Students, Trainees & Judicial Clerks

Locations

We will host 1L Diversity Fellows in the following offices:

• Boston
• Chicago
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• New York
• Orange County
• Philadelphia
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Silicon Valley
• Washington, DC

Fellowship recipients will receive the following: 

• A $50,000 fellowship stipend made in two payments conditioned on satisfactory completion of the 2L summer and subsequently joining the firm as an entry-level associate
• An experiential pre-summer kickoff where firm leaders and all summer associates from across the United States gather for a multiday orientation and bonding program  

Eligibility

• Be enrolled full-time in an ABA-accredited law school with an anticipated graduation date of 2027.
• Show a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA).
• Have the ability to bring a unique and authentic perspective to the firm as a result of life experiences.
• Have outstanding leadership skills, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to exceptional client service.
• Be genuinely interested in a career with Morgan Lewis and demonstrate interest in supporting DEIA efforts at the firm and throughout the legal profession.  
• Be a US citizen or otherwise authorized to work in the United States.

Application Process

Interested students should submit the following in support of their candidacy:

• Résumé
• Law school and undergraduate transcripts
• Writing sample
• A personal statement (max 500 words) addressing how you will contribute to Morgan Lewis’s inclusive culture and diverse community. This can include prior experiences that have shaped and/or demonstrated your commitment to diversity and inclusion.    

We will begin accepting applications for the 2025 recruiting cycle on November 1, 2024. Please check back at that time to access the application link.

Locations

We will host 1L IP Fellows in the following offices:

• Boston
• Chicago
• Houston
• Orange County
• Philadelphia
• San Francisco
• Silicon Valley
• Washington, DC

Fellowship recipients will receive the following: 

• A paid summer associate position in a sponsoring Morgan Lewis office following the first year of law school
• A $25,000 bonus conditioned upon accepting an entry-level associate position in the IP practice and paid after two months at the firm as an entry-level associate
• Reimbursement of expenses associated with taking and successfully passing the patent bar exam prior to joining the firm as an entry-level associate
• A $5,000 bonus conditioned upon successfully passing the patent bar exam prior to joining the firm as an entry-level associate and paid after two months at the firm as an entry-level associate 

Eligibility

The Morgan Lewis 1L IP Fellowship is open to first-year law students.

Eligible applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be enrolled full-time in an ABA-accredited law school with an anticipated graduation date of 2027
• Have outstanding leadership skills, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to exceptional client service
• Preferable to have a technology or life sciences background. Preferred degrees (B.S., M.S., or Ph.D.) in electrical engineering, computer science, or physics, or an advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in life sciences
• Be genuinely interested in a career with Morgan Lewis’s IP practice
• Be a US citizen or otherwise authorized to work in the United States

Application Process

Applications will be accepted from November 1, 2024 through January 15, 2025. Interested students should submit the following in support of their candidacy: 

• Cover letter
• Résumé
• Law school and undergraduate transcripts (unofficial transcripts are accepted)
• Writing sample

Access the application for the 1L Intellectual Property Fellowship >>

As a Referendare, you will spend your first three weeks in the Morgan Lewis Frankfurt or Munich offices, where you will receive an overall orientation. You will then spend approximately two months working with a partner in one of our US offices, who will serve as your mentor. You will be given many opportunities to experience the similarities and differences between German statutory and American common law. While in the US, you will work on active cases and be immersed in the day-to-day business of the firm.

For further information, please contact Dr. Ulrich Korth, partner and sponsor of the program, at our Frankfurt office.

All of our trainees spend two years across four different practice areas, including seats in banking and finance, corporate transactions, litigation, and investment management. While classic “seat” allocations bring a practice area focus to each six-month phase of your training, the versatility and integration of our lawyers ensure that you will have a varied workload and regular exposure to diverse learning experiences. Trainees also may have secondment opportunities to Morgan Lewis’s other global offices during their contracts.

INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME

Our vacation schemes are a great way for you to gain genuine insight into life as a trainee in the Hong Kong office. Our programme runs in June and December of each year, with up to 12 places offered in each scheme.

During the scheme, you will be given as much hands-on experience as possible and will be supervised by a mentoring partner who will provide advice and guidance throughout the placement. You could be conducting legal research for live deals/cases, attending client meetings, sitting in on conference calls, or drafting engagement letters during your time at the firm. You will have the opportunity to attend a number of seminars and workshops, including presentations from each of the Hong Kong office’s practices and a Q&A session with some of our trainees. We also organise a number of social events during the scheme, providing you with the opportunity to meet many of our partners, associates, trainees, and business support staff in a more informal setting.

Vacation scheme students are assessed for a training contract during the course of the placement. Assessments vary each year, but typically will include a comprehension or written exercise, a research activity, and a group presentation, as well as a partner interview at the end of the scheme.

HOW TO APPLY

Internships & Training Contracts

Our internship and training programmes are open to penultimate-year law students and graduates. Each internship will run for four weeks during the summer (June to August) and during the winter (December to February). Training programmes are two-year contracts. The application period for training contracts and/ or winter internships is February through May. The application period for training contracts and/ or summer internships is November through January.

