If international work and a welcoming culture are key, you really should take a chance on CC.
Clifford Chance Lateral Profile 2025
"It’s a British firm for a start,” a source noted in a discussion on the firm’s culture, “which means that you’re allowed to be human and it’s not a crime!” they joked. But in all seriousness, sources described CC as “nicer BigLaw,” and many felt this from the get-go: “All the attorneys I interviewed with wanted to get to know me beyond my resume. They were trying to see whether my personality matched theirs, and whether they could imagine working with me until 2am in the morning.” CC’s international prestige was also alluring to our interviewees and is Chambers Global-approved, earning hundreds of rankings across six continents. On home turf, Chambers USA recognizes the firm’s work in corporate crime and investigations, aviation finance, international trade and projects-related agency financing.
View the firm’s Chambers USA rankings
Read the firm’s Inside View feature on junior associate life
Why did you join your firm? Associates say…
“I chose my firm because of the collaborative culture and the emphasis on global interaction, which align with my career goals. Additionally, the firm’s strong reputation offers opportunities to work on a variety of projects with colleagues from different backgrounds, which I believe will help me grow both professionally and personally.”
“I loved the global nature of the firm; I liked that it would bring not only an international scope to some of the work I would do, but also fresh perspective from partners, associates and business professionals in our offices around the globe.”
“International nature of firm, wide range of practice areas for new associates to try, good reputation for work-life balance, interesting nature of deals.”
Strategic Recruitment Focuses 2025
Careers at Clifford Chance
The view from the firm: Our market-leading team of more than 400 lawyers integrates across Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Real Estate and Tax, Pensions & Employment. We have significant sector practices in Funds & Investment Management, Insurance, Private Equity, Technology and Transportation.
Recent work highlights:
- Advising Reinsurance Group of America on strategic US$32 billion reinsurance transaction with Equitable Holdings, Inc to reinsure a diversified block of life insurance products
- Advising the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on successful completion of its sovereign bond exchange offer
- Advising Legal & General on the sale of its US protection business to Meiji Yasuda
- Advising BBVA S.A., Intesa SanPaolo S.P.A., and MUFG Bank, LTD as lenders on a US$252 million construction to back-leverage project financing package to OPDEnergy for the construction of two solar photovoltaic electric generating facilities
- Advising Informa in connection with its definitive agreement to combine its Informa Tech digital business with TechTarget
- Advising TotalEnergies on renewable joint venture with Vanguard Renewables for the ownership, development and operation of renewable natural gas production projects
- Advising underwriters on the IPO of Tamboran Resources Corporation, an independent natural gas company that operates in Australia
- Securing a not-guilty jury verdict on behalf of client and former CEO of Autonomy, after a 12-week criminal trial in Federal Court
- Advising Viking Global Investors on significant minority acquisition of Humaneva
Corporate & litigation & dispute resolution careers
The view from the firm: Our Corporate practice is focused on a balanced portfolio of market-leading clients across Financial Investors, Corporate Enterprises and Banks who view us as their trusted avisor across multiple products and jurisdictions. Key growth areas include Antitrust, FIs, Corporate Enterprises and Tech & IP. In L&DR, we advise on a wide range of areas, including but not limited to; Commercial and Financial Services Litigation, White Collar and Enforcement, Regulatory and Compliance, and Antitrust. Our practice includes former prosecutors and regulators and can draw on subject matter experts throughout our US transactional and regulatory practice. Our lawyers are focused on helping our clients minimize the risk of litigation, and we advise our clients on how to comply with their legal and regulatory obligations.
Tax, pensions, and employment careers
The view from the firm: The TPE team provides seamlessly integrated Tax, Pensions, Employment and Incentives advice to help clients move transactions forward, regularly advising on US and international taxation, covering corporate and commercial transactions, equity and debt offerings, real estate and private equity funds and investments, financing and securitization transactions, tax-efficient structured transactions, insurance taxation, charitable organizations and the resolution of tax disputes. Our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation lawyers regularly advise domestic and multinational companies on critical employment matters in M&A transactions, including the treatment of equity compensation, negotiating employment agreements and pension plan terminations. Our ERISA team advises on all aspects of Title I of ERISA, including fiduciary issues in connection with the investment of employee benefit plan assets as well as the fiduciary responsibility requirements that pension plan investment committees must comply with.
Technology and energy/ESG careers
The view from the firm: Our tech group of more than 600 lawyers takes a different approach to helping clients solve tech challenges. Tech is in our DNA - we deliver holistic strategic legal advice to guide businesses through the complex business challenges presented by tech and digital disruption - our focus extends across Antitrust, M&A & Investments, IP, Litigation, Tax, Pensions & Employment, Cyber, Fintech, Proptech, Healthtech and more.
