My decision to join Baker McKenzie was driven by the Firm's unparalleled global reach, reputation for spearheading market-leading cross-border deals and exceptional culture.
A seamless recruitment process
The recruitment process at Bakers was very relaxed and accommodating.
The application process involved completing an online form and copying across a one-page cover letter and key sections of my CV (work experience, extra-curricular/volunteer activities, interests, etc.), uploading my transcript, and answering a few questions demonstrating why I'd be a good fit for Bakers. Fortunately, there were no psychometric testing processes or one-way video interviews as part of the process!
I was amazed at how quickly Bakers reviewed my application and informed me that I had progressed to the next stage in the process—an interview with a partner and senior lawyer. My interviewers were genuinely interested in me and we had an easy-going and informal chat about all sorts of things—from my previous work experience to interests of mine to all kinds of questions I had about the Firm and what the day-to-day life is like at Bakers! A few weeks prior to the interview too, I was paired up with a 'buddy' who was a recent graduate at Bakers. She was extremely helpful and I was able to lean on her to ask all sorts of questions which I had going into the interview. We met at Bakers' internal Level 46 café (which has incredible harbor views), and our catch-up really helped calm my nerves, finalize my thoughts, and reflect on questions for my interviewers (although it did lead to even more questions for me to ask during my interview)!
Shortly after my first round interview, I was invited for a second interview, which meant I was invited back to Baker McKenzie's stunning offices for the 'information and networking evening' prior to second round interviews. This event was extremely useful as I was able to meet a range of people across the Firm from different areas—from recent clerks to partners and heads of practice groups. It gave me an informative insight into Bakers' genuinely diverse culture and opportunities too. After my second interview with another amazing partner and senior associate, which was even more relaxed and conversational than my first interview, I was even more excited about joining the Firm. So, I was stoked to receive a clerkship offer with the Firm a few weeks later!
My clerkship experience
From the get-go, the induction, training and development workshops gave us valuable insights into how to succeed in our clerkship. These sessions equipped me and my clerk cohort with the tools we needed to dive straight into the daily work, involving all kinds of exciting and complex matters.
During my clerkship, I rotated through the Banking & Finance and Transactional Practice Groups (Financial Services), as I had always been attracted to working on cutting-edge global transactions. These two rotations allowed me to get a real and true insight into the types of deals that each of these teams handle and helped me to understand what is really involved in the exciting multi-jurisdictional matters spanning various disciplines of law.
I was given a supervising partner and graduate buddy in each rotation who really supported and developed me during my clerkship. Throughout the clerkship, I was able to undertake real work that contributed to our clients' businesses, such as reviewing banking agreements, drafting resolutions, conducting searches and inquiries into various parties to the transactions, attending client conferences and much more! These, together with the pro-bono opportunities, really developed my skills and assisted me (and the other clerks) in progressing our legal careers.
In addition to work, we attended informational panel sessions and engaging workshops to aid our continual learning about all kinds of legal developments and activities happening in the legal industry, both domestically and abroad. These experiences helped me to understand what kinds of opportunities a global lawyer would be involved in and how a global law firm like Baker McKenzie operates.
My most memorable takeaway from my clerkship though was just how down to earth and genuine the people at Bakers were. It was (and continues to be) astounding to be surrounded by a diverse range of seriously good people across all different levels throughout the entire Firm, many of whom I’ve now formed really close friendships with. Of course, I can't neglect mentioning our in-house barista, Christina, who brought so much fun and laughter to our regular coffee runs at our Level 46 café, which houses an all-you-can-drink menu of (free) coffee all day. This continues to be a highlight of my day-to-day experience with the Firm!
Throughout my clerkship, we were also given the opportunity to participate in inter-firm weekly clerk sporting events on Thursday evenings. These were great opportunities to build connections with the rest of my clerk cohort across Sydney law firms and these fun occasions were usually followed by impromptu dinners and drinks with them, where many laughs and great times were had!
Life as a new grad
I could not be happier to have commenced my graduate program with Bakers this year. The Firm has continuously given me opportunities to engage with exciting and significant cross-border matters alongside our various worldwide offices.
And it's been great to get involved in all aspects of Firm-life through social events, community service initiatives and the various Inclusion, Diversity and Equity committees. I look forward to an exciting year ahead!