Secondments offer a fantastic lateral career opportunity that will broaden your skills, experience and learning.
We offer the following opportunities to our lawyers:
- A secondment or exchange to Slaughter and May in London
- A secondment to another office in Australia or Asia
- A secondment to a client in Australia or Asia
- A secondment to a pro bono organisation
- A secondment to a Corporate Services department
A secondment or exchange to Slaughter and May in London
We have a 'best friends' relationship with Slaughter and May and have very strong links with its London office. One way in which we maintain and build on this relationship is to second and exchange people between the two firms.
Going on secondment or exchange to Slaughter and May provides you with unique personal and professional development opportunities by working in another jurisdiction, along with the financial support of the firm and the security of knowing that you will return to our firm with full seniority credit and continuity of service.
Secondments
Any of our lawyers can express interest in a secondment with Slaughter and May. However, we find that lawyers with at least three years' experience tend to thrive best on a Slaughter and May secondment. Most secondments run for two years.
Junior lawyer exchange
We have recently introduced a formal exchange program for one junior lawyer to join Slaughter and May for 12 months. As part of the national rotations process, we ask for expressions of interest in this opportunity from those lawyers who are still rotating and have not yet specialised.
A secondment to another office in Australia or Asia
An exciting aspect of working at Allens is the global scope of the work we do for our clients. This means that you could have the opportunity to do client work that requires you to spend some time in another office in Australia or Asia. It could be a relatively short visit – or it could see you living and working in another city or country for an extended period.
Working in another office is a valuable opportunity to add to your professional development by meeting new people and developing your networks, building your profile among colleagues and clients, and learning new skills. Of course, there is also the exciting experience of living in another city or country!
A secondment to a client in Australia or Asia
At Allens, we think client secondments are an important part of your career development and a number of our lawyers are on secondment to our clients at any time. Our reputation and large client base mean that we can offer wide-ranging opportunities to corporations and government departments throughout Australia and Asia.
Our clients often ask us to send our lawyers to work with their inhouse legal teams on discrete projects, to provide extra hands during peak activity, or to cover extended absences. Working within our client's business gives you the opportunity of witnessing its operations first-hand, gaining valuable insight into the client's perspective on transactions and litigation, and understanding how our clients work with their legal advisers.
A secondment to a pro bono organisation
The firm has an extensive pro bono practice. Partners and lawyers in every office are encouraged to undertake pro bono work, which we see as an integral part of our practice.
We also offer pro bono secondment opportunities. Recently, we offered two secondment opportunities to the Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) in Sydney and Melbourne.
As well as valuing the chance to give important help to our pro bono clients, you will have the chance to work in areas of law that are quite different from the commercial work we usually do.
A secondment to a Corporate Services department
Spending some time working in one of our Corporate Services departments can be a rewarding career experience. Recently, our lawyers have taken up secondment opportunities in Marketing & Client Services, People & Development and Knowledge & Risk in a range of interesting roles. For example, Lucy Duncan, a lawyer in Funds Management, Real Estate & Superannuation in Melbourne, has recently completed a secondment as a Graduate Resourcing Consultant with our People & Development team. Lawyers have also been seconded to the role of National Pro Bono Director.
