, but you will be personally responsible for tracking your own work and providing weekly progress summaries. When assignments are completed, you’ll receive feedback from the relevant associate or partner.

We formally assess summer associates twice: at the halfway point and again at the end of the summer. However, all our supervising lawyers endeavor to provide continuous feedback, advice and encouragement throughout the program.

Read the list of frequently asked questions regarding our US summer associate program in London.