A British law firm formed in 1987 and based in Canary Wharf, London. It runs a paralegal apprenticeship, vacation schemes and a programme for Year 12 students.
Clifford Chance is a large international law firm and one of the five London firms known as the 'Magic Circle'. Lawyers there advise banks, big companies, governments and investors on the legal side of major projects: lending money, buying and selling companies, helping firms list on stock markets, settling big disputes, and dealing with property, tax, pensions and employment. If a bank is lending billions or two companies are merging, a firm like this makes sure the contracts and the rules are right. Wikipedia says it has 34 offices in 23 countries and about 3,680 lawyers.
The firm was formed in 1987 when two London firms, Coward Chance and Clifford-Turner, merged. Coward Chance traces back to a firm set up in 1802 by Anthony Brown that advised British companies trading abroad, and Clifford-Turner was founded in 1900 by Harry Clifford Turner. Clifford-Turner advised on the creation of the John Lewis Partnership in 1929 and, after the Second World War, advised the government on bringing several industries into public ownership (Wikipedia). The firm later grew into Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, New York and then Asia and Australia. Its head office is at 10 Upper Bank Street in Canary Wharf, London, and its UK careers site also lists a Newcastle office that takes paralegals, business professionals and paralegal apprentices.
We did not find a formal mission statement. The firm's careers pages use the theme 'Empowering Exceptional' and link high performance to everyone having equal access to opportunities to learn and grow. It describes its culture as 'collaborative and inclusive', with work that spans 'jurisdictions, cultures, and languages'. These are the firm's own words about itself.
Its work is organised by practice area, such as banking and finance, capital markets, corporate and M&A (mergers and acquisitions, meaning companies buying or joining other companies), disputes, real estate, and tax, pensions and employment. Bright Network's profile says the firm combines legal expertise with commercial insight to help clients grow, transform, protect and defend their businesses, and describes the work as rigorous and collaborative, with hands-on partners and empowered junior lawyers. It also lists a Dubai office offering a Middle East vacation scheme and training contract.
For young people the firm lists several routes (as at 2026). ACCESS is a development programme with London work experience for Year 12 students; Bright Network lists the 2027 programme with a deadline of 22 February 2027. A two-year paralegal apprenticeship exists in Newcastle. SPARK is aimed at first-year students, and The Challenge is an immersive experience for penultimate-year law students and final-year non-law students that can fast-track you to the training contract assessment. There are also Global Virtual Internships, a vacation scheme and the London Training Contract, listed with a 18 November 2026 deadline and a salary of £56,000 to £61,000. Applications use an online form, online tests and a video interview. Bright Network says over a quarter of trainees get international experience on secondment, and trainees get a structured induction, regular feedback, a resilience programme and partner-level sponsorship. Entry requirements were not listed on the pages we read, so check the application portal.
Website: www.cliffordchance.com
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