Hiring Criteria

• Consistently strong academic
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and legal research skills
• Ability to think analytically and demonstrate commercial awareness
• High level of fluency in written and spoken English and Putonghua

If you meet the above criteria, please send a cover letter describing your career goals, your academic transcripts, and a CV indicating your language skills to our recruiting department at HKRecruiting@morganlewis.com.

If your application is successful, you will be invited for an interview held with one to two partners at the Hong Kong office.

Download the Hong Kong Trainee & Internship Programme brochure

Engagement and teamwork are the foundation of the training you will experience at Morgan Lewis. You can expect to be an active member of a busy team and play a real part in doing challenging legal work. While classic “seat” allocations bring a practice area focus to each six-month phase of your training, the versatility and integration of our lawyers ensures that you will have a varied workload and regular exposure to diverse learning experiences. We currently offer seats in Antitrust, Corporate & Business Transactions, Finance, Investment Management, Labour & Employment, Litigation, and Structured Transactions, IP as well as the occasional client secondment in London. The majority of our trainees will also undertake a secondment in one of our international offices, including Dubai and Singapore.

Pay and Benefits

Candidates who have accepted a training contract offer with Morgan Lewis will receive a maintenance grant (paid in instalments), as well as the full payment of fees for both the PGDL and SQE. The firm does not provide retrospective funding for law school fees or maintenance grants.

1st year salary: £57,500 per annum.
2nd year salary: £62,500 per annum.
Qualification salary: £173,000 per annum.

Benefits include life assurance, private medical and dental insurance, pension, and income protection.

Applications for our 2027 Training Contracts open on 14 October 2024 and close at midnight on 25 June 2025. Applicants will first need to complete the online application form, the second stage of the process is a phone interview with HR and if successful candidates will be invited to an assessment centre, which includes a partner interview, group activity, written exercise, and discussion panel with partners.

Apply for a training contract starting in August 2027 here >>

Summer Vacation Scheme

Our two-week summer vacation scheme provides students with the opportunity to learn more about the firm, meet some of our people, and gain insight into life at Morgan Lewis. During the scheme, students will be given as much hands-on experience as possible, as well as be given the opportunity to attend seminars, workshops, and various social activities. Summer scheme students will be assessed for a training contract during the course of the two-week placement.

Applications for our 2025 summer vacation scheme in the London office open on 14 October 2024 and will close at midnight on 24 January 2025. Obtaining a spot requires an online application followed by a telephone interview with HR and then a partner interview.

Apply for a summer scheme here >> 

What we look for

Candidates applying for our open day, summer scheme, or training contract will need a strong academic record, including a minimum of AAB at A Level (or equivalent) and a 2:1 (predicted or gained) in their undergraduate degree.

Our online application form is the first opportunity for you to provide us with information that will help us to get to know you. We look for a range of prior work experience (a mixture of law and non-law), volunteering and extracurricular activities to demonstrate the development of your skills and experience. In particular, we are looking for candidates to show us their commercial awareness, team spirit, resilience, and passion for a career in law.

Applications for both our summer scheme and training contract programmes are open to penultimate year law students, final year law, and non-law students and graduates. If you have not completed a law degree in England and Wales, we will require you to complete the Post Graduate Diploma in Law (PGDL), before commencing the SQE. If you have any queries on either our summer scheme or training contract recruitment process, please contact the graduate recruitment team at: LondonTrainingProgramme@morganlewis.com.

Open Days 2025

Our Open Day runs in the spring of each year. The one-day programme is a great way to learn more about Morgan Lewis as a firm and about commercial law in general.  We will introduce you to our key practice areas in the London office and give you the opportunity to meet with some of our trainees during a Q&A session. You will also sit down with some of our trainees over an informal lunch, before attending a number of skills sessions.

Our Open Days are open to those in their first year of a law degree, or penultimate year of a non-law degree.

Apply for an open day here >> 

Applications will open on 14 October 2024 and close on 15 January 2025. Telephone interviews take place in February.

Download the London Trainee Programme brochure

The Morgan Lewis Stamford Practice Training Contracts programme offers trainees maximum exposure through a rotation of all our practice groups. You will receive support from senior lawyers, practical scheduled training modules covering major aspects of corporate, commercial, finance and dispute resolution practice, and a dedicated mentor for career guidance.

• Attractive honorarium through the Practice Training Period, currently set at S$2,000/month
• Reimbursement of compulsory course fees upon retention
• A market-leader for annual packages of newly qualified lawyers

Our internship programmes run from May to August. Send applications by mail or electronically to:

The Recruitment Director Morgan Lewis Stamford LLC 10 Collyer Quay Level 27-00 Ocean Financial Centre Singapore 049315 Email: singaporerecruitment@morganlewis.com

Applicants should include: Cover letter stating your preferred area of practice, a recent photo, your Curriculum Vitae, transcripts of results achieved in your LLB examinations to date, and copies of “O” and “A” level certificates.