We advise clients the world over on sustainable business transition and transformation, offering global coverage and technical excellence in the major aspects of Energy & Infrastructure, and wider Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues. The climate emergency, imperative social issues, and increased importance of effective governance require advice and support from the forefront of ESG developments, as part of achieving the Just Transition. We focus on climate change, energy transition, sustainable finance, business & human rights, inclusion & diversity, and stakeholder governance, regulatory & trade, and corporate governance & directors' obligations.
International & Secondment Opportunities
Common secondment destinations: Hong Kong, London, Paris, São Paulo, Singapore
Client secondment examples: Our associates have opportunities for client secondments with leading international financial institutions and corporations all around the world. The secondments last anywhere from three months to a year. We see these opportunities as critical to continuing professional development and relationship building.
Overseas career development opportunities (view from the firm): Clifford Chance has 33 offices in 22 countries and a dedicated global mobility team to handle short and long term international transfers and secondments, to both US and primarily non-US practice groups. These secondment opportunities are well supported within the network, offering our associates a unique career opportunity to expand their exposure to international markets.
Career Development & the Path to Partnership
|
1 |
2.2 : 1 |
60% |
||
|
partner made in 2024 |
associate : partner gearing |
of associates intend to make partner |
||
|
77% |
54% |
86% |
||
| felt partnership was achievable for attorneys with childcare/caregiver responsibilities | felt partnership was achievable at the firm | agreed partners are nurturing future leaders |
||
The view from the firm: The development of our associates is critical to our success: associates participate in practice-specific training as well as a global business skills curriculum focused on business development, client relationships and people-management. Each associate is also paired with a Career Development Mentor (CDM) who, in addition to providing general guidance, is responsible for expanding their mentee's network of contacts. These pairings are reviewed annually, with frequent check ins scheduled to ensure the associate is progressing. In addition to our formal mentoring program, many of our attorneys also participate in reverse mentoring where a senior leader of the firm is paired with a junior colleague from a different background bringing a different perspective of their firm experience as a result.
Hours & Compensation
|
no requirement |
17 |
50.5 |
|
billable hours |
average number of vacation days associates took in one year |
average number of hours associates worked in one week |
|
92% |
92% |
92%
|
| agreed they had a good work-life balance |
felt like they could take vacation/annual leave on their own terms |
found the firm's claims around bonus allocation to be authentic |
Salaries
1st year: $225,000
2nd year: $225,000
3rd year: $230,000
4th year: $260,000
5th year: $310,000
6th year: $365,000
7th year: $395,000
8th year: $420,000
The view from the firm: The firm understands the importance of balancing success in the workplace with life outside the office and has implemented a flexible work arrangement where lawyers are able to work remotely for up to three days each week. In addition to an annual health fair, the firm also hosts monthly lunch seminars dedicated to issues surrounding mental and physical health, and partners with Corporate Counseling Associates (CCA) which, among other services, provides 24/7 virtual counseling from a dedicated team of coaches. Compensation is lockstep and associate bonuses are based upon a number of factors including performance, pro bono hours, and overall firm contributions.
Is Clifford Chance the right firm for you?
|
89% |
92% |
92% |
|
were happy in their current role |
agreed the work they received was of the right quality |
felt that they chose the right firm |
The view from the firm: We recognize that the world is changing and we must be able to adapt in order to lead and shape our sector. Strategic lateral recruitment is critical in growing our Americas region, but also ensuring that we have market-leading capabilities that are most important to our clients. Cultural fit: those who will work hard (together) is a top priority; we emphasize the importance in recruiting new joiners with a wide range of experiences: those from different backgrounds and cultures bringing new perspectives and novel ideas. For all current openings please click here.
Here's what survey respondents had to say about the firm's culture...
“The people are incredibly smart, reasonable, and compassionate. I want to come to the office to see my coworkers and partners and love learning from them and being in the same environment as them.”
“I’ve got awesome colleagues with positive/fun work culture. There’s a "one firm" mentality within and across all offices and practice groups (partially facilitated by having one profit center so there’s no competition across teams/offices for client work).”
“I loved the people I interviewed with and now love my team. Working with people you respect and get along with makes a huge difference, no matter the role.”
Pro Bono
|
undisclosed |
89% |
|
average pro bono |
agreed the firm puts effort towards its commitment to pro bono and social impact activity |
Sustainability & CSR
The view from the firm: As part of our commitment to environmental sustainability, Clifford Chance submits global environment data annually to Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and Ecovadis.
We are committed to the UN Global Compact and associated global frameworks. We signed the Business Ambition for 1.5°C commitment letter in October 2021 and have submitted our Science Based Targets, which have been validated. We commit to reduce absolute GHG emissions for scopes 1 &2 80% by 2030 and scope 3 47% within the same time frame.
Contact
Learn more about opportunities at the firm
Recruitment contact: Haylin Low, Senior Lateral Partner Recruiting Manager – US